Corporate showrooms are often the kind of projects AV designers secretly live for – even if they’re just a tiny slice of the total workload. Technology companies, in particular, tend to go all in on these spaces: massive LED walls, digital signage that borders on art installations, and elaborate interactive gizmos.
At German Wack Group – a specialist in precision chemical cleaning – a recent showroom project took this enthusiasm to the next level. The result is new digital signage concept featuring a three-layer display stack: transparent LED film on glass from LG, glycerin-filled acrylic glass panels, and a semi-transparent OLED screen with PCAP multitouch from BOE.
The acrylic glass layers include pneumatic valves that inject air bubbles into the glycerin, forming simple shapes or even letters. When active, the LED film projects color and information onto this bubble surface, while staying mostly transparent when it’s off. The top layer – a multitouch OLED screen – lets visitors interact directly with the installation.
This clever mash-up of analog physics and digital interaction was dreamed up by the Berlin-based agency Garamantis. “It was a long development process, from the very first experiments with air bubbles in a glass of water to building full acrylic basins and finally the finished display,” says Oliver Elias, founder and managing director of Garamantis. “This combination of display layers isn’t for everyone – it’s designed specifically for Wack’s story, and it fits like a glove.”
For Wack’s new showroom, Garamantis built three freestanding, ceiling-high versions of the 3-layer display and also added three more interactive zones:
- An analysis station with ten extendable “analysis cubes” (specially developed mini PC).
- An 18-square-meter multitouch projection wall.
- A “history wall” featuring a mobile multitouch screen on rails.
All of this is tied together with a custom control system and Lidar sensors that react to visitor movement in real time.
“Especially in B2B markets that need a bit of explanation – like precision chemical cleaning – people want haptic, tangible experiences,” explains Andreas Will from Garamantis. The agency spent twelve months developing the showroom concept, then dove straight into implementation.
The Wack Group provides cleaning technologies to manufacturers of electronic assemblies for aviation, automotive, and medical tech. The new showroom serves as the first stop for international clients visiting their headquarters near Ingolstadt. The interactive displays are designed to set the stage for the lab and technical center tours that follow.