Bally Results Center – Interactive Wall

A seven-foot motion-activated interactive wall we developed for Bally Total Fitness. This project went on to win bronze in the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation category at the Digital Signage Expo.

This project took over 7 months from concept the completion with a relatively small team. The creative team consisted of three designers, one flash developer (myself), a motion graphics artists named Sean Wehrli, and a 3d camera integration company called Helios Interactive. As well as support from the account team and UX department.

It is best described on the Manifest blog as follows:
[quote]The wall includes four separate applications – an unprecedented variety of functions for a device of its size and complexity. The most simple is the Bally Logo Break, which helps users learn how to control the screen by shattering the familiar red Bally logo into many smaller pieces, then moving them around to reveal fitness and nutrition tips. The Nutrition Wall application helps users gain knowledge that will help them inside the gym and out. The Workout Counselor enables gym members make the most out of their experience, providing exercise recommendations to target specific muscle groups. Finally, the Future Self application is a sort of “funhouse mirror” that shows users what they might look like if they keep at their workout routines.[/quote]

Technical details:

  • Developed with Adobe Flash (Actionscript 3) for the whole front-end application interface
  • SoftKinetic IISU SDK for communication from the Kinect to Flash
  • Four 46″ LCD displays mounted vertically
  • Xbox Kinect for motion sensing
  • Logitec HD Pro Webcam C910 for taking high-definition captures of people

For more details check out these interviews:
Part 1:
Designing a New Experience

Part 2:
From Edison to Xbox

Part 3:
The Wave of the Future

Press Updates:

Sept 20. 2011

Chosen by Intel to be part of an exhibit of six new technologies at the World Retail Congress, taking place September 25 – 28 in Berlin.
[quote]They see this as one of the best examples of a real-world deployment of cutting edge technology, and they would like to use it as part of a showcase” – Mike Schaiman (Helios Interactive)[/quote]

Sept 25. 2011

The content director (Andrew Benedict-Nelson) of The Insight Labs has written series about the Bally wall. He did an interview with me that ended up being 1.5 hours long. Out of that came this three part series that starts off with a general look at the wall (part 1), and then dives into details about how it was made and what is next (part 2 + 3).

Part 1:
Designing a New Experience

Part 2:
From Edison to Xbox

Part 3:
The Wave of the Future

Oct 04. 2011

Featured on NotCot.org: http://www.notcot.org/post/43531/

Oct 04. 2011

Featured on Southern Fried Gamer: SoftKinetic Partners With Bally Fitness, for Interactive Walls

Oct 04. 2011

Press video by SoftKinetic: Bally Total Fitness 3D Gesture Video Wall

Oct 05. 2011

Featured on TNW (The Next Web): Gesture-based video technology arrives at your local gym

Oct 05. 2011

Featured on CBC Creativity + Innovation: Gesture-based video technology arrives at your local gym

Oct 06. 2011

Featured on PSFK: INTERACTIVE MOTION-SENSITIVE VIDEO TECHNOLOGY COMING TO GYMS

Oct 06. 2011

Featured on Howie Chang: A seven-foot motion-actived interactive wall

Oct 07. 2011

Featured on Simply Zesty: Insane Gamification Technology Shows The Future Of Fitness

Nov 02. 2011

Featured on Turnleft: Interaktive Wand Unterstutzt Trainingsprogramms\

March 08. 2012

Digital Signage Expo; Bronze winner in the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation category. DSE 2012 Announces 2012 Apex Award Winners