SonyWonder Technology Lab

1996-1998 Upgrades

In 1996, Sony Development decided it needed to upgrade Sony's hands-on technology showcase at their New York headquarters. The upgrade was driven by three concerns: 1) Technology had changed significantly since the attraction opened in 1994, 2) We had two years experience running the attraction and needed to address specific operational concerns, and 3) The management group at Sony Retail Entertainment, which was now responsible for SonyWonder, placed more importance on engaging and entertaining visitors than the group who managed the original design process.

KEY PLAYERS

Senior Show Producer: Karl Sjodahl
Director, SonyWonder: Gail Dawson-Gray
Designers: Karl Sjodahl, James Wassell, Scott Sinclair
Lighting Consultant: Abbey Rosen-Holmes (Lightswitch)
Audio Consultant: K.C. Ladnier (Sound-O-Rama)
Technical Design: Sony Development Entertainment Technologies Group
Model Builder: Larry List
Software Design: Kandu Inc.

Chairman, Sony Retail Entertainment: Stanley "Mickey" Steinberg
Vice President, Sony Plaza: Harlan Bratcher
Sony Development, Vice President, Design: Trevor Bryant
Sony Development, Vice President, Operations: John MacLeod

New Experiences

B.B. Wonderbot (who got his name through a contest at SonyWonder) is a telepresence robot who greets visitors as they arrive at SonyWonder. He is operated by an explainer wearing a head mounted device at a remote location. The operator can see the visitors through B.B.'s eyes, which are actually color video cameras. The operator's movements are translated into B.B.'s movements using a state-of-the-art motion sensing system, previously available only to the military. Audio connections in both directions complete the illusion. B.B. entertains visitors waiting to enter SonyWonder and engages them in discussions about technology. Later in their visit, visitors get to meet the operator and watch other visitors' reactions.

SonyWonder was originally equipped with a high definition video projection theater, designed to run a single fifteen minute program every half hour. After two years of operation, the original presentation was out of date, both in content and style, and needed to be replaced or upgraded. We decided to run a series of rotating High Definition TV features, many produced by Sony in Japan. To integrate this experience with the rest of SonyWonder, we created a minute and a half "Introduction to HDTV", revised the show control program to handle a rotating feature schedule and added programmable LED readout boards to promote the current feature outside the theater. We also upgraded the lighting and PA systems, and trained the explainers to provide live/professional introductions to the presentations.

In the time since SonyWonder was designed in the early 90s, understanding the Internet had become an important part of understanding technology. We worked with a "Pay-For-Play" internet service company (Cyberplay) to create the experience for SonyWonder visitors, many of whom had never used a computer. Both hardware and software were adapted to fit SonyWonder's high volume, short duration requirements.

During our initial evaluation, we determined that many of the existing attractions could be significantly improved by upgrading the "Guest Interface"... the technology used to access the experience... the software running the interface... and the produced instructions which introduce guest to the activity.

In the examples above (left to right)... Log-in time was reduced from seven minutes to three with a combination of software and hardware upgrades... A paint program received a more intuitive and reliable interface... And a video editing activity received a simpler push-button interface to replace one which was difficult to maintain and which guests found difficult to use. Combined with clearer and more engaging instructions, the guest experience was dramatically improved in all cases.

Overall Upgrades

New and Augmented Kinetic Lighting
Add Movement to Transition Areas
Highlight New and Upgraded Activities
Improved Maintenance & Energy Efficiency

New and Augmented Audio
Add "Environmental" Sound to Transition Areas
Evaluate All Activity Audio
Balance Overall Audio Levels

New Maintenance Programs
Revised Budgets & Schedules
Changes in Staff

New Cast Training Programs
Formal Training for Top Management
Formal & Informal Explainer Training
Staff Involvement Throughout Design Process

During the period of the upgrades, the operations staff launched a new SonyWonder website, enhanced their school tours, added special events like weekly HDTV film screenings and an HD Festival in the upgraded theater, and launched a new series of workshops and in-school programs. The design group worked closely with the operations staff to make the most out of both design and operations opportunities to enhance the guest experience.

The current version of SonyWonder's web site can be reached by clicking this link.

"Discovery On-Location"

Several projects proposed for the upgrade never made it out of the concept stage. This was one of them. "Discovery On-Location" was designed to introduce visitors to television production. They would have the opportunity to insert themselves into a number of different situations using chroma-key technology. Visitors could also purchase a copy of their finished production at the end of their visit to SonyWonder.
Click on the image for a more detailed look at this concept.