Helping businesses and landmarks remain relevant with immersive technology

Immersive technology and digital platforms have an innate ability to transform the familiar into something new and captivating. We have seen the entertainment industry fully embrace the power of technology to capture new audiences and generate revenue. And, as our society relies more and more on digital offerings, we’re seeing a shift to incorporate more immersive experiences, both in-person and digitally.

The key to these experiences is immersion, and at the heart of it is Panasonic’s world-class technology solutions for art and entertainment industries. It can transform physical spaces into 3D canvasses that paint visitors into the action and create storytelling experiences that inspire and amaze.

By changing the way people experience art and culture through immersion, the potential for venues is endless including an opportunity to expand visitor traffic, diversify revenue and remain relevant in changing and uncertain times. Immersive projection mapping technology can be scaled, adapted and applied to fit the needs of small and large activations, allowing cultural landmarks, historical monuments, museums, art galleries and even cruise ships to incorporate this technology to breathe new life into their offerings and potentially reinvigorate their traditional revenue streams.

Montréal en Histoires, a not-for-profit organization based in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, developed Cité Mémoire, a multimedia project created by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon in collaboration with Michel Marc Bouchard. It incorporates over 20 sites in Old Montréal and downtown Montréal with large-scale projections. Faces, figures and monuments are projected onto buildings, trees and cobblestone streets, transporting visitors into Montréal’s past in an unforgettable way and illustrates how the city has evolved over nearly four centuries. The project aims to bring the history of the area to life through this unique and customized experience.

Also in Montréal, Notre-Dame Basilica applied immersive technologies to create the Aura show, delivering visitors a sonically and visually captivating experience inside the historic Notre-Dame Basilica that highlights its history and reimagining the art within it. As a testament of the project’s success, the Basilica extended the show beyond its 2017 opening after tourists and locals continued to flock to the landmark to experience the show. In early 2020, to adapt to restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for a limited time Aura organizers had moved the experience to a digital format, reaching an even wider audience, by providing a free 360° capture of the immersive part of the Aura experience viewable on a mobile phone or virtual reality headset. Although traditional use of immersive technology is used for in-person, Panasonic’s technology is able to go above and beyond to support partners in the delivery of in-home immersive experiences.

On the other side of the world, the National Museum of Singapore turned to Panasonic’s immersive technology to maintain its relevancy and bring to life history in the most engaging way possible beyond traditional dioramas and wall-mounted artifacts. The museum’s Story of the Forest exhibit is an immersive installation that transforms 69 drawings from the William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings into three-dimensional animations. Through the use of this technology, visitors see a new perspective of the collection by experiencing the influence of Singapore’s flora and history that inspired it. Not to mention, the widespread and international attention reinforced the museum’s innovative reputation.

Big ideas that leave a lot to the imagination can be difficult to envision. So difficult, that it may deem the idea improbable. The implementation of Terra Lumina at the Toronto Zoo in Toronto, Ontario, Canada solved this with immersive technology. The experience uses projection mapping technology to simulate time travel and transport visitors to a world 80 years into the future where humans and nature co-exist harmoniously. The experience of seeing and interacting with a thriving future version of the planet as if it were superimposed onto the Zoo’s landscape allows visitors to look beyond what might seem like an unrealistic idea and helps them see first-hand what it could actually be.

The installation created unique offering for the Zoo that could not be replicated nor truly appreciated outside of its setting, thereby diversifying the Toronto Zoo’s traditional winter programming to draw in visitors during the slower season.

The reliable and maintenance-free projection technology from Panasonic is changing the way people experience art, while helping businesses create unique storytelling opportunities to revitalize traditional revenue models. As we look to consider adaptations in a post-pandemic reality and the new realities of the changing world of entertainment, we will continue to see immersive technology leveraged to remain relevant, draw in audiences and diversify revenue streams.