Latest news with #immersive
The Verge
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Unleashed from mobile.
Posted Jun 23, 2025 at 3:13 PM UTC Netflix's Squid Game: Unleashed , previously a mobile exclusive game, is coming to Chromebooks (and Android tablets) in the 'coming weeks,' Google says. 'You'll be able to experience immersive gameplay on a bigger screen, with keyboard and mouse support, updated control layouts and graphics that take full advantage of your device's display.'
Harpers Bazaar Arabia
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Harpers Bazaar Arabia
Postcards From Mediana, The Latest Music, Culture And Arts Festival Set Against Jordan's Rugged Skyline
Tithorea has hosted immersive festivals in some of the world's most exotic locations – this summer it came to Jordan's breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage site Picture the scene – the sun is rising between the dramatic sandstone canyons of Petra, Jordan. Light floods the ancient valleys, awakening a new energy in 1,500 fortunate guests who've travelled to the UNESCO World Heritage site for an unforgettable experience. Hypnotic music rebounds through the gorge, captivating lighting bounces off the ancient rocks, and the beautiful people below sway to the tribal and rhythmic beats and basslines. Dotted around the valley floor are traders selling traditional Jordanian fabrics and cuisine, each stall bathed in a warm, multicoloured glow from the impressive laser show that pulsates overhead. This is Mediana, the latest music and culture event from Tithorea. Founded by Shahin Mani and Sherif Koyess, Tithorea curates unique and highly exclusive music experiences by combining breathtaking locations, immersive production and thoughtful collaborations with local communities. Having previously staged events in Turkey, Iceland, Costa Rica and Romania, the team's sights were firmly set on Jordan as its next location, inspired by its ancient heritage, cultural richness, and otherworldly landscapes. We start our Medaina experience at the beautiful Hyatt Zaman hotel, just outside the valley of At-Taybeh. As cultural experiences are customary at Tithorea events, the festival includes a daytime trip to Jordan's archaeological jewel, Petra, and its world-famous highlight, Al Khazna or the Treasury. As we're surrounded by the magnificent, ancient carvings, tombs and rock paintings, it's hard to believe that in mere hours we'll be back in the same sacred area, soundtracked by DJs Sonja Moonear and Mind Against. When night falls, we make our way to the main event and are greeted by a mind-blowing production, assembled with the utmost care for the natural environment. In isolation, the coloured uplighting, lasers and strobes, booming sound system and elevated decor would impress, but to stage it in the middle of an isolated valley and a UNESCO World Heritage site is remarkable. 'The first thing I did was try to understand how I'm going to express the art that pays tribute to the culture, to the artists and the nature here,' says Tithorea's Creative Director, Melissa Ouellette, in a conversation with us. Decorative rugs are placed around the event for visitors to rest and connect, each mat a tribute to the Bedouins' creative past and present. 'The culture of the area is the heritage of the loom machine, so everything was made from fabrics,' she continues. 'To work with the local people and be able to express our vision in these insane locations is super humbling.' The setting feels simultaneously like a step back in time and a taste of a distant future, with local businesses and traders dotting the walkway towards the candle-lit DJ booth, packed full of revellers, kaftans rippling as they dance to the music. The vibe pulsates with positivity and euphoria until the early hours – this isn't your average festival, and everyone knows it. And Petra isn't just the backdrop, it's a collaborator. As the sky turned blue, it was time to leave, but there's no time to get sentimental – the enchanting deserts of Wadi Rum await. On very little sleep, we're on the road again, this time to the magical sands of the Jordanian desert, recently the set for the sci-fi epic Dune, as well as The Martian and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, among others. Wadi Rum's burnt red hues make it the perfect spot for epic tales – and dazzling stargazing. After arriving at Wadi Rum Bubble Luxhotel, a dip in the obligatory hot tub at sunset centres the mind and soul, the Milky Way slowly rising into sight like a cosmic rainbow across the night sky. Partly down to necessity but a welcome quirk all the same, Tithroea is a rare festival that takes a day off between events. As producers and organisers begin the unenviable challenge of transporting sound systems, lighting and production props from a rugged valley to the heart of the desert in the summer heat, punters can take a day to rest, visiting local historical landmarks, trying their hands at Jordanian crafts, and enjoying local cuisine. While they might appear tacked on at first, these activities – including a camel ride and a First World War-era train ride with a surprise reenactment of the Arab Revolt – do provide a fuller appreciation for Jordanian culture and add more respect for the special sites Tithorea has chosen for Mediana. Set at the base of one of Wadi Rum's iconic towering rock formations and soundtracked by DJs me, Jimi Jules and the aptly-named Bedouin, night two was a stunning example of immersive production executed with elegance. At once vast and intimate, the scene is captivating and curious, again adding a sense of futurism to an ancient land. The Romero Group takes care of Jordanian cuisine and flavours, offering a menu that combines sizzling meats, vegan options, and local sweets and teas. Immersive chill-out areas give those looking for downtime some respite, while others climb atop a nearby dune for a better view of the DJs and the surrounding landscape. As the sun rises once more, we find ourselves thinking, Wadi Rum's ethereal and transcendental spirit was made for moments like this. By bringing modern music and event production to an ancient land, while respecting local cultures, communities and cuisine, Tithorea represents something truly unique in the oversaturated festival market. Often, authorities, governments and indeed UNESCO itself are sensitive about these types of events – and rightly so. These historical regions are not only sacred to the locals, but they're at the heart of a vibrant tourist industry that's a core part of Jordan's economy. Mediana showed that the two can co-exist, and it's a credit to the team at Tithorea for their considered and sensitive approach, and to the Jordanian government for taking the risk to modernise and attract a younger, more diverse crowd. Tithorea just gained another loyal follower. See you at the next one… wherever it may be.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Blue Square X Expands to NYC with a New Hub for Immersive Innovation
Blue Square X Expands to NYC with a New Hub for Immersive Innovation at 1 Penn Plaza NEW YORK, June 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blue Square X, a leader in immersive visual storytelling and experiential technology, proudly announces the grand opening of its second Experience Center and Showroom, at 1 Penn Plaza in the heart of New York City. Following the success of its Miami debut, the new location offers a bold destination where digital display innovation meets architecture, content, and motion. Purpose-built to inspire collaboration and showcase what's next in experiential design, the NYC Experience Center immerses visitors in large-format LED environments, interactive displays, and bespoke 3D content demonstrating how digital technology can transform physical spaces into unforgettable experiences. "The New York Experience Center is where big ideas come to life,' said Yitzy Shapiro, Chief Operating Officer of Blue Square X. 'It's more than a showroom it's a space where visionaries across industries can experience how immersive storytelling and smart tech elevate engagement, spark emotion, and create connection.' To mark the launch, Blue Square X will host a grand opening event on Monday, June 30, 2025, from 1 PM to 5 PM. Attendees will enjoy live demonstrations, showroom tours, curated sips and bites, and a series of thought-provoking panel discussions led by experts from across the AV and creative industries: AV Consultants: Scope Shift—Redefining the Role of the AV Consultant Today Art & Galleries: From Collector to Gallery—Navigating the Evolving World of NFTs and Digital Art AV Integrators: Tariffs, Pricing & the Hybrid Workforce—What's Now, What's Next Content Creation: How It's Made—Behind the Scenes of Anamorphic and 3D Digital Content 'We created this space to connect the dots between technology, content, and physical design,' said Chanan Averbuch, Director of Innovation at Blue Square X. 'By bringing industry leaders together for hands-on experiences and real conversations, we're helping push the boundaries of what's possible in physical spaces powered by digital innovation.' The NYC Experience Center serves as a playground for developers, designers, integrators, and creative professionals looking to explore and implement forward-thinking display solutions across real estate, retail, entertainment, hospitality, and beyond. Space is limited. Register here to attend and receive a VIP swag bag for early registrants. About Blue Square XBlue Square X is a digital experience innovation company that transforms imagination into reality by fusing powerful storytelling, art, cutting-edge technology, and architecture. With operations in New York and Miami, they specialize in crafting captivating and immersive visual experiences across a wide range of industries. Blue Square X's focus on cutting-edge technology and innovation drives business growth and enhances customer experiences. Stay up to date with Blue Square X on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Media Contacts:Shari SentlowitzDirector of Communications and MarketingBlue Square X 201-951-2734Shari@ A photo accompanying this announcement is available at in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
18-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
AI, Retail Design, And The Future Of In-Person Brand Experiences
A Jacquemus installation at Selfridge's, aimed to elevate the brand experience with sensorial ... More spatial design and dynamic scenography As retail reclaims its role as a space for real-life connection and not just commerce, brands are reimagining their physical spaces not just as stores, but stages with consumers at the center. Immersive in-person experiences have emerged as one of the most effective ways to build brand equity and loyalty in an increasingly digital world, forcing brands to rethink their use of spatial design for optimal experiences. At the heart of this evolution lies AI, which is quickly becoming a catalyst for helping brands forge emotional, lasting bonds with consumers. A clear shift is happening in the brand-consumer relationship, with interactions becoming more about experience and community-building rather than transaction. Brands are starting to place culture and emotion, rather than products, at the heart of their ecosystem. To do so, they are increasingly turning to physical spaces: pop-ups, cafés, curated exhibitions, or hybrid stores blending product displays with services. This dynamic is influencing how experiential design comes to life. Daan Lucas, founder of Random Studio, a design studio based in Paris and Amsterdam with nearly 20 years of experience, tells us: 'We see brands looking to relate to consumers in a different way. Exchanges can no longer just be about a brand anymore: now, we see spaces turning into theaters where consumers can become actors and play with a brand.' Generative AI, as it turns out, is proving to be key in delivering such experiences. In this sense, tech is becoming a powerful, value-added tool rather than a gimmicky centerpiece. Incorporating AI into experiential design can transport consumers into a brand ecosystem that goes far beyond the traditional, transactional shopping journey. Last year, Nike developed, in partnership with Random Studio, an in-store installation focused on wellbeing at its House of Innovation in Paris. The activation let visitors embark on a meditation journey powered by AI. In a dedicated space where lighting went from cool to warm, individuals were invited to start breathwork, guided by the tempo of lighting: a blueish resting rate to a rosy pink as the exercise progressed, made possible by a thermal camera that tracked changes in breath rate. This experience gave customers the opportunity to take a break and meditate at their own rhythm, encouraging them to think about wellness, not just sports and movement, when interacting with the Nike brand. Meditation session guided by dynamic lighting and prompts based on customers' own breathing ... More patterns. Incorporating AI into spatial design enables brands to offer memorable, interactive moments that shift the focus from transaction to connection. 'We see AI as a way to connect with people in a way that goes beyond a commercial moment. Technology makes people forget about themselves for a minute and relate to a space and moment, which can feel magical,' says Lucas. Experience becomes the product, and emotional impact the currency. His studio's installation for Glossier's Paris pop-up two months ago perfectly embodies this notion of sensorial experience and emotional connection to a brand or product. Random Studio partnered with Glossier to create an AI-powered pop-up experience to celebrate the ... More launch of its newest fragrance. Glossier's temporary pop-up was built to showcase its latest fragrance launch, for which Random Studio designed a retail experience meant to stimulate the senses and spark an emotional connection, subtly echoing the role of a fragrance. When visitors picked up the bottle of perfume, a camera captured their facial and body expression and sent it to ChatGPT for it to create a poem based on the visitor's clothing, presence, and expression, surprising them with a unique touch. Here, the use of AI and technology was very subtle, designed to provide a romanticized, personalized sensorial experience for consumers. These applications are just a teaser of how AI can elevate brand activations and provide quality, memorable experiences to consumers. While AI has been integrated into retail spaces and visual merchandising for some time now, its applications in experiential design are only beginning to shape the future of brand experiences. Tech-driven activations like projection mapping (a technology that turns surfaces into dynamic displays) and motion tracking are now being enhanced by AI to deliver a new standard of in-person customer experiences. Stores can have visuals that adapt in-real time based on customer demographic and environmental factors and project imagery that is adaptive and relevant to an audience. AI-powered motion tracking enables highly interactive, personalized gamified interactions leveraged today mostly by sports brands to allow customers to engage differently with a brand and its products. As more brands continue to experiment and adopt the technology, stores will become more interactive and agile, evolving with their visitors to deliver seamless personalization and enjoyment. 'Stores will start behaving like digital spaces — they'll become more dynamic. They can respond to the rhythm of the sun throughout the day and adapt their behavior depending on whether there's one person in the store or many. Sound and lighting can shift accordingly,' explains Lucas. For the launch of Chanel's newest watch, Random Studio helped integrate AI into the scenography and the physical space, combining inputs and outputs so that scents, audio, and screen content were all linked and the time of day defined the atmosphere. This resulted in the entire flagship space changing in terms of light, sound, and content to create an unexpected, interactive experience that appealed to all senses and gave Chanel the opportunity to create a lasting impact on visitors. Not only did this application help create total brand immersion in a way that creates memorable moments for consumers, it also shows how stores have the potential to become highly adaptive and relevant to customers in real time. Already now, retailers should be able to display specific products on in-store digital screens based on live weather, showcase product recommendations according to current social media buzz, make custom style recommendations depending on a visitor's outfit…and much more. As consumers increasingly expect and value personalized brand experiences, from product recommendations to brand interactions, retail design will play a crucial role in delivering memorable brand experiences that bring differentiation, boost awareness, and drive lasting impact in consumers' minds. Generative AI is becoming central to powering new standards of in-person brand experiences. The most innovative and forward-thinking brands are already experimenting with it to turn physical spaces into emotionally charged, ever-evolving environments that build lasting impressions with consumers. For brands that wish to build a connection with their audience, investing in physical activations isn't enough. The future of brand experiences will run on AI, not for the sake of technology but as a creative partner in storytelling, experiential design and emotional connection.
Coin Geek
13-06-2025
- Business
- Coin Geek
AR gamification platforms to record 18% CAGR by 2028
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Augmented reality (AR) gamification platforms market capitalization is projected to proliferate before the end of the decade, buoyed by various factors such as advancements in mobile, 5G Internet connectivity, and increasing demand for immersive user experiences. According to a report by Grand View Research, the industry is tipped to reach a market capitalization of $97.76 billion in 2028. From its present levels of less than $10 billion, the projected market capitalization translates to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% over three years. The report highlights key trends that will power AR gamification platforms to a nearly $100 million market capitalization. Analysts at Grand View Research say technological advancements will be the biggest growth drivers in the industry, highlighting innovations in hardware, software, and cloud-based services. On the hardware side of things, the report notes that lower production costs are triggering the proliferation of AR devices. Specifically, wearable tech is gaining significant steam, with Meta Glasses (NASDAQ: META) and other Big Tech companies going mainstream in 2025. The report highlights the rise of cloud-based AR development platforms in 2025, supporting developers in creating seamless gamified experiences. Snap Inc. and Niantic are already gobbling up significant market share in this vertical, providing AR toolkits for brands and individuals to create AR experiences. Furthermore, advances in software are supporting the integration of AR gamification with wearable tech while cross-platform interoperability begins to gather significant steam. Per the report, the gamified AR market is poised to latch onto the growth of the broader AR/VR industry that is tipped to pull in over $50 billion in 2025 alone. By volume, the number of active users of gamified AR platforms is tipped to surge to 600 million by the decade's end. By regional distribution, the U.S. and Europe will be the two largest growth regions, but the Asia Pacific market will record the fastest CAGR in the period under review. Novel use cases will drive industry growth New use cases will drive adoption metrics for the gamified AR industry. The report predicts that the retail and e-commerce industry will contribute the largest slice to market capitalization via interactive treasure hunts and location-based challenges. Furthermore, education and corporate training are poised to deploy gamified AR services en masse in the coming years. Currently, metaverse-based education has gained the support of corporations, while VR in education is expected to surge by the end of the decade. The report mentions use cases in healthcare for patient rehabilitation, AR gamified tourist experiences, and sport and fitness utility. Furthermore, an integration with artificial intelligence (AI) and distributed ledger technology (DLT) is tipped to expand the capabilities of the AR gamified platforms. Report: UAE workplaces are poised to embrace AI and XR gamification for efficiency gains Meanwhile, a new report has predicted a changing landscape for workplaces in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) triggered by the rise of emerging technologies. Abu Dhabi's Department of Government Enablement (DGE) reported that artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR) technologies will usher workplace changes. The DGE report notes an increasing number of UAE-based companies are leaning on these next-gen technologies to 'gamify' their workplaces. The early attempts at gamification are flashing glimpses of promise for the pioneering firms in the Gulf nation. A survey revealed that incorporating concepts like leaderboards, achievement badges, and staff competition can improve job satisfaction metrics for citizens. The report notes that the pioneering firms are integrating augmented and virtual reality tools to gamify employee experiences, promoting a healthy competitive atmosphere. Furthermore, XR use cases extend to improving the state of remote work while offering novel and intuitive employee training methods. There is growing optimism that advancements in XR technologies can render the workplace obsolete, with the report tipping 2040 as a year for the future of work. Besides XR use cases, UAE workplaces are bracing for innovative changes associated with utilizing AI tools. The DGE report mentions using AI-based interview robots to hire job candidates, save costs, and potentially reduce human bias. Currently, UAE workplaces are recording a bump in employee productivity levels from AI utility. However, there are lingering fears that companies will reduce employee headcounts as AI models render entire departments redundant. DGE Director General of Strategic Affairs Ruba Al Hassan disclosed that while AI has its upsides, governments must establish guardrails to ensure the responsible development and use of emerging technology. 'If we can figure out how best to use it, you can capitalize on its full potential, and that means people's full potential will be realized,' said Al Hassan. Dubai leads the UAE's push for digitization The Emirate of Dubai is setting the pace for the UAE's ambition to become the regional hub for digitization. Dubai's template for regulating digital assets has become the gold standard for regulatory authorities across the UAE. Last year, the region laid the blueprint for AI adoption, unfurling plans to construct more data centers and introduce a new AI learning initiative. A new licensing approach and clear regulations are attracting global technology firms to set up shop in Dubai as the emirate eyes a diversification away from oil and tourism. In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek's coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI . Watch | Keith LaForce: Haste SDK introduces new revenue stream for game developers title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
