The recently-inaugurated Boulevard Londrina Shopping, a mall managed by Sonae Sierra Brasil located in the southeastern Brazilian city of Londrina, now hosts the country’s first Virtual Aquarium developed by YDreams. The aquarium, conceived to entertain guests to the center and increase customer loyalty, is also present, with the same objective, at shopping centers in Portugal, Turkey and Germany.

Conceived in collaboration with Bradesco Bank, and designed by YDreams, the premise for the bank was entirely based on interactivity and technology, and how these elements would facilitate daily client-bank relations and optimize time.

The space has been opening to the public at Shopping Iguatemi JK in São Paulo, Brazil since late August 2012. Below some pics of visitors and clients exploring the space:

Sharing secrets with ‘Link 237′

The ‘Hand-on’ Counter

Multi-app tactile table

Client Multiplan, one of the largest shopping center management groups in Brazil, is putting in an appearance at the Expo Shopping Abrasce 2012 trade show in São Paulo – one of the largest in its sector in all Latin America.

The Multiplan booth features several YDreams interactive solutions that include a graphically rich video wall for displaying multimedia content and information about the company, an interactive surface table with a plethora of info on each of the group’s shopping centers plus a fun memory quiz, and a very cool app that lets guests explore several shopping center images in 360º using special eye-wear that controls image navigation via head movements, complemented by a virtual menu explored using simple hand movements as well.

At first glance you’d half expect the Jetsons’ to jump out from behind a hi-res plasma and welcome you to the future! But no, the future is now and you’ve just stepped into Bradesco Next, the ultimate bank of the future, located at JK Iguatemi shopping center in São Paulo Brazil.

Multi-app walls and Bradesco services for mobile devices

Conceived and designed by YDreams, the concept for the bank was entirely based on interactivity and technology, and how these elements would facilitate daily client-bank relations and optimize time. In tune with Bradesco’s needs, YDreams’ goal was to create an environment where technology would adapt to the needs of clients instead of the other way around. This led to the creation of Bradesco Next, the first project of its kind in the world, which promises to surpass everyone’s expectations due to its advanced technology, elegant design and truly innovative concept reaffirming the financial institution’s vocation as one of Brazil’s most innovative and visionary banks.

The Jetsons’ pet canine Astro may not be on hand, but the amicable Link 237, a charismatic robot that freely roams Bradesco Next, is. Link 237 greets clients with a smile and invites them to explore the space. Once inside, multi-app walls boast maximum display resolution and impressive 4x full HD screens accommodate a wide range of client needs and requests.

Link-237

Since the concept that guides Next is centered on simplicity and clarity, planning the future is possible and easy. Based on each client’s profile the Life Cycle service displays each person’s personal interests, financial situation and consumption patterns. The application may predict for example, the ideal time to purchase a home, or set up a personal pension plan. This information may then be forwarded to the client’s email or discussed in further detail with a bank officer.

Another milestone in innovation includes the bank’s new ATM machines, which will impress clients with features that range from their unique positioning, user-interface, tactile interaction and contactless devices. Transaction receipts are sent by email, and with the large numbers of international visitors expected for the major upcoming sporting events in Brazil, all transactions will be displayed in Portuguese, English or Spanish.

Multi-app walls, Link and ATMs

Other services of note include the One to One Customer Service Room, where the partition glass automatically frosts over to ensure maximum privacy as the client confers with a digital consultant. In addition to the digital consultant, the client also has access to pertinent financial information, and may request a videoconference with an investment specialist in real-time.

Also guaranteed to ‘wow’ clients is the Biometrics Corner. Biometrics were actually adapted by Bradesco back in 2006, and have since accrued ten million registered users. The app developed for Bradesco Next features an attractive tactile interface that allows clients to access information quickly and easily.

The Biometrics Corner

In the end however, if the visitor feels like they’ve had a bit of a high-tech overload, they are welcome to sit back and relax by the Mesa Lounge, a touchscreen display-come table where clients can order a bottle of mineral water, read the latest magazines or find out about the latest cultural events in town.

‘Mesa Lounge’ with cardless ATMs in the background

The 2014 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner and Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium is set to host the final game.

While work to renovate and upgrade the stadium is in full force, fans can check out YDreams’ Augmented Reality app, developed in collaboration with Sirius for Odebrect Construction, to get a better look at the 3D model of the new & improved stadium.

Sport Club Recife, a football team in North-eastern Brazil, recently posted the video below showing the club using YVision’s free Beta version of its software development kit (SDK) to create a Boxfall application featuring 3D Augmented Reality cubes customized with the team’s logo!

Yvision, a YDreams’ spinout, is dedicated to the research and production of software development kits. To find out more about them, or download their SDK, visit their website at http://www.yvision.com.

Our brood across the Atlantic have been pretty busy spreading YDreams’ interactive breed of technology & design across Brazil. The latest project involves an events booth for Bradesco Seguros (the Brazilian bank’s insurance component) at Conec, an Insurance Brokers Congress that recently took place in the bustling city of São Paulo.

Bradesco wanted to turn out the most innovative and fun booth at the event. Seems like they did just that thanks to a mix of YDreams solutions that involved Augmented Reality and gesture-based games and activities.

Take a peek at the video below:

Every year, Paraty, a charming coastal town in Rio de Janeiro state hosts South America’s most important literary event. FLIP, the Portuguese acronym used to designate the event, which stands for International Literary Festival, was underway from August 4 – 6, 2010.

Itaú Bank, one of the event sponsors, commissioned YDreams’ technological creativity, via Tudo Agency to reach out to audiences and facilitate information access at the event. Interactive apps on hand included touch screen totems for checking out the program schedule for the event, guest authors’ biographies as well as detailed info about Flipinha and Flipzona, two projects designed to simultaneously promote digital inclusion and work as an incentive to encourage reading amongst young people. The solutions also featured digital maps of the event, helped locate electronic machines and provided weather info in real time.

If you are planning on attending this year’s Skol Sensation Electronic Music event in São Paulo, Brazil, expect to run into some very cool Augmented Reality (AR) experimentation by YDreams. To do so you’ll need an AR Tee, encoded with special markers. The tees (see below) are already on sale at five shopping centers in São Paulo (city); stop on by one of the malls to see what its all about or pick one up! In the meantime, here’s a preview (see YouTube Video as well.)

AR Tee featuring encoded marker

I recently learned that Pedro Alvares Cabral, the man who commanded the Portuguese armada that ‘happened’ upon Brazil, hailed from Belmonte – a small, charming town in north-central Portugal.

The town decided it was time they had a space exclusively dedicated to the Portuguese era of the discoveries – they called it Centro Interpretative de Belmonte. They also called on YDreams to add their special brand of creative technology to this singular museum space.

I was recently there with a film crew to get footage of the center, and not wanting to sound biased or anything, I’ve got to say that all parts involved (YDreams with all the interactive design components, conception and narrative and Pitanga Design with the scenography) did a fantastic job in recreating an unparalleled journey into the era of Portuguese discoveries, and the armada’s first encounters with the new world.

Exploring Belmonte’s Interpretive Center was a lot like a trip to a theme park with the historical contents of course – a treat for kids of all ages. The scenography combined with the design and amazing gesture-based apps made the narrative exciting and alot of fun to explore.

Some of my favorite apps include a huge screen projection that displays and plays the instruments used in popular Brazilian music genres like Samba, Bossa Nova and Chorinho. Arrows on the floor in front of the projection tell you where to step, skip or dance about to ‘magically’ turn the instruments on and off, or create your own unique combination of cool sounds.

In the room next door another interactive app recreates the vibrant pace and sounds of a traditional Brazilian market stall. Wooden paddles with special markers let you see yourself alongside the colorful fruits and vegetables native to the region in a large-sized plasma in front of you.

There is plenty to keep you informed and entertained but don’t take my word alone, pack the family and friends into a car and head over to Belmonte to see for yourself!

For a brief teaser, or if you can’t make it there anytime soon, have a look at what’s on in Belmonte in the video below.

The first video illustrating our interactive work for Coca-Cola’s Brazillian Happiness Factory campaign has hit YouTube, this one featuring an Interactive Floor Projection where Kissy Puppies are drawn to people. (Expect more Coca-Cola videos and info soon)

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMbbKUAEJqs]

The Sea Monsters Interactive Exhibition for Lisbon’s Oceanarium movie has also been made available recently:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21PJtV5N9Ws]

Watch out also for Filipe Freitas (a Portuguese Computer Science student at University of Aveiro), who wrote a detailed description of Microsoft’s TechDays event, complete with some videos of the installations we had at the show, like this one:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM2QlEyAFsc]