Airport Exhibits
As part of the Pittsburgh International Airport's Creating a Sense of Place program, sponsored by the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University was charged with installing displays at the airport that give travelers a chance to interact with CMU technology and get a look at how research conducted at CMU is shaping the future of the world.
Through their grant, RK Mellon was looking for compelling creative to be featured in the Pittsburgh International Airport. With prime placement throughout the airport, the project draws attention to the innovation that happens in Pittsburgh and the region's resurgence as a high-tech hub, attracting talent and investment from around the world.
UCM worked closely with CMU researchers that resulted in two interactive displays — IntraFace and EarthTime.
IntraFace, a project of the Human Sensing Lab at CMU's Robotic Institute, invites visitors to learn how real-time facial image analysis software recognizes five basic expressions: happy, surprised, neutral, disgust and sadness.
The EarthTime display, developed by CREATE Lab, displays visualizations of Earth's transformations through natural changes and human impact such as deforestation, movement of refugees, sea-level rise and surface water changes.
Design played a critical role in selecting materials, branding and content that would draw visitors to these unique displays.
In the first month after installation, more than 37,000 people interacted with IntraFace, while EarthTime visitors created visualizations lasting up to 10 minutes. A second phase of this project is scheduled to be installed in summer of 2019.
Learn more about the areas of expertise we used with this project: