PAUL LACROIX 
Widget Inc.
  • Research and development about visual sensing algorithms used with standard camera (motion and position estimation, face detection and tracking)
  • Promotion (website, documents, presentation video editing)
  • Customer relations, project budget estimation
  • Design of interactive content by using Flash or C++/OpenGL
  • Development of customizable content templates and their IDE
  • System installation, calibration and maintenance

A set of tools and interactive content samples built for the emerging field of digital signage, at a time when the technology was still in its very early stages. The system was based on a home-made proprietary library that handled sensing data, such as presence, motion, and face detection and tracking, and exposed it through a provided API. Several base configurations were available out of the box, while a modular approach also allowed for advanced customization. Rendering was done through Flash or C++/OpenGL.


A variety of content types were explored, ranging from games to interactive advertisements to more artistic pieces. This was my own venture, supported by Widget Inc. In hindsight, the market was probably not quite ready yet, and the purpose and merit of the technology weren't always well understood by clients.