2LK launches NavigatAR to give event attendees social space confidence

In the wake of COVID-19, global brand experience and design consultancy 2LK’s internal R&D team has developed NavigatAR, the COVID-proof intelligent wayfinding system that monitors, informs and protects people as they navigate through commercial and cultural experiential spaces spaces such as event and exhibition venues, as well as shopping centres, grocery stores, retailers, banks, museums and leisure destinations.

NavigatAR supports the growing trend of ‘personal protective environments’ for brands and their customers that, when paired with existing measures like face coverings, offer an extra layer of protection and heightened peace of mind for virus-averse consumers.

Andy Sexton, partner and executive creative director at 2LK said: “There’s always a mild sense of confusion when entering a new space. Add in a global pandemic and that confusion takes on a whole new velocity and fear dimension. As commercial and cultural spaces begin to open their doors around the world, more and more rules seem to be introduced, many appearing to contradict each other. NavigatAR aims to take confusion out of the equation, so that people can return to their favourite shops, events and leisure destinations with confidence, knowing that they will be able to keep their personal space personal.”

By blending spatial computing, AI and projection mapping, the NavigatAR system tracks an environment, reads activity and responds in real-time with a smart projected interface that helps people orientate safely.

Sexton continued: “Human behaviour cannot be governed by simply categorising spaces. Regardless of where we find ourselves, risk rises and falls depending on many dynamic variables. To effectively govern our actions and movements, we need real-time data and dynamic visual guidance.”

Projected safe zones around people bring visual clarity to their proximity to each other and allow any overlaps to be clearly viewed and acknowledged. Projections are entirely customisable, allowing a brand or sponsor to incorporate their own identity’s look and feel. Dynamic wayfinding encourages movement in a single direction that can be re-routed as necessary to avoid risk. Not only this, but speed, direction and velocity can be tracked and understood to enable more targeted cleaning within shops and venues.

This real-time navigator allows spaces to function differently depending on capacity, activity and everchanging local guidance. Spaces will become alive, responsive and intelligent, reducing risk and building confidence.

Sexton concludes: “So many human behaviours have changed since early 2020. Our relationship and reliance on technology is now at an all-time high. As an experiential studio, influencing behavioural change is at the heart of 2LK’s work, and this innovation perfectly encapsulates our internal R&D team’s purpose – anticipate, address and probe new products, services and opportunities in response to emerging trends, to solve real world problems within experiential spaces.

Understanding how people move through spaces and how they interact and respond to different stimuli is key to building brand engagement, and the beauty of NavigatAR is that it is easily transferable and scalable to any kind of indoor space. 2LK is currently in discussions with a number of brands about testing and deploying NavigatAR.