- Step into Dickson CyberExpress, the world's first "clicks-and-mortar" cybermall, where more than 2.2 million people per day explore a virtually endless amount of retail pleasures.
- This "bricks-and-clicks" destination for tech savvy Hong Kong consumers and an influx of amazed tourists transforms the 70,000-square foot mall located within Kowloon Transportation Station into a shopping experience without boundaries. Cyberspace and physical space have been intertwined to create a groundbreaking interactive mall that, through the dynamics of the Internet, literally is able to connect with the rest of the world. At the center of this high-tech, high-touch environment is powerful AMX control, designed, programmed and installed by Light Sound Image Systems Ltd. (LSI) of Hong Kong.
Origin of Vision
- More than a decade ago, LSI established its roots in Hong Kong through the collective foresight of lighting engineers intent on achieving total integration solutions for lighting control, audio/video features and sound capabilities. The company's mission has remained consistent and quite successful: To transform "the concept" into a livable reality through the integration, automation and control of popular consumer electronics in the most efficient, effective and economical way possible. When projects such as Dickson CyberExpress require sophisticated technology smartly engineered for simplicity and convenience, LSI relies on AMX systems. Today, LSI is one of the leading companies of its kind in Asia Pacific, with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. During the past eight years, LSI has successfully completed more than 700 installations across the region stretching from Guam to India and Japan to Australia. Dickson CyberExpress, however, presented an entirely unique challenge. One that only LSI could conquer.
By the Rules
- The initial objective: To create and open the world's first multi-level cybermall. To implant this "clicks-and-mortar" shopping area within the existing area that comprises the Kowloon Transportation Station. To integrate six separate shopping zones into the space without modifying the existing location of floors and ceilings — you see, the transit authority carries stringent safety regulations in regards to materials, finishes and merchandise. Finally, the Dickson CyberExpress had to be finished within nine months.
- The first step: To collaborate. Dickson Cyber Concepts, the high-tech branch of Hong Kong retailer Dickson Concepts International, drew up a blueprint to build a shopping mall that would compliment and support its online "e-tail" presence. The idea was to capitalize on the sales potential of targeting such high daily customer traffic. Remember, 2.2 million people use the Kowloon station each day. Due to the cooperation of integration designers and installers, architects, lighting experts and Web developers, Dickson CyberExpress incorporates leading technology, multiple entertainment platforms, electronic kiosks, cafes, themed areas and online shopping. A total of six different "product worlds" (distinctive store zones that carry specific kinds of merchandise) are designed to mirror the e-commerce features of the retailer's Web site. Visitors can actually touch and feel, listen for a while, and try it on for size.
Entertainment World
- The "Media Alley" walkway guides shoppers through a wide selection of CDs, videos, books and magazines, enhanced by several listening domes with video monitors and large 42" plasma screens. "Cyber Dancers" is an interactive video program that features robots on a plasma screen. Shoppers can morph their facial image onto the heads of the Cyber Dancers, select the desired music, and make the robot move around to the beats of the music.
E-World
- The place to go where audio, visual, mobile and handheld electronics and computer hardware are on display. "Electronic Alley" provides a visually stunning, high-energy passageway flanked by AMX Touch Panels and flat-screen monitors showing video images and multi-color lighting.
Fashion World
- This product world features the "Fiber Optic Lit Runway," where programmed color variations from luminous focal walls and computer graphic monitors entice shoppers to browse fashion brand apparel for men and women. An interactive "Dress Me Up" computer kiosk offers consumers the opportunity to match apparel, shoes and accessories.
Sports World
- Sports images are projected on the glass walls and surrounding floors, while a wide array of sports and fitness kiosks put consumers to the test.
Kiddy World
- Here, you'll find games and educational toys. A popular attraction is the "Cyberquarium," where children can create and adopt virtual cyber-fish that can be emailed to family members and friends worldwide. Twenty different fish heads, bodies and tails create a total of approximately 8,000 cyber-fish combinations.
iCosmetic World
- Positioned as a 21st century cybergarden, this area includes a virtual forest of huge futuristic trees (weighing 20 tons each) that display colorful twinkling lights and fiber optic flower buds, beckoning shoppers to the zone where technology and beauty become one. "Color Me" and "Manga" kiosks allow customers to copy or animate their faces onto a computer screen, then select different cosmetic looks. Results can be emailed to friends or printed on keepsake magazine covers.
- The entire cybermall space is fully cabled with a high-speed broadband infrastructure, networking 85 in-store Intranet workstations and multimedia kiosks. These same consumers can enjoy instant access to detailed information about numerous other products only available through online purchasing.
Where AMX Comes In
- The array of multimedia available to the public is operated and managed by a master audio/video control rack that links powerful optical fibers to eight separate satellite control rooms. Optical fiber was chosen for its ability to carry huge amounts of data very long distances, extremely fast, without compromising quality. Each satellite room is equipped with two more audio/video racks. That's seventeen total racks, with all two-way communication between the satellite rooms and AMX Control Systems being seamlessly handled by AMX AXB-NET Ethernet Gateways, which use TCP/IP protocol to distribute system control over a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) or Internet.
- Creating a stunning visual reference to the borderless nature of cyberspace, designers employed sound systems, projected images and theatrical lighting to deliver a regularly changing color palette throughout the immediate surroundings. The cybermall and surrounding transit station seamlessly change color and audio through the use of kinetic lighting and multimedia that excite the environment. Visitors never witness retail zones in exactly the same way more than once. Timing and control system scheduling to make all this happen effectively is essential. The AMX Axcent3 Control System monitors all automated functionality, including DVD control and playback, AutoPatch Matrix selection, Peavey MediaMatrix control, and power up/down of video projectors and plasma displays. The AMX system acts as the nerve center, bringing the components together for a full-featured, extremely interactive end user experience.
