look·ing glass
ˈlo͝okiNG ˌɡlas/

noun: a mirror
    “she stared at her reflection in the looking glass”
modifier noun:  LookingGlass
    involve the opposite of what is expected
    “the LookingGlass Concierge system"

Mad Systems has taken their patent pending recognition systems even further with the LookingGlass Concierge. This unique patent pending system will change visitor experience at museums, theme parks, sports stadiums, fairgrounds, and a host of other venues.

The LookingGlass Concierge uses facial recognition or similar detection techniques to:

  • recognize visitors and allow for groups of visitors such as families, friends, school groups or clubs to be associated as a group
  • help members of a family or group to find each other using signage or personal devices, and even give progressive directions - including lost kids
  • help the owner of the venue to ensure that parents cannot leave without their kids and use the venue as a daycare center
  • help the owner and parents to ensure that kids do not leave with people other than their parents, caregivers, or members of the group they came in with
  • help visitors to retrieve pictures, videos, prizes and purchased merchandise
  • help with venue traffic control by telling visitors if there are quiet areas so that visitors can go see a particular exhibit or gallery (or indeed bar or food venue) that they have expressed an interest in 
  • help members to achieve the best use of the facility and their member privileges
  • help with ADA compliance
  • help with exhibit, show or ride control by allowing access to certain shows/events/objects based on time of day or other criteria
  • help VIP guests by providing recognition and/or additional privileges
  • help owners increase revenue
  • help create even more memorable memories
a great memory in the making
Group Visits

Families, friends, clubs, conference participants and students enter venues such as theme parks, museums, visitor centers, fairgrounds, stadiums and conference centers and often visit as a group. Keeping these groups together and finding members when they've separated can easily become an unnecessary distraction. In the case of conferences, finding someone you're hoping to meet is also never easy. 

The LookingGlass Concierge system uses facial recognition to recognize people. It then logs each member into the group either using pre-entry data submitted prior to their visit, on-site using a self-service kiosk, with assistance from a staff member, or by various other methods. Once done, the system can keep track of where the members of that group are, retrieve pictures, and collect merchandise that members of the group purchase or win.

The system will log people and group members as they move around the venue, and always log the last place they were seen. If a person or a group member wants to find other members of the group, they can walk up to a kiosk, retrieve information of where other members of the group are, how to get there, and have an option to leave a message for them (i.e. their next stop!) using the kiosk or even a personal device. This way, if mom and daughter want to do lunch while dad and son do that last ride, visitors can find each other when they want to get back together. Additional and ongoing directions may be provided as they walk around the venue via signage or a personal device.

When visitors want to leave the venue, the system can verify that all members of the group leave together, so that a child cannot leave with someone that is not a member of that group. Similarly, both parents could not exit, leaving their kids in the care of a museum, theme park or other venue depending on the age of the kids and the programming of the system. A visible or audible alarm could sound when a preprogrammed alarm condition exists such as when a child appears to be leaving with an unauthorized person, i.e. a person that was not logged as a member of the group. Furthermore, it could be programmed to avoid having a school group leave without the chaperones present.

Visitor Experience

LookingGlass Concierge aims to enhance visitor experience. One of the ways it can be configured to do so, is by associating all pictures taken throughout your visit and merchandise purchased or won to your group, so that those visitors can collect their memorabilia when convenient on their visit. This means that lines for purchasing pictures are vastly reduced, and privacy is secured. Visitors will be able to walk up to a kiosk, and their group pictures will just appear - no searches will be necessary. They could then select some or all, and have the option to pay for the images. They could acquire the pictures by storing it onto a media storage device such as a DVD or a memory stick, ‘text’ or email to themselves or others, or send a link to the media so that they could be viewed or retrieved by them or by authorized group members later. In fact, even if they left the venue, image recognition could in principle be used to give them access to the images from home later.

The rationale behind the system is that the experience should be easier for visitors if they are in a venue that uses some sort of recognition system. Guests will feel safe knowing their kids cannot leave without their guardians, that people can easily find each other when separated - especially if cell phone reception is poor, and that they don’t need to lug around that massive teddy bear they won! Imagine how inclined visitors will be to buy merchandise knowing they won't be stuck carrying it for the rest of the day.

When the venue is especially crowded, venue operators can prioritize visitors who have shown an interest in an exhibit or experience but haven’t yet had a chance to enjoy it themselves, by limiting those who have. This option can also be used to help guide visitors to areas that peak their interest but aren’t crowded. This system in essence helps spread visitors around the venue. For example, when a visitor has shown an interest in both the U-505 exhibit and Science Storms at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, they are pointed to go towards the U-505 exhibit first if the Science Storms exhibit is very busy.

If the entry fee or ticket allows visitors special entry to certain exhibits or includes lunch and a drink, this recognition system keeps track of these advantages. Similarly, if a visitor’s ticket limits their visit to a predetermined show time, this system recognizes that and will relay that information to the visitor when they visit the LookingGlass Concierge system, or they can choose to have this information on the timed event sent to their personal device.

With a concierge system such as this in place, a lot of things that are currently a chore would be made easier for visitors, and when combined with Mad’s patent pending recognition based media delivery, the LookingGlass system would create an unique integrated experience that is a generation beyond what has been seen up to now.