Experience the purest form of interaction
Our imagination is the most powerful tool. It allows us to expand our minds and explore new concepts and ideas. It can lead to new insights, innovations, and creations. And now we can use it to create new worlds. Introducing DEVENIR, an interactive installation that lets users build and control a digital world with the power of their minds.
This experiment opens up new possibilities for interacting with technology in the future, enabling easier and more direct access to machines and helping people to better train their minds, leading to a healthier way to interact online.
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Merkle Germany, Austria and Swizerland
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Digital Installation
User experience innovation
Experimental technologies
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UNREAL ENGINE 5
Emotiv EEG tracking headsets
3D modelling (C4D)
Websocket (Socket.io)
Node.js
Electron
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2022 at the Digital Festival Zürich. Switzerland
YOUR BRAINWAVES FUNCTION LIKE A GAME CONTROLLER IN UNREAL ENGINE.
Human-machine interaction redefined.
By exploring this technology, we arrived in a place unexpected, rethinking the way we deal with machines around us.
For the users, It feels like rediscovering the digital experience while reimagining a world where technology and people are in harmony.
Devenir Participants visiting Interaction Zurich 2023 after their first use.
Real-world applications.
With a wide range of applications in sight, we currently take this technology beyond DEVENIR and apply it to our clients.
Our system allows for direct control of technology by thoughts, creating new and immersive user experiences. In gaming, Brain-computer-Interfaces (BCIs) offer unprecedented immersion and control. In accessibility, BCIs allow for the control of assistive technology for individuals with disabilities.
BCIs also streamline work and communication by translating thought into commands. In the metaverse, BCIs allow for control of avatar movement and expression, manipulation of virtual objects, and enhanced social interactions. BCIs have limitless potential to enhance our lives and create transformational experiences.
Find out more about what we can do with an BCIs.
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EEG adds a fun surprise to entertainment, whether controlling characters in games or creating interactive installations.
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In a metaverse, BCIs could be used for things like controlling avatar movement and expression, navigating virtual spaces, and accessing and manipulating digital objects. For example, users could simply think about the direction they want to move and their avatar would respond accordingly, or they could use their thoughts to manipulate virtual objects, such as selecting and moving items within a virtual world.
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Our first next step is to link the user’s feelings and mental activity to generate original content using AI.
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Technology today can stress us out a lot.
From our research, we find that BCI systems require much deeper focus and attention. Used regularly it can improve concentration and focus, leading to a fitter mind. -
Control drones, cars, and wheelchairs. Currently, we experiment with ways to simplify and enhance driving experiences.
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The web must be for all.
People that might not take full use of it can be supported by new ways of interacting with computers or phones. -
What if users could find more relevant information about their tastes and preferences using an unbiased source, such as the brain? By defining certain parameters we can help them decypher their personal tastes and preferences and link it to services and products.
Concept
Dream.Do.Deliver.
That is our claim, we are a full-service agency that has ambitious dreams at its core.
To illustrate our vision DEVENIR is also divided into three parts.
Being a digital thought leader means exploring new territory. Expanding capabilities. Pushing the boundaries of what is technically possible. That's exactly what we do with DEVENIR: We connect data and emotions. And show that Merkle thinks digitally way beyond conventions.
With its creative and tech-savvy audience Zürich Digital Festival 2022 was the perfect stage for the opening night – making the Merkle booth a place you couldn't walk past without being part of the experience.
DREAM
BOOK ONE:
BIRTH
Working as a training stage, the players focus their minds to control a force field, compressing its energy to create an explosion of light, giving birth to matter and energy.
DO
BOOK TWO:
ENERGY & MATTER
On a rocky world, the players can lift gigantic boulders, and change the landscape of the planet.
After cracking the central floating rock, life is released into the world filling it with colors and organic elements.
DELIVER
BOOK THREE:
LIFE & HARMONY
Now the world is full of life and by the use of their minds, the players can grow structures such as plants and crystals and populate the planet with them.
Technology Breakdown.
The key technology for DEVENIR is the brain-computer interface (BCI) that lets up to three players move, shape, and grow objects on the screen by just thinking about it. By using pattern recognition, the system learns to recognize patterns of brain activity and translate them into commands on the screen.
The experience itself was created in the Unreal engine. Using Unreal Chaos Destruction on top helps make every run of the game a unique experience because the movement of objects is not scripted but defined by physics.
“It is an innovative way to use EEG tech. I could never have imagined such a thing was possible.”
Keynote speaker, user at Zürich Digital Festival
192 players on the first day.
1720
unique visitors.
45 new job applications.
Dozens of new leads and contacts.
“DEVENIR doesn’t feel like anything else digital – it’s almost like a meditation.”
First time user at Zürich Digital Festival
“It is actually hard to master it, and because of that is so fun. You really have to exercise your mind.”
Workshop attendee, user at Zürich Digital Festival
Where to play DEVENIR next
Oct 20-21 (2022)
Digital Festival Zurich
Zurich, CH
March 1
Dentsu/Merkle Office
Zurich, CH
May 17-19
Netcomm Italy
Milan, IT
June 18-22
Cannes Lions 2023 (Dentsu Beachhouse)
Cannes, FR
May 09 - 10
OMR 23 - THE FESTIVAL FOR THE DIGITAL UNIVERSE!
Hamburg Exhibition Center, GER