WATERTOWN, Mass. — For years, the Seattle Space Needle has relied on its view and prominence on the Seattle skyline to maintain its popularity, but recently it decided to rely on another sense, hands-on interaction and sound, to reinvent its image. To revive the structural icon, integrator Hornall Anderson (www.hadw.com) – creator of SkyQ’s innovative new Immersion Interactive Branding Experience – used the Holosonic^® Research Labs’ Audio Spotlight^® to provide targeted sound to maintain the otherwise quiet experience on the observation deck. The renovated space, which opened in April, has provided visitors a new experience, including sights and sounds from the surrounding city that can be enjoyed regardless of the view outdoors.

SkyQ, the new interactive display system on the observation deck, provides a unique perspective of the city - including short vignettes about the communities and a look at some of Seattle’s notable residents. Three of the new visitor stations use sound to provide insight into the surrounding city, and give visitors an intimate and personalized experience. Using a traditional speaker system in the observation deck would have been too loud for the quaint space, but nine small, thin (½” inch) Audio Spotlight systems allowed Hornall Anderson to place sound exactly where they wanted it, and without adding ambient noise. At one visitor station, “Voices of Seattle,” four Audio Spotlight speakers are used to tell the story of 27 local characters. These short vignettes allow visitors to hear what residents love about Seattle and it helps bring the community to life. Each speaker presents a different story to a different visitor at the station without noise overlap.

The Audio Spotlight is even being used to enhance visitors’ interaction with the view. At the Interactive Map Stations, visitors can zoom in on neighborhoods from Vancouver to Portland, with sound to introduce each neighborhood. For viewers visiting the Space Needle on a low-visibility day, the Time Lapse Panorama station replicates the famed view by showing the Seattle skyline over a 24-hour period. Visitors change the time of day by turning a knob on the interactive display. The image flips every 10th of a turn, and sound from the Audio Spotlight system alerts visitors of the change, because it is often difficult to perceive by eye.

“Using the Audio Spotlight, the Space Needle is able to deliver pinpointed sound for various exhibits throughout the observation deck without noise overlap,” said Joseph Pompei, president of Holosonic Research Labs, Inc. “Not only does it catch visitor’s attention, and make the display more useful, it does so without peripheral noise disturbing others and diminishing the peaceful environment of the gallery.”

About Holosonic Research Labs, Inc.

Holosonic Research Labs, Inc., a pioneer in directional acoustics, develops and manufactures the Audio Spotlight® directional sound system. Founded in 1999 by MIT graduate Dr. F. Joseph Pompei, Holosonics’ Audio Spotlight technology is used in a wide variety of applications including museums, libraries, offices, reception areas, retail displays, trade shows and retail kiosks. The world’s top organizations and companies such as Cisco, Motorola, the Smithsonian Institute, the Tate Modern and Time-Warner use the Audio Spotlight directional sound system to beam sound to their listeners…and preserve the quiet.™

Press inquiries: press@holosonics.com