Contract furniture manufacturer Allsteel Inc. recently launched the KITS Collaborator, a free augmented reality iPad application allowing users to develop furniture layouts for any environment. Concurrently, the company is rolling out the “Where Would You Gather” competition, an opportunity to try out the new app. The contest is open for entries until September 14.
The competition is simple. Participants download the app, take a photo of a location, and then use the app to design a one-of-a-kind place where they would like to gather, incorporating Allsteel’s collaborative furnishings. Entries uploaded to the contest website, www.wherewouldyougather.com, are eligible to win an all-inclusive Grand Prize trip for two to NeoCon 2013 in Chicago, custom Gather furnishings including a Linger chair and a Scooch ottoman, and American Express gift cards.
The KITS Mobile app is surprisingly powerful for something so user-friendly. It engages the iPad’s camera, creating to-scale onscreen environments from the device’s snapshots, which can then be furnished with a simple swipe of the user’s finger. It also allows users to move Allsteel furnishings around within the space, change materials, color combinations and finishes, and produce unlimited high-resolution photo-realistic renderings within seconds. A series of easily accessed functions and controls allows users to add, remove, duplicate, change or group products together; or they can toggle between photo view, 3D view, plan view or elevation view. Selected furnishings are dragged and dropped into place, and the app uses a series of advanced algorithms to effectively determine the geometric ground plane, sizing each item appropriately as it is positioned in the environment. It’s a technological breakthrough that has been achieved without the need for a ‘marker’ traditionally required to accurately assess and calculate space dimensions.
Seeking to make all of its digital tools more effective and intuitive, Allsteel has recently re-launched its website, www.AllsteelOffice.com, as well. Boasting pared-down navigation and optimized browsing and search tools, the highly interactive site allows visitors to explore Allsteel’s impressive product portfolio and utilize planning tools like CAD and Revit data to incorporate favorites into their designs. Like KITS, the new site was intended to streamline the selection and design process for customers, increasing productivity and profitability. For more information on Allsteel and its complete digital toolkit, visit www.Allsteeloffice.com. +
Related Stories
| Sep 13, 2010
World's busiest land port also to be its greenest
A larger, more efficient, and supergreen border crossing facility is planned for the San Ysidro (Calif.) Port of Entry to better handle the more than 100,000 people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border there each day.
| Sep 13, 2010
Triple-LEED for Engineering Firm's HQ
With more than 250 LEED projects in the works, Enermodal Engineering is Canada's most prolific green building consulting firm. In 2007, with the firm outgrowing its home office in Kitchener, Ont., the decision was made go all out with a new green building. The goal: triple Platinum for New Construction, Commercial Interiors, and Existing Buildings: O&M.
| Sep 13, 2010
Stadium Scores Big with Cowboys' Fans
Jerry Jones, controversial billionaire owner of the Dallas Cowboys, wanted the team's new stadium in Arlington, Texas, to really amp up the fan experience. The organization spent $1.2 billion building a massive three-million-sf arena that seats 80,000 (with room for another 20,000) and has more than 300 private suites, some at field level-a first for an NFL stadium.
| Sep 13, 2010
'A Model for the Entire Industry'
How a university and its Building Team forged a relationship with 'the toughest building authority in the country' to bring a replacement hospital in early and under budget.
| Sep 13, 2010
Committed to the Core
How a forward-looking city government, a growth-minded university, a developer with vision, and a determined Building Team are breathing life into downtown Phoenix.
| Sep 13, 2010
Conquering a Mountain of Construction Challenges
Brutal winter weather, shortages of materials, escalating costs, occasional visits from the local bear population-all these were joys this Building Team experienced working a new resort high up in the Sierra Nevada.
| Sep 13, 2010
Data Centers Keeping Energy, Security in Check
Power consumption for data centers doubled from 2000 and 2006, and it is anticipated to double again by 2011, making these mission-critical facilities the nation's largest commercial user of electric power. With major technology companies investing heavily in new data centers, it's no wonder Building Teams see these mission-critical facilities as a golden opportunity, and why they are working hard to keep energy costs at data centers in check.
| Sep 13, 2010
3D Prototyping Goes Low-cost
Today’s less costly 3D color printers are attracting the attention of AEC firms looking to rapidly prototype designs and communicate design intent to clients.
| Aug 11, 2010
Cubellis principals reorganize as CI design
Former principals of Cubellis Inc. have formed ci design "with a stellar group of projects in the United States and internationally," states John Larsen who, with Richard Rankin and Christopher Ladd, is leading the architecture and planning firm.
| Aug 11, 2010
Leo A Daly changes name of STH, completes acquisition
LEO A DALY has changed the name of STH Architectural Group to the name of its parent company, Leo A Daly. STH was acquired in February 2009 as a strategic move to accelerate growth in its core business sectors and to strengthen the firm's presence in the Florida market.
