National PR: New Brunswick Tourism Viewfinder
TLDR; Thank you to Shawn King and NationalPR for the opportunity of a lifetime. I was asked to contribute to the Explore New Brunswick Campaign.
From a podcast episode to an experiential project is a first for me. For Dismissed, I was fortunate to have Shawn King reach out to share his story. He was interested in talking about leaving his role as head of an agency and the profound impact it had on him. Listen to his episode below.
After we spoke and the recording was off he asked “I had this idea, do you have a second?” The answer, as usual, was of course. Shawn then started to describe a tourist viewer that showed you the beach. From the city.
Like most things, I said “Yes, it’s entirely possible.” and I talked about the Canadian Tire Red Door project I worked on. “Like facetime on 90-inch TVs”.
“How would you make it feel like you were there?”
“Oh. I’d use either VR side-by-side, or 360°”
“That’s possible?”
“Absolutely”
“Ok, great!”
Then Shawn’s episode came out and I didn’t hear from him for six months.
The Shop
At this point, I’d opened my new shop. My last project, the rolling arcade cabinet for Secret Location, was done in my dining room and basement. It proved to me I desperately needed more dedicated space. Like I said, 6 months later and in my new shop, Shawn emailed “Hey remember that tourist viewer thing? We want to do it.” We being National PR and the Province of New Brunswick.
What followed was nearly six months of work. Working with my ever-present developer pal, Rod Hope, we started with figuring out what was possible. To display a video source in VR isn’t new but we needed it to not be interruptible and constant. Based on the build of the viewer head, we couldn’t really install a headset into it. We needed to agree on what kind of viewer they wanted.
They picked option #3.
The classic tower viewer you might find on the Empire State Building. I sourced a model so I could redesign the head to accommodate a display and electronics. I also recommended they purchase a real tower viewer’s base because they are designed to withstand the punishment of daily unsupervised use. They agreed and I found Hi-Spy Viewing, a company making their own viewers located in Cobourg. When I contacted them about purchasing only the base, they were curious but open to it. I showed up and admitted I didn’t need the viewer yoke but I really wanted the head bearing and rotation lock.
Metal Work
I am not a metal fabricator. I can grind and cut metal but I don’t know how to weld and it’s not really my thing. What I needed was a steel yoke to mount my headpiece into. It needed to strong enough and fit inside my 3D printed enclosure. Enter Jay. A metal worker who, when contacted and asked, replied “You want what?” A little time spent describing what I needed, then a shop visit so he could take some measurements and we agreed on a price and he was on it. The second thing I was tasked to fabricate were two 2′ by 4′ steel plates with tapped mounting holes I could attach the viewer base to. I wanted anyone interacting with this thing unable to break it. Or topple it. Or whatever, I needed it safe.
He took the base back to his shop and proceeded. I’d modelled the yoke to wrap around his bent steel bars. Again, everything with a mind to safety and strength.
While Jay was doing this, I worked on the headpiece. I cut 6 layers of 3/4″ plywood using a 3D printed template. Then cut a hole in 3 of them for the internal components. I used another 3D printed template for the cross-bar holes. I used a thick aluminum tube for the cross-bar. 2″ bearings in the yoke to allow it to rotate smoothly, as seen in the video above. I added steel curtain rod holders epoxied into the wooden holes for additional strength. The faceplate and viewing assembly were 3D printed. Everything was printed in PETG on my Elegoo Neptune 3 Max.
While this was going on, Rod was developing a system to allow us to switch videos. You read that correctly, videos. Initially I was working under the assumption we were displaying one video. So Rod was trying to figure out how to loop a video from YouTube, keep it full-screen, make sure it was 360°. Once we added videos, I had to figure out how they could change the view. What about the coin return lever? They agreed and I went about designing a strong lever. 3D printed shell over an aluminum bar cut in the general shape. With a steel bolt that passed into the viewer assembly and activated a switch. I used a standard limit switch on the inside. This way if it broke, I could easily replace. And it used a steel spring to snap it back into place. It was extremely satisfying to use.
As usual I used an ESP32 for the micro-controller. Between the lenses of the viewer, I included a proximity sensor to track use. The mounting of the display (Android device) took some work but by the time all was said and done, it looked and worked great.
Why use a mobile device? Free gimbal. If you’re looking at a 360° video, you want to be able to look around. When locked into position, the device knows when it is rotated and tilted. Like I said, it worked great.
I have so much more to write or discuss on this. Electronics, vinyl cutting, laser cutting, 3D modelling, 3D printing, sanding, priming, painting. Foam-carving to make rocks. I enlisted the help of my pal Andrew Tedford who could take on tasks I knew I had no time for.
When it was ready to go, we installed it in Union station. Every Sunday for 5 weeks, we’d show up at the end of the day, tear it all down, move it and put it all back together. It was a lot of work but truly satisfying.
Speaking of satisfying, I designed a magnetic mounting system for the faceplate so it could be removed at night. Problems like these are why I do what I do.
Here’s a full assembly of the head onto the yoke.