Samsung KX: Collage Me!

My friends at Rare Volume in NYC invited me to handle the tech implementation and installation for this self-contained interactive app. Commissioned by their client Samsung, it was to be installed at the (then under-construction) Samsung KX space at Coal Drops Yard in London's Kings Cross.

Showcasing the flagship Samsung Galaxy S10 phone, the installation would enable users to take a selfie with a provided S10 device, and incorporate it as the centrepiece of a London-themed collage on a Samsung 4K LED, using the S10 as a touch interface.

I put together a 3-person team, consisting of a an ArtRabbit pal writing React Native UI, a friendly graphics wizard to write the big-screen display app, and me, to design, build and deploy the software solution. We created a custom kiosk-mode Android app which sent picture data, real-time path controls and various user information to a Windows Cinder app, which creates an appropriate colour scheme according to the selfie picture content and generates collage-style "tears" in the on-screen image, revealing sections of prepared imagery in real-time to fit with the scheme.

Once users have created their collage, the system prints out a copy on high-quality photographic paper and optionally sends them an electronic version to their email.

I architected the overall system, wrote the React Native networking code, created a client-testing harness in node.js providing a feature-complete mock back-end, integrated the Cinder app with Samsung's CRM APIs using a Python interface, and project-managed the development and delivery of the software. Alongside colleagues from Rare Volume I installed it on site, troubleshooting all technical aspects of the deployment, and working with them and the Samsung clients to manage several rounds of creative and functional changes to best fit the surroundings.