BRAND EXPERIENCE LAB: PARTNERS

Research Partners

We know how difficult it is to acquire the internal resources needed to continuously explore "what's next." Our network of universities keeps us abreast of the latest trends in experience - from tools to tactics to emerging themes - and works with us to review potentially impactful technologies that we find through our own research. Access to this research is available through our membership programs.

In addition, we have opportunities for sponsored research projects, working with you to address specific experience needs. So if you are looking for the solution to a specific technology issue as it relates to advertising and storytelling, we can be your partners to facilitate those research opportunities. Please contact David Polinchock for additional details.

Our current university partners include:

Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University:

Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) at CMU
We are currently working with the ETC to help commercialize a number of cutting edge technologies that they have developed in their labs. From truly interactive theatre and game experiences, to audioanimatronic characters that actually have a conversation with you, the Entertainment Technology Center is at the forefront of the next generation of storytelling tools.

In addition, the ETC is always seeking partners for sponsored research projects, so if you are looking for the solution to a specific technology issue as it relates to advertising and storytelling, they are the top facility in the country. Please contact David Polinchock for additional details.

Below we're showcasing some great work from Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center! Feel free to download these videos - they'll give you a sense of what audiences think about the ETC's Audience Interactive technology.

	The audience leans left and right to direct the onscreen motion of some fireman as they rush to save babies in trouble. Click here to view (3.75MB Quicktime)

	Having fun interacting with each other as well as an onscreen game using Magic Mirror. Click here to view (3.95MB Quicktime)

	Painting a colorful collage with laser pointers. Click here to view (5.4MB Quicktime)

The New York University Center for Advanced Technology:

Center for Advanced Technology at NYU

The New York University Center for Advanced Technology was founded in 1993 with the goal of accelerating the development and dissemination of multimedia technologies and applications. Designated one of fifteen New York State Centers for Advanced Technology by the New York State Office of Science, Technology & Academic Research, the Center uses its multimedia technology expertise to augment the efforts of faculty, staff, and researchers working in new media. The Center is a focal point for partnerships among NYU faculty, the wider academic community, and leading members of industry. Working with companies and organizations in information technologies, finance, education, entertainment, and communications, the Center develops multimedia technologies, tools, services, and products.

The New York University Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) plays a unique role in the life of the university. It is an umbrella for three blocks of activities: (1) it facilitates activities in several research organizations; (2) it provides a platform for discussions regarding technology and its impact, and (3) it promotes economic development in the greater New York area.

The Institute for Simulation & Training at University of Central Florida:

Media Convergence Lab at UCF
The Institute for Simulation and Training is an internationally recognized research institute that focuses on advancing modeling and simulation technology and increasing our understanding of simulation's role in training and education. Founded in 1982 as a research unit of the University of Central Florida, the institute provides a wide range of research and information services for the modeling, simulation and training community.

With each application, from learning, training or entertainment we are inventing new ways of making memories that will last a lifetime. The Media Convergence Laboratory is about making creative leaps in experiential media innovation. Through interdisciplinary research and cross-industry applications of core multi-sensory simulation technology our focus is to positively impact all sectors of society.

Our vision is to melt the boundaries between reality and the imagination by creating compelling, interactive, simulated group experiences that spark the imagination, enlighten the mind, immerse the body and engage the spirit.

Both our research process and results are based on playful exploration and taking a fresh perspective on how we use, create and distribute new media. As new technical capabilities evolve, new creative possibilities are sparked and new economical models are devised and applied to motivate innovation.

The Institute for Creative Technologies at USC:

Institute of Creative Technologies at USC
The goal of the ICT is the creation of the Experience Learning System (ELS), which provides the ability to learn through active, as opposed to passive, systems. ICT will create the ELS by harnessing creative talent from the entertainment and game development industries and leading edge research on simulation technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Graphics and Sound. In addition to specific military training tasks, the ELS will have applications for a broad range of educational initiatives.

The entertainment industry brings expertise in story, character, visual effects, gaming and production to the ELS. In addition the computer science community brings innovation in networking, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality technology. The ICT also works closely with a number of USC's schools, including the School of Cinema-TV, the School of Engineering and its Information Sciences Institute (ISI) and Integrated Media Systems Center (IMSC), and the Annenberg School of Communication.

The ICT opened its facility and demonstrated initial work on components of the Experience Learning System in October, 2000. Continued progress on project elements of the ELS were demonstrated in November, 2001.

Marketing and Media R&D:

These strategic relationships have allowed us to form the industry's premiere marketing & media R&D facility, harnessing fresh-from-the-lab, category-defying research, methodologies, technologies and tools. Clients that work with Brand Experience Lab can actually become research participants themselves, with the ability to explore, create, and test proprietary experiences specifically designed to meet their marketing objectives. At the Brand Experience Lab offices in SOHO, you can see examples of the latest methodologies and technologies, as well as recent applied research projects from the universities.

Our access to this incredible pool of frontrunners in exploration and research helps realize our mission to reshape companies, goods and services in the most compelling, relevant, and authentic manner possible. We are constantly on the lookout for new and interesting partners who defy convention and ignite imagination.