Panasonic Corporation of North America is pleased to announce the first U.S.-based museum implementation of LinkRay™ technology in a pilot program at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA. The museum utilizes LinkRay along with Panasonic interactive displays, projectors and video wall to provide an enhanced experience for museum-goers of all ages.
“The Petersen Automotive Museum is an iconic institution, with rare automobile exhibits set in a high-tech environment,” said Panasonic’s Professional Imaging & Visual Systems SVP John Baisley. “The museum was an ideal partner to work with to launch LinkRay since they already had our projectors and displays in place. They can now offer their visitors a unique, engaging museum experience, with options that go well beyond the exhibits on display.”
A new approach to digital signage, Panasonic’s LinkRay is a proprietary visible light communication technology, which enables smartphones with a dedicated app to access information emitted in signals from LED transmitters. Select Panasonic displays (SF1 series), as well as LED signboards, conventional posters backlit by LED lights, and LED spot lights, are able to transmit information to a mobile device with a LinkRay-enabled app installed. The LinkRay technology is embedded in the free Petersen Automotive Museum App, and enables access to a variety of activities from buying tickets to future exhibit special offers.
“The museum industry saw a 10% drop in attendance in 2015, and we all were looking for ways to improve our visitors’ experience,” said Adam Langsbard, Chief Marketing Officer of the Petersen Automotive Museum. “We turned to Panasonic, who was already our technology partner, to help us better engage with general audiences – especially millennials. Their new LinkRay technology was an exciting option because it was innovative and cost-effective. Plus, we could be the first museum to offer it in the U.S. – we jumped at that opportunity.”
LinkRay allows a large number of people to learn more about an exhibit or environment using their mobile phones. Information sent to the user can be web-based, audio or video files, and can even be translated into users’ native language. Content is accessed via LinkRay using the smartphone camera, not Bluetooth, and is available for viewing at a later time.
The Panasonic equipment currently installed at the Petersen Museum includes 47 Panasonic projectors (PT-RZ670, PT-DZ870, and PT-DZ780) and 16 professional displays (TH-98LQ70, TH-80LF50, TH-70LF50, TH-55SF1HU, and TH-55LF80).
LinkRay app is available for iPhone and Android devices.
