United Companies Virtual Showroom

A virtual shoowroom where United Companies can showcase their solutions. The project called for a showroom that scrolled left to right with the ability to display detailed information about each product. Additionally, two videos will be displayed with general background information on the United Companies.

Upon entering the virtual showroom, a video immediately launches with some general background information about the United Companies. This video can be skipped and replayed again at the viewer will. The video is an implementation of Macromedia’s FLV format. The videos are stored externally and loaded dynamically. The graphics which super-imposed over the video are cued up via Actionscript. Each graphic has a start and end time. This was a necessary implementation as FLVs tend to run at different frame rates on different computers. Testing proved that without Actionscript controls, the graphics could displayed either far ahead or far behind the desired cue point on the video.

Once the video has been viewed or skipped, the showroom is unlocked to scroll left-to-right and the hotspot within the showroom are activated.

The viewer scrolls the showroom with their mouse. By moving the mouse to the left side of the screen the viewer is shown more of the left of the showroom and vice-versa. This sense of play is to encourage the viewer to interact with the showroom.

For viewers who already know the name of the product they wish to view, a quick select list is always available. Selecting a product from this list will launch a window with more detailed information.

When a product is rolled over by the viewer, a thin yellow line traces the contour of the product. Additionally, a small box opens up with the name of the product. Clicking on the product launches the detail window.

Within the detail window, the viewer gets an indepth description of the selected product. Additionally, buttons are available for the viewer to download a PDF, contact a representation, or close the detail window and return to the virtual showroom. Most products include a 360-degree view of the the product. The viewer can either view the spinning product or click and drag the product to closely inspect all angles of the product.

The detailed information for the products is stored externally in an XML file. The frames for the 360-degree spins are stored externally as well. When a detail window is launched, the XML tells Flash what information to display, which frames to load, and where to place PDF buttons, if any. The XML also generates the list of products for the Quick Select List. A new product can be added or an old product can be removed simply by editing the XML.

See the project live at The United Companies website.