iNUI Studio adapts to the post-Covid era and redirects its contactless technology called AIRxTOUCH BAR 2 to autonomous order and purchase term.
by: Aurélie Mohr-Boob
photo: iNUI Studio
featured: Aurélien George, Product Owner at iNUI Studio
Imagine… any glass surface equipped with AIR TOUCH’s contactless technology becomes a digital interactive surface just like a computer screen, smartphone or tablet. Your finger comes close but never touches the surface. You click, scroll, type text in the air just like on a screen. It’s clean and sanitary. These days, the idea is appealing and could easily replace many digital kiosks with touch screens. This is precisely what iNUI Studio, creator of the AIR TOUCH technology and its related software, is aiming for. Avant-garde, healthy and even futuristic its followers will say.
The right product at the right time
After a few tests and years of research (an estimated cost of 1.2 million Euros, according to iNUI Studio), the 2nd generation of the system (born in 2014) called AIRxTOUCH BAR 2 was released in 2019 with an aim to improve the window display contactless market. “However, the Covid-19 crisis has gone through it, and has led to a before and after 9/11 in terms of security” predicts Aurélien George, Product Owner at iNUI Studio SA.
Hence this strategic turn taken by the company pushes the marketing of the system towards the showcase market to focus on the market of touch terminals present in all public places, with the objective of selling 1000 kiosk replacements by September. “Studies have shown that touch screens are real nests for bacteria, viruses and germs of all kinds. In addition, people do not always wash their hands between the moment they place an order by touching the screen and the moment they eat their sandwich with their fingers, of course.” he says with a proven business sense. All the more so as by avoiding contact, we also avoid the use of disinfectants, which are harmful to the environment and generate waste. A boulevard of opportunities seems to potentially open up for the Luxembourg company, which is aware of this and has no shortage of arguments, while at the same time wishing to make the Grand Duchy the first laboratory to use this new technology.
Keeping your hands free of contact
“It is the only contactless solution in the world capable of passing through double or triple-glazed windows, including armoured windows,” explains Aurélien George. How does it work? It’s a well-kept secret, but we can tell you that it’s an optical recognition system capable of detecting your finger up to 14 cm from the window. There are many uses for it… In addition to public spaces, service companies and shops such as travel agencies, banks, real estate agencies, online shops etc… will know how to use it. “There are other technologies such as Touchfoil (connected stickers), but they work less efficiently. Here, there are no wave emissions, Wi-Fi or bluetooth and no buzzing in the finger as with some smartphone screens, especially when they are charging”. iNUI Studio offers its customers the opportunity to acquire an application dedicated to its AIRxTOUCH BAR 2 system, but they can also develop it themselves. The company has partnered with Samsung since 2016 to supply screens, with Samsung co-financing iNUI Studio’s marketing representation costs in exchange. “The AIR TOUCH technology will be presented in all Samsung showrooms in Europe from the start of the new school year. We want to show that our product is also a tool to cut the transmission of germs, a global concern today. “It’s well known: in business, there are no risks, only opportunities!
“The AIR TOUCH technology will be presented in all Samsung showrooms in Europe from the start of the new school year.”
About iNUI Studio
iNUI Studio is a company created in Luxembourg in 2010 by Olivier Raulot. Located at the Technoport, it has been developing computer applications adapted to tactile, non tactile, holograms and augmented reality use as well as their technical development for over 10 years. Six years ago, Olivier Raulot imagined a contactless system, which allowed the user to do without the digital aspect, without doing without the screen. The first generation AIRxTOUCH BAR system was born. A system that the founder of iNUI Studio quickly patented in Europe and the USA. The first generation of the software was aimed at shop windows (Ikea group or the champagne Moët et Chandon were among the first customers) and generated more than €280,000 of turnover. iNUI Studio currently employs 6 employees and hopes to raise €4 million to support its growth.
