Retrobit: Blood, Sweat, Calculators, and Augmented Reality (AR)
The Retrobit multimedia exhibition of digitrons is a project that Brojka worked on for about 9 months and really broke a sweat. First of all, because we spent part of 2023 abnormally hot summer in a gallery without air conditioning or windows, but also because we had to conduct research on historical facts, create the exhibition concept, design the entire graphics layout, website, animations, AR content, and much more. We must not overlook the fact that the project initiators, Retro Info – Association for the Preservation of IT Heritage, brought a full load of exhibits that needed to be logically arranged in a gallery with limited space.
Digitron with a small “d”
The word “digitron” in the exhibition title is used as an eponym for all digital pocket calculators, and since the exhibition is set up in the Orsola City Gallery in Buje, the city where the Digitron factory produced the db 800, the first European digital pocket calculator in 1971, the word naturally imposed itself. However, as you can notice, it is written with a lowercase “d” because the exhibition showcases not only Digitron calculators but also other calculating machines from various historical periods.
Graphic layout
The graphic layout of the exhibition provides a historical overview of the development of calculators, from abacus to bulky and heavy mechanical and electromechanical ones, all the way to the most advanced digital calculators. The QR codes placed on the posters lead you to a website that offers a bunch of additional entertaining and educational information about calculators used in space missions, the importance of Digitron Factory for the development of the entire Buje region, the prices of calculators that used to cost almost as much as a new car, and more.
The illustrations and design evoke a touch of the past, yet still have a modern approach, as the goal was to make the exhibition appealing to both older and younger visitors.
Interactive contents
In addition to all that, at the exhibition, you can also enjoy AR content, that is, augmented reality. All the posters on the walls of the gallery have a specific element that, when scanned with a mobile phone or tablet, comes to life and shows a fun short film about a certain aspect of calculator history or provides additional informative content. Brojka’s programmers, animators, and 3D artists worked day and night for months to provide exhibition visitors with a top-notch augmented reality experience, and judging by the visitors’ reactions at the opening, they succeeded in doing so.
Try it! Scan this QR code with your mobile phone and see the original Digitron calculator in augmented reality:
Photo booth
But the biggest star of the exhibition is definitely the photo booth. Robert Šumaković, our prominent film scenographer, and his “sons” have built a large calculator inside which visitors can take photos. However, the photo booth also has a whole additional hidden dimension. By scanning the QR code in front of the photo booth, AR elements are activated, which become part of the photo and a lasting memory of the exhibition for visitors. You can see exactly what it looks like in the photos posted below.
For all of you who are interested, you can find more information, including information about the exhibition’s opening hours, on retrobit.net. For those of you who would like to take a photo of yourself inside a large calculator with AR elements, we have good news – the exhibition will be open until August 18, 2024, so you still have time to visit and experience everything described in this text. Oh, one more important thing: THE ENTRANCE TO THE EXHIBITION IS FREE!
So, everyone to Buje for the Retrobit multimedia exhibition of digitrons.
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