Photo booth innovator Apple Industries had three new products for visitors to Marvel at during the IAAPA Amusements Expo in Orlando.
Anything associated with Marvel Comics currently proves wildly popular and Apple’s new Marvel Adventure Lab photo booth had long lines waiting to try it out at the show.
“We came up with the idea to turn your photo into a comic book sketch and cover,” said Apple’s senior director of marketing, Francois De Freitas. “You can choose the story and select from many of Marvel’s characters such as Spiderman, Guardians of the Galaxy or Black Panther.
The process involves filtering and integrating the photo into the finished product and placing the guest into the comic with the voice of Iron Man’s AI system, J.A.R.V.I.S, guiding them through the process. One or two people at once can use the experience.
The Marvel Adventure Lab is currently a prototype but De Freitas revealed that Apple hopes to have the finished product ready to ship in quarter one next year. “We wanted to show the concept to our distributors and customers at IAAPA and we’re hoping to have it out with them in early 2019,” he said.
The second new release was the Photo Studio Prism, a smaller version of the company’s successful Photo Studio Deluxe. “It was too big for some clients and we responded to their feedback and released this version with its smaller footprint,” said De Freitas. “It features exactly the same software and experience, just in a more compact package.”
Print Buddy was the final new product on Apple’s booth. A self service kiosk powered entirely by an app, the company has high hopes that it will revolutionise photo printing.
“You can download the app for free, choose a photo from a social media account or stored on a phone, filter it, add overlays for birthdays or special events and even customise it with a background relevant to a particular location. You then print and pay from the phone. There’s no interaction with the unit itself or the screen. It then prints within seconds,” explained De Freitas. “It’s the only kiosk in the world that can be ran from start to finish with an app.”
“Instead of going to a specific location such as a pharmacy or a supermarket to print the photos, we would like to see them in bars and leisure destinations.”
All managed via a back office system where the operator can decide the price, overlays and other features, it accepts all payment methods and is customisable with promotional backgrounds and filters. “The app will list all the locations that the Print Buddy is available in your vicinity be it school, store, bar or amusement park. We’re also offering rentals for parties with customisation to specific events. This is looked after by a dedicated team who prepare the bespoke themes,” added De Freitas.
Image: (L-R) Scott Avery, COO and Francois De Freitas, senior director of marketing with the Marvel Adventure Lab.
