If you’ve walked past the massive FOCUS sign on the Thames and wondered what it was, we’ve got the answer.
It’s an Artifical Intelligence, interactive art piece. The installation’s interactive letters, spelling F-O-C-U-S, use artificial intelligence to interact with visitors and passers-by to discover and highlight their interests or passions.
Once determined, these passions are displayed across 540 LED video tiles embedded in the six meters high, 30m long structure, alongside a video edit of the experience uploaded to Facebook to share.
It took approximately 200 hours to train the AI programme to ‘understand’ and respond to users, and it is able to converse in four languages, with London the second stop on a five-leg European City tour. Standing at six-metres high, the 20-tonne structure took over 6,000 hours to fabricate.
“The Ford Focus has an extensive fan base, coming from nearly two million customers over 20 years,” said Andy Barratt, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director. “Those in London over one of its busiest weekends can celebrate the arrival of the 2018 Ford Focus by sharing their passions via our giant F-O-C-U-S letters.”
Ford will be supporting Pride Festival during the switch-on moment and throughout the weekend, displaying the Pride flag across the installation, as well as unfurling the St George’s flag on Saturday ahead of England’s quarterfinal World Cup fixture.
Edmund Rogers from Ford’s GLOBE group, an employee resource group for sexual orientation and gender identity commented, “Ford has a strong history of supporting LGBT rights, and Pride, so we’re very proud to be flying the flag in support of Pride 2018.”
The installation is open to the public until 8th July, supported by a range of new Focus vehicles, allowing people to explore the technology on offer in the new Ford Focus.
