Santa Claus Office and Virtual Elf’s House

Challenge: Creating a multisensory experience and making it possible to meet Santa Claus far away from his home in Korvatunturi.

With the help of new technology, Santa Claus can really be in many places at the same time. The Box allows people to meet Santa Claus outside the Arctic Circle and even abroad.

In spring 2017, we created the Virtual Elf’s House, where visitors met Santa Claus in real time on Haaga-Helia’s Haaga campus. The Virtual Elf’s House had a direct connection to Rovaniemi, from where the real Santa Claus moved to the capital in real time with the help of augmented reality technology. Visitors to the house were able to discuss with Santa Claus, who answered all their questions. The Santa Claus Office felt genuine to the visitors, since the 270° environment, story, sounds and scents constituted a comprehensive experience. The Virtual Elf’s House combined conventional props and a 3D video-mapped live stream from the Arctic Circle.

The visit by Santa Claus was not a one-off. The virtual visit by Santa Claus aroused international interest all the way in Japan, and a similar meeting was arranged in Tampere with Lapland Hotels.

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Technical specifications of The Box’s Virtual Elf’s House: 

• At the moment, video-mapping is quickly gaining popularity in music shows, theatre and the advertising industry, for instance. Striving for immersion, the technical solution with its scents and sounds shakes the viewer’s perspectives.
• The two-way video connection with short delays was implemented utilising WebRTC technology, which is often used for video call services.
• Thanks to modern internet connections, the professional-quality video and sound produced at the Santa Claus Office was conveyed to the Haaga Box with up to 1080p 4 Mbps quality and a delay of a few tenths of a second. The video quality and latency were automatically adapted to the connection used, guaranteeing an uninterrupted connection between the Haaga Box and Santa Claus Office.

Result: An experimential space with augmented reality where visitors could meet Santa Claus and the elves in their authentic environment.