2013 Nissan Pathfinder Concept At The Chicago Auto Show (Photo: Business Wire)

Following the reveal of the 2013 Pathfinder Concept at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit last month, Omnicom digital agency Critical Mass ( www.criticalmass.com) is set to debut a fully immersive experience of the vehicle’s interior at the Chicago Auto Show on February 8-19—fueled by an innovative use of Microsoft’s Kinect for Windows technology.

2013 Nissan Pathfinder Concept at the Chicago Auto Show (Photo: Business Wire)

In creating the First Person Pathfinder Experience, Critical Mass sought to deliver a virtual tour of the car’s interior that highlights key features of the vehicle while emulating the interaction between customer and car in a showroom environment. The agency worked closely with UX design and engineering firm IdentityMine, who developed the human gesture enabled application experience leveraging their real-time 3D runtime engine and Kinect for Windows SDK. “This was a highly collaborative effort and an incredible opportunity to utilize Microsoft’s Kinect technology in an unprecedented way,” said Amanda Levy, Senior Vice President, Group Director, Critical Mass. “Kinect allows us to engage consumers, not just from a marketing, but a human level—giving them the ability to immerse themselves and explore a vehicle that isn’t actually on the show floor.”

Added Erich Marx, Director, Website & Social Media Marketing for Nissan North America, “People come to the Auto Show to be ‘wowed’—to touch, see and feel new products. While we do have a Pathfinder Concept, the interior has not yet been revealed. We worked closely with our partners to develop an innovative solution that leverages technology to bridge the gap between the concept and consumers’ experience of the car. We’re effectively giving this captive audience of auto enthusiasts the ability to virtually step inside a 2013 Pathfinder,” Marx said.