After Dark

Nocturnal robots roaming Tate Britain

Nocturnal Robots Roaming Forbidden Spaces at Night

“After Dark” brought people together from all over the world to experience the forbidden pleasure of sneaking around Tate Britain, one of the world’s best-known art galleries, late at night.

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Technology to Encourage Exploration

The live broadcast event, held over five consecutive nights, enabled over 100,000 people to control and “see” through the eyes of one of four custom-built, video-streaming robots from a web browser.

While the robots allowed visitors to “see” and explore, four art experts provided live commentary over the video streams, creating another level of engagement and experience that would be impossible during daylight hours.

After Dark at Tate Britain

“After Dark” was pitched to Tate Britain in a response to the gallery’s call for ideas to engage new audiences in art. The winning commission also helped the gallery to position itself as a digital innovator.

The Ideal Robot Operator

Col. Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station, was brought on board to help kick-start the media campaign for the event.

 

The After Dark System

Bespoke simultaneous live online and real-world events, video and remote control broadcasting technology was created to realise “After Dark”.

Technology included:

  • real-time WebGL video colour grading pipeline (LUT Shading)
  • low latency global video streaming via WebRTC
  • high-load queuing systems
  • on location, low-cost HD video streaming
  • live production and moderation systems
  • remote control robotic character design and production
  • real-time persistent messaging and db platform