Saudia Tech WDS 2024 – Riyadh
Saudia Tech WDS 2024 in Riyadh gave us two very different interactive problems to solve in one stand. On the lighting side, a field of triangle-shaped LED fixtures was programmed to run different light scenarios that followed the company's branding and the theme video. On the interaction side, we built a manual sliding screen on a table: visitors physically moved it over objects, and the system scanned what was underneath and displayed information about it. One was pure atmosphere, the other was a genuine piece of applied R&D.
Saudia Tech - WDS - 2024 - RiyadhDMX LED Triangles Triangles shape LED lights were programmed to show different light scenarios that follows the company branding the theme video.
Saudia Tech - WDS 24 - RiyadhManual Sliding Screen Customized sliding screen on a table that scans different objects as users move it manually on top of them and show information about each object.
Project Overview
- Client
- Saudia Tech
- Location
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Year
- 2024
- Event Type
- Corporate Technology Showcase
- Industry
- Aviation & Technology
- Application
- A Riyadh showcase combining DMX-controlled LED triangles that followed the brand's theme video with a manual sliding screen table that scans objects as visitors move it and displays information about each one.
- Solution
- Two complementary interactive builds — a branded DMX LED triangle light installation and a bespoke motorised scanning table that identifies objects as guests slide it across the surface.
- Technology
- DMX LED Lighting, Custom Sensor & Scanning Technology, Motorised Table Engineering, Custom Application Development, Immersive Content Creation
The Challenge & Objective
A technology showcase in Riyadh has to hit two notes at once — reinforce a corporate identity with authority, and give guests something they can operate themselves. These two features had opposite requirements, which made the build more interesting.
- Branding had to be legible in the lighting. The triangle fixtures could not be decorative only; the light scenarios needed to read as part of the Saudia Tech identity.
- The light had to follow the content. Scenarios were required to track the theme video rather than run as an independent loop, so the room felt composed rather than busy.
- The scanning table had to work by hand. Guests were going to move the sliding screen themselves, so detection had to be fast, forgiving and repeatable under imperfect user movement.
- Information had to be correct. Whatever the visitor placed under the screen, the system needed to return accurate, relevant content rather than a generic result.
- Two very different systems, one support model. Both features had to be maintainable by the stand team during a multi-day showcase without a technician on every shift.
Our Solution
We built each feature around how guests actually interact with it — one watched, one handled.
DMX LED triangles following the brand narrative
A set of triangle-shaped LED fixtures was installed across the stand and driven over DMX, with a set of programmed light scenarios that moved between them in sequence. Those scenarios were built to follow the company's branding language and to stay in step with the theme video, so the light supported the content instead of competing with it. Triangular geometry gives the field a distinctive rhythm that a standard wash of fixtures cannot.
A manual sliding screen that scans objects
The centrepiece interaction was a custom sliding screen assembly running in a table. Visitors pushed the screen manually across the surface, and as it passed over an object the system detected it and displayed the relevant information. Because the movement is user-driven, the interaction feels physical and immediate — guests are doing something rather than watching something, which is what makes it work with a waiting audience.
Forgiving detection for real user behaviour
The engineering focus was on tolerance. Visitors move at different speeds, start and stop mid-scan and do not always position the screen squarely over an object. The scanning system was designed and tuned so that ordinary, imperfect human movement still produces a clean result, because the experience fails the moment a guest has to try three times.
Content matched to recognised objects
Each recognised object mapped to its own information set, displayed on the screen as it passed. The content was produced to suit a short read time, since a visitor is standing and moving rather than sitting down, which meant clear hierarchy and minimal text per item.
Technology & Implementation
A lighting control build and a custom sensing build ran side by side, each engineered for the environment they were working in.
DMX control and programmed light scenarios
Every triangle fixture was individually addressed over DMX, and the scenarios were programmed in advance as discrete states that the show team could trigger rather than improvise. That gives the room a controlled, repeatable look at any point in the day and is the same approach we use across our [audio-visual and lighting](/services/audio-visual-lighting/) work in the region.
Custom sensor and scanning system
The scanning table required purpose-built sensing and a motorised or guided slide mechanism designed to move reliably along its travel. This is genuine custom development rather than an off-the-shelf product configured for the job, which is why it was run through our [R&D and engineering](/services/research-development/) process before the event.
Content pipeline and application layer
Detection results were mapped to content sets through a custom application layer, so adding or revising an object meant updating a mapping rather than rebuilding the system. Content was authored for short dwell times and rendered for the screen's actual viewing conditions in the stand.
Installation, calibration and handover in Riyadh
Both features were installed and calibrated on site in Riyadh, then rehearsed with the stand team before the showcase opened. Handover documentation and a defined re-arm procedure were provided so the team could run both systems confidently through the full programme.
Results & Impact
The stand offered two very different ways to engage, and both worked without technical intervention on the floor.
- The LED triangle field gave the space a brand-led atmosphere that changed through the day instead of remaining static.
- The sliding scanning screen gave guests a hands-on interaction that reliably produced a result on the first or second attempt.
- Both features were operable by the stand team on a schedule, with our engineers available rather than stationed.
- The scanning table became a reusable demonstration format for technology and product showcases where objects are the story.
Services Used on This Project
Event Technology by Location
Related Projects
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this Saudia Tech project and how Ultratec4D delivers similar event technology.
What is a manual sliding scanning screen?
It is a screen assembly that runs in a table and is moved by hand across the surface. As it passes over an object, the system detects it and displays the relevant information. In the Saudia Tech WDS 2024 project in Riyadh, visitors pushed the screen themselves, so the interaction was physical and immediate rather than a touch interface they were asked to learn.
How do you make a hand-operated scanner reliable with guests?
Guests move at different speeds, stop mid-scan and rarely position the sensor perfectly. The scanning system on this project was tuned for that tolerance — accepting ordinary imperfect movement and returning a clean result on the first or second attempt. It is custom development rather than a configured off-the-shelf product, which is why it went through our R&D process first.
What are DMX LED triangle fixtures used for?
Triangle-shaped LED fixtures driven over DMX give a light installation a distinctive geometry that a standard wash cannot match, because the shape itself becomes part of the pattern. On this project they were individually addressed and programmed into multiple light scenarios that followed the company's branding and the stand's theme video.
Do you build custom interactive installations for corporate showcases in Saudi Arabia?
Yes. Custom sensing, physical interactions, DMX lighting and bespoke content are all part of our custom R&D capability, and we deliver these builds in Riyadh, Jeddah and across the UAE. Share your concept and venue and we will tell you what is mechanically buildable within your timeline.
Have an idea that does not exist off the shelf?
Send us the concept, however early. We run custom R&D to find out what is mechanically buildable, then handle engineering, fabrication, content and on-site delivery in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Serving Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Riyadh, Jeddah and the wider GCC
