Committed to sustainable design

Gooii’s Environmental Management System (EMS) has been certified by Green Small Business. 

As technology drives global progress, its impact on the environment must be minimised. It is essential for technology businesses to consider the carbon emissions of network infrastructures and the overall energy consumption of the whole internet ecosystem. 

Companies that are paving the way for innovation within the tech industry must consider how they can reduce their environmental impact and ensure energy-efficient design and ethical supply chains. 

How Gooii will reduce its environmental impact

We are committed to building energy-efficient digital solutions in order to minimise their emissions. We are committed to reducing the impact of our projects and are always considering the environment when purchasing equipment. 

Amongst many other commitments, we will:

• Review the environmental performance of the providers we use for web hosting and other cloud services.
• Ensure we only use providers using 100% renewable-powered data centres with a clear commitment to carbon net zero.
• Adopt and implement a data retention policy to avoid unnecessary data storage. 

We’re continually improving our environmental performance as an integral part of our organisational strategy and operating methods, with regular review points. We’re looking forward to finding new ways to make Gooii a better, greener business. 

Madrí Art Experience: An in-store activity to promote Madrí Excepcional beer to British shoppers

In May, commerce marketers The Mars Agency asked Gooii to develop a cross-platform art experience to promote Madrí Excepcional Spanish lager, which is made in collaboration with Molson Coors. The solution needed to enable supermarket shoppers to create digital artwork using a touch-screen PC or tablet.

The cross-platform experience that we designed enables shoppers in Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco stores across the UK to create digital artwork. They’re able to use a palette inspired by the colours, patterns and shapes of Madrí’s iconic branding.

Hoping to immerse the shopper in the vibrancy, warmth and spirit of Madrid, customers can create unique street art scenes. Consequently, they should be able to imagine themselves walking the streets of Madrid with a bottle of Madrí. The art experience brings the cultural energy of Madrid to supermarket aisles and inspires shoppers to buy the Madrí beer on the nearby shelves.

It creates a memorable, immersive shopping experience for Madrí’s customers and aims to increase footfall around their in-store displays. 

The new initiative comes after Madrí Excepcional’s recent marketing campaign. It celebrated “El alma de Madrid” or “The Soul of Madrid”, and saw street art installations in Manchester, London and Birmingham. 

Madrí Excepcional marketing: how the in-store digital solution works

The Mars Agency asked us to create a fast and easy-to-use experience that would work on a touch-screen PC or iPad without any special plugins or browsers. 

Using an interface that works with both touch and mouse controls, shoppers can drag and drop different graphics onto a digital canvas to create their very own street art scenes. The artwork can then be saved and shared to social media.

To accommodate the Madrí Art Experience running on touch-screen PCs and iPads, we used a cross-platform coding language that allowed us to target both mobile and desktop devices. 

Screen shots of the Madrí Excepcional’s marketing experience:

Key project deliverables 

• Touch-screen PC and iPad deployment that works without any special plugins or browsers
• A drag-and-drop touch-screen and mouse interface coded to work across different platforms
• Flexible image sharing to social media and via email

How could this drag-and-drop cross-platform marketing experience be used in other industries?

Gooii’s technologies could be used for other drinks brands wanting to create digital experiences that enable customers to create their own art pieces using public computers or tablets. Clothing and fashion retailers as well as food companies could also adopt it. Anything where users are able to create works of digital art. It could also be used in art galleries for exhibitions and installations, as well as games and children’s activities.

If you’re interested in using Gooii’s technologies to develop your consumer marketing experience, please get in touch. 

Article by
Phil Hasted

Phil is Director at Gooii and has worked in the design and media industries for more than 20 years. Gooii is an app and web development agency specialising in mobile ticketing, Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality as well as apps and websites for commercial, education and heritage.

Follow Phil on LinkedIn

App development: a wireless app-controlled smoke detector system for warehouses 

Project summary

The Fire Beam BLUE app enables engineers to control conventional beam detectors using an app on an iPhone, iPad or Android phone or tablet. The Fire Beam is an optical beam smoke detector that’s often used in warehouses or buildings with high ceilings. Once installed, the location of the beam detectors makes them very difficult to reach. The new Fire Beam BLUE app eliminates this restriction by connecting with a smoke detector via Bluetooth, which enables engineers to set up and configure the device (similar to how we connect to NEST and Hive thermostats using ‘smart home apps’). 

The smoke detector sends an infrared beam to a prism at the opposite end of a room. If the beam is broken by smoke, it triggers a fire alarm, which can be managed via the app.

Fire Beam BLUE is the only smoke detector of its kind to have an app controller. Previously, commissioning engineers would need to use a cherry picker to set up and make any adjustments via a hard-wired unit. With Fire Beam BLUE this can be done entirely using the app, which was designed and developed in-house at Gooii. 

The client

The Fire Beam Company makes optical smoke detectors for engineers to install, configure and operate in large commercial buildings such as warehouses. 

The app development brief

The client asked us to create an app to replace the existing wired method of connecting to the smoke detector. They wanted to be able to set up and commission the Fire Beam unit entirely via an app, which would modernise the installation and operation of the system. Engineers also needed to be able to control, customise and manage the detectors via the app.

It was essential for us to retain the wired controller’s incredibly complex functions. The engineers were very familiar with the old system, so we had to ensure that moving to an app wouldn’t be too much of a big departure. This meant that the app’s user experience (UX) was key as we had to innovate and provide familiarity. 

Key Gooii deliverables:

• An app that connects to new Bluetooth hardware and firmware built by Touché Technology.
• A user-friendly interface that graphically represents the status of the Fire Beam device. 

Project status

The Fire Beam BLUE app has been launched and is in use. We’re developing new updates, including the ability to passcode the Fire Beam unit from within the app to provide additional security.

Project partners and consultants

We worked for consultants Converge PD Ltd, which managed the process and specified the requirements for Fire Beam.

Jon Ben, Director at ConvergePD Ltd, said: “ConvergePD Ltd provides a complete product development service to its clients in life-safety and industrial product markets. To be able to succeed, we partner with high quality and reliable specialist suppliers in the fields of electronics and software development. 

“We have been working closely with Gooii over the last 2-3 years on one such project and relied upon their deep experience and knowledge in app development to produce an app for multiple platforms that has complex functionality, engaging design and high reliability. 

“For future app development and associated support, we would not hesitate to approach Gooii.”

We also worked with Touché Technology who developed the bluetooth hardware. Additionally, Touché helped us learn and understand the new firmware they developed for Fire Beam BLUE.

Our app development procees for the Fire Beam BLUE using Bluetooth technology

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of connected devices and the technology that enables them to communicate. We connect our apps to physical devices via Bluetooth, NFC or WiFi.

We used Bluetooth technology to wirelessly connect the app to the Fire Beam BLUE device. 

In order to communicate with the device, we had to learn the new Bluetooth protocols. This included reading the device and displaying its values in the app, sending data back to the device, adjusting its settings and managing its smoke alarms.

Benefits of Fire Beam BLUE and app-controlled smoke detectors

No need for WiFi or mobile networks 

One of the key benefits is the use of Bluetooth to connect directly to the units. This means engineers don’t have to worry about using wifi or mobile networks, which can be particularly tricky in retail and warehouse environments. Commissioning is now faster and easier than ever before as it can be done on the ground and not using a wired unit.

User-friendly app interface

The Fire Beam BLUE app has a more user-friendly interface compared to the wired unit. It had a small black and white LCD screen that could only display alphanumeric characters and had a limited number of buttons. This has been replaced by a full colour and intuitive graphical user interface.

No special hardware required

Without an app, any changes that are needed after installation require an engineer to use a cherry picker to get to the units. This used to be a very complex and time-consuming process. Now the device can be commissioned at any time and directly from the ground.

One app to control all detectors

Previously, engineers had a different controller for every smoke detector. The Fire Beam BLUE enables them to control and commission every single detector from one app. This is achieved by the Fire Beam BLUE app searching for all compatible devices in the location.

Save on installation time

Large warehouses have multiple smoke detectors and controllers. With the Fire Beam BLUE app, engineers no longer need to spend time accessing hard to reach controllers. We’re also able to update the app to provide new features and improvements without the need to update the hardware. Additionally, when new hardware is released we can ensure all Fire Beam BLUE devices within the range are supported by the one app.

How to use app-controlled electronic devices in your industry

Using this Bluetooth technology, Gooii is able to develop apps for any electronic device that is controlled manually, via remote control or a built-in control. Gooii can build bespoke solutions that allow companies and end users to manage and control their devices remotely using an iOS or Android app. 

These can be developed for a variety of industries. The technology can be adapted to control thermostats, boilers and heating equipment, kitchen appliances, security devices and audio equipment. The possibilities are endless. We’re proud to be at the forefront of developing the Internet of Things devices and are constantly working hard to develop new technologies that enable business to operate more efficiently. 

If you’d like to discuss an app-controlled device for your business, please get in touch. Head to our app webpage to discover more of our app development projects. 

An in-store Augmented Reality retail experience to promote Coors beer in British supermarkets

When commerce marketers The Mars Agency asked us to design the solution for the multinational drinks brand Molson Coors, we were excited to develop our creative ideas for an Extended Reality (XR) experience. 

Immersive, interactive customer experiences using Augmented Reality

The cross-platform experience we designed enables shoppers to virtually try on ski clothes. It is situated in 25 Sainsbury’s and over 50 Tesco stores across the UK. 

Customers can photos of themselves wearing ski jackets, hats and goggles. They can then imagine themselves hitting the ski slopes with a ‘mountain cold’ Coors beer in hand. 

‘Coors AR’ was designed to create a memorable, immersive shopping experience for Coors’ customers. It also needed to increase footfall around their in-store displays. 

Supermarket AR experiences using touch-screen PCs and iPads

The Mars Agency asked us to create a fast and easy-to-use experience that would work on a touch-screen PC and an iPad without any special plugins or browsers. Shoppers also needed to be able to share the images to their social media pages, increasing the reach of the concept. 

The pathway through the app: The photo booth, the countdown after the camera button is pressed and the image ready for sharing.

How we developed a retail solution using WebXR

In order to run the experience on both Windows PC and Apple iPad, we used Web-Based Extended Reality (‘WebAR’ or ‘WebXR’) technologies. This allows shoppers to interact with the AR experience using a mobile or web browser, without the need for an app or any special equipment. 

Gooii developed ‘Coors AR’ entirely in-house using WebXR technology. Unlike other AR and VR experiences, the customer doesn’t need to download an app or wear a headset. A camera scans their face and brings it into a web browser. They then ‘try on’ hats, jackets, glasses and ski goggles in full AR. All apparel was 3D modelled in house and features Coors’ branding.

Using device-sharing technology, the photos can be sent to any eligible app installed on your device. This can include Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and can also be shared via email.

Different outfits as they’d be seen on screen:

Key project deliverables 

• Touch-screen PC and iPad deployment that works without any special plugins or browsers
• An Augmented Reality app that scans faces and overlays them with images of clothing
• 3D modelling of ski apparel
• Flexible image sharing to social media and via email

How could WebXR technology be used in other industries?

Any retailer or person with a phone, tablet or computer can use WebXR solutions, which makes it a very accessible marketing tool. It enables retailers to create better in-store experiences by matching rising consumer expectations and making physical shopping more digital. It drives footfall and creates engaging, personalised experiences. These can then create new reasons for consumers to shop in-store rather than online. 

This WebXR technology could be used by any brands selling items that can be tried on or viewed ahead of purchase (or just for fun). This could be other drinks brands, clothing and fashion retailers, make-up companies – the list is endless. 

Almost any experiences that use app-based AR, VR or Mixed Reality can use a web browser or phone instead. Shopping and entertainment experiences that use traditional AR and VR with headsets and apps can benefit from this technology. This could also include those that are used in the culture and heritage sector, even theme parks. WebAR and XR can be used as an accompanying piece to an attraction, or as the main app and attraction itself.

If you’re interested in using WebXR, AR, VR and Mixed Reality to develop your retail experience, please get in touch. 

Article by
Phil Hasted

Phil is a Director at Gooii and has worked in the design and media industries for more than 20 years. Gooii is an app and web development agency specialising in mobile ticketing, Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality as well as apps and websites for commercial, education and heritage.

Learn how Gooii works collaboratively with its clients to deliver successful websites that help organisations meet their business objectives

A well-functioning and beautiful website can be one of your business’s most powerful marketing tools. Not only are websites an insight into how your business operates, they enable you to reach thousands of potential customers.

Bespoke websites are sites that have been designed and built from scratch by a website developer for a specific business or purpose. Many businesses may be tempted to create websites using pre-designed templates with generic layouts, but crafting a bespoke website to suit your clients’ exact needs can be much more beneficial for your business.

In this blog post, we speak to one of Gooii’s website developers and directors, Nicky Johnson, who has developed outstanding websites for our clients including the RAF, Manx National Heritage Library & Archives and the The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.

She will outline the step-by-step website design process and explain how our team of expert developers builds bespoke sites for our clients. She’ll show you how we work together to create a functional and beautiful website that meets the needs of your target audience and increases your business sales or enquiries.

10 steps to our website design process

1. The client meeting

Understanding your vision and business objectives

The initial client meeting is one of the most important stages of a website design project. Building a website is a collaborative process and requires the developer and client to work closely together.

During the first meeting, it’s important to go back to basics so that we can really understand what your website needs to deliver. We’ll ask lots of questions and listen to your requirements. It will help us to set your expectations of the kind of website that will be delivered at the end of the project.

Some of the questions we might ask are:

“What is the site’s functionality?”

What do you want the website to do? How does it need to be structured? Does it need to have an e-commerce function? Are there any other platforms it needs to integrate with?

The website we designed for the Royal Armouries

A good example of a website that has many different functions is one we developed for The Royal Armouries. They required a website that was fit for their great history but was also focused on modern web users and devices. Utilising a mobile-first approach, Gooii designed and coded the site entirely in-house. Features included a full content management system, events planner and ticket purchasing system, blog, advanced search filtering and seamless integration with ‘Collections Online’, which we also developed.

“How do you want your website to look and feel?”

This will inform the ‘design brief’. If you have examples of other sites you like the look of, we can use those as inspiration. At this stage we’d also require your brand guidelines to ensure the design fits in with any design rules, colours and fonts.

“Who is the target audience?”

How will your target audience be accessing the site? Will it predominantly be on a phone, desktop or tablet?

“What is the budget?”

This is an important question that will help us ascertain the kind of solution that we’ll use to create your website and whether we can break the project into phases to meet any budget restrictions.

2. Design Brief

Your website should be an online representation of your business and it’s essential that it fits with your existing branding. We’ll look at your colour palette, typography, imagery, and overall style. If you’re happy with your branding, we’ll have this in mind at every stage of the design process. If you’d like it updating, we have plenty of experience in developing branding for our clients. For the charity Volunteer Global Health, we designed a new logo alongside a new website.

The website we designed for Volunteer Global Health

3. Research

It’s important for us to understand where your business sits within your industry and we’ll look at other businesses’ websites to ascertain what works and what doesn’t. We’ll undertake extensive research, which will include competitor analysis, industry trends and user expectations when it comes to navigation, content, design and functionality.

4. Project Specification

We’ll work out an agreed project specification that is designed to meet your design brief and budget. We’ll decide if you require a bespoke site or a customised WordPress site (again dependent on budget and functionality) and explore different templates and whether they need to be customised.

An example of a website wireframe

Before delving into the visual design, for larger, bespoke projects we often provide the client with wireframes, which are illustrations that outline how the content will be arranged. This enables the client to get a feel for how the website will function, as well as the ‘user journey’, which is to do with how their target audience will navigate their website. These steps ensure that the website’s functionality and user experience are well thought-out before investing time in detailed design work.

These concepts are then signed off before we progress to the design phase.

How we communicate with our clients during the website design process

An example of how we use Basecamp for our clients

Project management and all project communication is conducted through Basecamp. Various project phases will have been agreed in the specification and will coincide with payment milestones.

5. Visual design stage

This is when we start transforming concepts into a real design. We’ll carefully craft a bespoke website that aligns with your existing branding. But it’s crucial that we design a beautiful interface that is also going to function properly.

We’ll present a variety of different homepage designs (the number of designs is dependent on budget). These designs will be amended based on your feedback and our advice, until a desired solution is reached. We’ll also work on internal page templates. These will then be signed off by the client as we progress.

Whilst we’re working with you to develop the design, we’ll set up a ‘staging site’, which will look identical to the live website and will enable us to test changes and fix bugs during the build process.

6. Front-end development and bespoke coding

Our expert coders will begin constructing templates and bespoke functionality in WordPress. This involves writing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code to transform the design into a functional website.

They will develop bespoke coding that ensures your website is responsive and accessible on a variety of devices. We’ll also look at cross-browser compatibility, which means your website will be compatible for a variety of different internet browsers including Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Safari.

The website we designed for Patrick Goff

The website we designed for award-winning artist Patrick Goff had to adapt to mobiles, tablets and desktop so that his stunning artwork could be displayed across a range of devices.

Integrating databases into your website

If your organisation has a database or collection that needs integrating, we’ll request a sample that will enable us to seamlessly include it in the website. If we are developing a new database, work will begin on that during the front-end development.

7. Populating the website with content

It will be up to you to supply or generate content for your website. We’ll slot this into the design so that you can see your website come to life with your business information and tone of voice. If you’re still working on it, we’ll use latin text as a place holder.

8. Test, test and test again

Stringent testing takes place throughout the life of the project. Rigorous website testing and quality assurance to fix any bugs or usability concerns are integral steps before we ‘go live’ with your site. Clients sometimes carry out their own focus group testing as well.

Before we launch the site, we often go through an extensive live beta phase, which enables genuine real-world testing. We invite users to give feedback so that we can improve it.

9. Website launch day

Once all content is in place and the client is happy, the site is launched.

10. Training

We provide training for you to manage your website when we’ve finished the design.

WordPress and our bespoke websites are fantastic solutions for business owners who wish to be self-sufficient. Full training is provided to enable you to update your website with confidence. The WordPress platform has lots of fantastic standard plugins that can be used to give users advanced features at a low cost – we also install Yoast for search engine optimisation.

If your organisation requires us to update your site on a regular basis, we are happy to provide a bespoke quotation based on your individual requirements.

Our team of web developers and designers work collaboratively with clients to produce great-performing and eye-catching websites. The simple 10-step website design process enables us to immerse ourselves in your brand, taking time to get to know your business at the beginning, as well as supporting you in the long-term.

Get in touch with our team to enquire about a new website for your organisation.

Digital receipts app uses NFC technology to reduce retail’s environmental impact

A cloud-based app for retailers to seamlessly transfer customer receipts to mobile phones

A digital receipts app is a common replacement for the paper receipts given in store.

Project summary

NOUMI was developed for retailers to provide a contactless method of transferring receipts directly to a customer’s phone. 

The main aims of the NOUMI app were to: 

• Reduce the environmental impact of paper receipts 
• Reduce the millions of pounds retailers spend on receipts
• Ensure customers never lose a receipt again.

The client

NOUMI was set up by Shakir Lincoln from BP Digital, who saw a gap in the market for this technology.

The brief

Gooii was asked to develop a contactless method of collecting receipts, using the latest app and Near-Field Communication (NFC) technologies. The app also needed to be as simple and fast as possible for users, enhancing the User Experience (UX) for high-street consumers. 

Key Gooii deliverables:

• NOUMI app for iPhone and Android phones
• Cloud-based system for receipt storage 
• A backend system allowing NOUMI to view and manage the product we built for them.

Project status

Working with Touché Technology, which developed the NFC hardware, the app is currently in the ‘proof-of-concept’ and testing stage and has been passed to NOUMI for commercialisation. Developed as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), the app was delivered to NOUMI to gain business investment. NOUMI were successful in achieving their goal and are now taking the project forward.

Project partners

We worked with Touché Technology to develop a connected product from concept-to-market. This collaboration enabled us to combine Gooii’s creative and app development skills, with Touché’s electronics and firmware expertise.

We partner with Touché Technology on projects that involve the Internet of Things (IoT), which is the network of connected devices and the technology that enables communication between devices and the cloud. With Touché, this predominantly involves connecting our apps to their physical devices either via bluetooth or NFC, but could also include wifi. Gooii has developed a number of projects with Touché Technology, including the Firebeam Blue app.

Phil Hasted, Director at Gooii, said: “In today’s world, consumers expect more and more products to be ‘connected’, allowing them to control and monitor everything via the internet. To achieve this, products that were once completely standalone now include wireless connectivity and can be accompanied by a mobile app and cloud backend system. Developing cloud technology can be daunting for many companies that are more used to working in isolated situations. This is where Gooii and Touché come in – we have the knowledge, experience and know-how to make the process much easier and quicker.”

How we developed the NOUMI digital receipts app

In addition to the design and development stages that come as standard with Gooii, we worked hard to streamline the app to make the process as fast and as simple as making a contactless payment. 

The translation of printer code was key to the development. Our in-house developers reverse engineered and learnt the printer code, so that it could be sent to the phone and translated and represented visually by the NOUMI app.

What is printer code?

In technical terms, printer code is what a computer sends to a printer to tell it what to print, in this case, a receipt. We used ‘Epson Standard Code for Printers‘ (ESC/POS) to translate the code sent to a till receipt printer otherwise known as an EPOS printer. 

How do you send receipts to an app instead of a printer?

To put it simply, we intercept the printer code sent from the till via a Near-Field Communication (NFC) device  (more on this later). Then instead of printing the receipt using a traditional till receipt printer, we send this to the NOUMI app – think of it as being the same action as making a contactless payment, except instead you’re collecting a receipt. We reverse engineer the code, which is then compiled and displayed in the app as a virtual representation of a physical receipt. This is made up of text, images, barcodes and QR codes – all using bespoke code created by our extremely talented app developers.

The device, which was developed by Touché, plugs into existing retail environments and sits between the till and EPOS receipt printer. This provides a fantastic USP as retailers don’t need to change their systems – all they need to do is plug-in the NOUMI NFC device and they’re ready to go.

How we used Near-Field Communication technology to create the NOUMI app

We used NFC technology to transfer receipts from the store’s till printer to a mobile phone, enabling customers to store their receipts together in one app. 

What is NFC technology?

Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology is how we make contactless payments. It connects wireless devices that are in close proximity to each other using an NFC tag or device and transfers data between them. NFC tags, for example, are stored in debit cards and we ‘tap’ these onto an electronic wireless device, such as a card reader, or in this case, the NOUMI device. 

With NOUMI, the receipt data is sent from the till, to the device and you tap your phone (with its in-built NFC components) to the device and the data is transferred to the NOUMI app. 

Benefits of NOUMI and digital receipts apps

Environmental benefits of paperless receipts

Digital receipts are an important technology for business owners who are serious about investing in environmentally conscious retail solutions. There are huge environmental benefits for apps that enable digital receipts. 

In the UK, more than 11 billion receipts are printed each year and most of these can’t be recycled. The production of receipts uses millions of trees and gallons of water, equating to acres of rainforests being lost. 

Improves the contactless shopping experience

Retail is fast becoming a contactless market, particularly in a post-Covid world. It’s thought that the contactless payments market will reach $164.15 billion by 2030. NFC is one of the main technologies to drive this growth. 

‘Zero-touch retail’ is rapidly expanding as many retailers look to minimise interactions between shoppers and staff. Contactless payments have revolutionised the modern shopping experience and apps like NOUMI enable retailers to keep the entire transaction experience completely contactless. 

Brick and mortar stores can use digital receipts to compete with e-commerce retail

It’s no secret that brick and mortar stores need to keep up with the rapid soar of e-commerce and online shopping. E-commerce sales hit $1 trillion for the first time in 2022. Its convenience and speed mean consumers are less and less likely to want to spend time browsing in a physical shop. 

Brick and mortar stores need to create faster, greener, easier, more seamless shopping experiences in order to keep up with the retail industry’s digital innovations. Just think of self-checkouts and brands that are now appearing in the metaverse. 

Enabling a receipt to pop up on a mobile phone app rather than being crumpled into a purse or wallet (or lost), is an easy way of modernising the experience for consumers who are so used to buying products at the click of a button. 

Save your customers’ time

Convenience is king when it comes to improving customer satisfaction. Digital receipts apps like NOUMI help speed up and improve customers’ lives, reducing time spent in store and organising their finances at home. 

Retailers don’t require new software and don’t need to change their retail system

With the NOUMI app, a receipt is transferred via NFC straight to your phone. The device plugs into existing retail environments and sits between the till and EPOS receipt printer. This means all that’s required is the NFC device to be plugged in between the till and printer, meaning retailers don’t require new software and they don’t need to change their current retail systems. This simple but ingenious infrastructure means integration with NOUMI is effortless to implement.

Immediate storage and access to receipts 

Let’s face it, most paper receipts are thrown in the bin and it’s always too late by the time we realise we need them. Most of us don’t file away our receipts. NOUMI does this for you with a simple tap. 

Receipts are sent straight to your phone, so they are available to view immediately and are saved within the NOUMI app. This means there’s no waiting for the receipt to be sent via email, or an external system where it can be lost via a misspelled email address or delayed by a slow system. The consumer can have 100% confidence that they have their receipt. Gooii were also passionate about ensuring the NOUMI app still functions offline, so receipts can be collected even if the warehouse you’re shopping in has no mobile signal or wifi.

There are many other apps that allow you to scan receipts and save them digitally, but with NOUMI, there’s no need to take a photo of your receipt or to scan the information. It’s all done seamlessly in one tap in the exchange of data between devices. It’s also locked to the retailer through an automatic management process in the app and in the cloud system we developed.

No need to sort through receipts

Electronic receipts make accounting significantly quicker and more transparent for business’ tax returns. 

The receipt data is fully searchable and sent to our cloud servers, which turns searching for specific expenses into a very quick task, rather than sorting through piles of paper. This can really optimise your workflow and save you many crucial hours. 

Secure storage 

Receipts are sent to the cloud and stored securely against the user’s account, ensuring that even if they delete the app or change their phone, they can still retrieve their receipts. Additionally, when we send the receipt data to the cloud system we developed, we break down the receipt into its individual component parts including all lines of text, images and any QR or barcodes. These can then be sent back to the phone and displayed as a visual receipt. This ensures shoppers never lose their receipts and can always retrieve them quickly and seamlessly.

Protects customers and employees from BPA

Although many countries have banned the harmful chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from the thermal paper often used in the production of receipts, bisphenol chemicals are still often found on receipt paper. This chemical also prevents receipts from being recycled, with many people unaware they most receipts can’t be recycled and they could be contaminating their recycling.

Easy export

Customers can also export receipts for expenses purposes, as well as using the NFC device to print them out in stores in order to complete a return.

Customer loyalty schemes and vouchers

This system also allows vouchers to be collected and stored with the receipts. In order to facilitate this, our developers learned how to translate QR codes and barcodes back from printer code into a readable and scannable image. These can be transferred to the app individually or collected with the receipt. Voucher codes can also be stored in our cloud systems, making them hugely flexible and convenient. 

Offline access for stores with no mobile internet access

The app was also designed to work offline, enabling receipts to still be collected even if the customer has no mobile internet access, for example if purchasing in a warehouse or in a rural location. The receipts are then stored locally until an internet connection becomes available, at which point they are mirrored on the cloud server. This is a big USP over other digital receipt solutions, where many require an internet connection to collect the receipt, and it’s something Gooii felt very strongly about ensuring it could be achieved. Additionally, there’s no waiting for your receipt or worrying that the shop assistant typed your email address correctly, as you have it instantly.

Cost reduction for retailers

Introducing a paperless receipt system in your retail store means reduced spend on receipt printing technology and paper. The app is also free for customers to download, which reduces retailer development costs.

How to use this technology in your industry

The NFC technology and coding skills required for apps like NOUMI create endless possibilities for the retail industry. The specific expertise used for NOUMI enables Gooii to create app solutions that improve customers’ lives and speed up shopping experiences. In addition to NOUMI’s collection functionality, Gooii technologies can be used to develop apps for e-commerce and can be combined with our mobile ticketing technologies to create unique retail opportunities and improve customer satisfaction. 

Get in touch if you’d like to discuss how we could develop retail apps and experiences for your business.

The world’s first holographic Augmented Reality ghost walk

Summary of project

The ‘Rufford Ghost Walk’ is the world’s first holographic ghost walk. Using 5G technology and AR headsets, visitors will be able to walk amongst the undead and experience Rufford Abbey’s historical past all at the same time. 

The project will be based at Rufford Country Park’s ‘Abbey’ and was developed as part of Nottinghamshire County Council’s ‘5G Connected Forest’ project. 

The experience will enable groups of ghost hunters to put on a headset and walk around Rufford Abbey and see holographic AR ghosts walk through walls and watch echoes of their grisly past projected in front of them. Watching holographic ghosts coming back to life is an authentic, immersive experience that brings a new innovation to historical sites such as Rufford. 

Key deliverables

• Holographic and Augmented Reality ghost walk
• Interactive mobile app for AR headsets
• Shared experiences for each group of ghost hunters
• With a pool of over 40 different ghosts, there’s a unique experience with every visit.

Project status

Post production of the holographic experience is now complete and we are currently moving towards commercialisation of the experience, which involves on location set-up. When we’re finished on site, the project will be handed over to Rufford Abbey and Parkwood Outdoors for delivery to the public.

Partnering technology to create the Augmented Reality ghost walk

• Microsoft Hololens2 headset
• Subpac’s wearable tactile and surround sound audio system 
• A brand new 5G network developed as part of the ‘5G Connected Forest’ project.

The holographic ghost walk – why watch a film, when you can be in one?

When standing in the dank and dusky crypts of Rufford Abbey, groups of ghost hunters put on the HoloLens 2, a holographic headset, and watch a ghost story unfold before their very eyes. Donning an AR headset, ghost hunters are able to watch spirits recreating the tales of Rufford’s gruesome past. 

The beauty of this AR technology is that it projects holograms of the dead into the real world landscape in front of you. Historical characters appear out of the fog and walk out of the walls, coming back to life in the same location you’re standing in. This is very different from VR that is entirely computer generated and takes you to a different location. Here we use the real world and project the holograms into it, with users being able to see as normal the whole time.

Get a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at our filming days

The client

The AR experience was developed as part of Nottinghamshire County Council’s ‘5G Connected Forest’, a unique research project developed to test how 5G technology can boost tourism and the environment in a forest setting. 

As part of the Government’s 5G ‘Testbed and Trials’ programme, Gooii was one of the lead project partners and worked alongside the council and Parkwood Leisure to assess the potential for 5G applications in Nottinghamshire’s Sherwood Forest area. We were proud to work alongside such incredible consortium partners. 

For this project we also worked on the world’s first interactive holographic film ‘An Arrow Through Time’, bringing the story of Robin Hood to live using Augmented Reality at Sherwood Forest. 

The brief

We were asked to enhance the visitor experience at Rufford Country Park by taking advantage of 5G technology in a rural area and to develop XR (extended reality) content in a heritage location. As an award-winning XR development agency, we were excited to take on this challenge. 

The clients had a vision for visitors to truly experience the history of Rufford Abbey, rather than just hearing it or seeing it. They wanted to make it feel as though you were right there, witnessing it first hand. 

How it works

The Rufford Ghost Walk mixes live action video with CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), and is run on a 5G network. As part of this we networked the headsets, ensuring all visitors in a group get to see the same content, in the same place and at the same time. The content is then streamed from cloud servers and with over 40 ghosts all delivered at random, this ensures a truly unique experience with every visit.

Read more about how AR can be used for the travel and leisure industry

How to use this technology in your industry

The possibilities of using Augmented Reality in travel, tourism and hospitality are endless, as the technology enables customers to have more immersive and interactive experiences. Historic landmarks, trails, excursions and attractions can come alive with AR maps, narratives, films and experiences. At Gooii, we push the boundaries and art of what’s possible, using the latest technologies to blur the lines between XR, cinema, theatre, tourism and live events.

Get in touch if you’d like to discuss how we could develop AR apps and experiences for your business. 

The British railway is set to see significant reform in the coming months, as the UK’s Transport Secretary has committed to scrapping return rail tickets and introducing digital contactless ticketing.

As an app and web developer for the transport industry, we thought we’d look at the implications of what these new measures could mean for rail companies.

How to use contactless ticketing to maximise innovation in the rail industry

Regardless of whether you think the railway system should be nationalised or privatised, most of us will agree that the British railway industry needs modernising. Passengers’ journeys must be improved and systems must be simplified.

But how can rail companies maximise the innovation that’s being developed in smart pay-as-you-go ticketing?

The current transport secretary has committed to roll out pay-as-you-go ticketing in certain parts of the country, enabling tap-in tap-out ticketing in areas outside of London.

Pay-as-you-go contactless ticketing systems

Website development for Nottingham Contactless

We built the Nottingham Contactless website for Nottingham City Council, Nottingham City Transport, NET and Linkbus services. The system, developed by INIT, is the first Oyster-style contactless ticketing system in the country outside of London. The system gives customers the best fare regardless of journey type.

The Nottingham Contactless system calculates the best price for all the journeys you make during one day and will cap it at the standard price of a day ticket. This technology is similar to Transport For London’s ticketing system, which caps the price of daily travel, regardless of the mode of transport you’re using.

We developed the Nottingham Contactless website to enable passengers to check their recent journeys and transactions by entering their card details.

Click here to read more about the Nottingham Contactless ticketing system

It is mobile ticketing that enables this type of ticketing system. Smart tickets enable passengers to use their phone as their ticket, whether this is by using QR codes, NFC tokens or Bluetooth (read our blog on how mobile ticketing technology actually works).

Not only is mobile ticketing technology important for the classic ‘buy before you board’ tickets, it also enables us to use pay-as-you-go fares using contactless cards at stations.

App development for NETGO! and Tramlink

This technology isn’t exclusive to the UK’s rail industry. Train, bus and tram networks can all benefit from the advancements of mobile ticketing. If train companies are having to modernise their systems, it will be paramount for all transport businesses to follow suit.

NETGO! is a mobile ticket app for Nottingham’s tram network. We developed the complete solution for Tramlink Nottingham, including the iPhone and Android apps, the backend systems to drive and sell tickets as well as the customer management software (CMS).

Using the app is a quick and simple way to purchase tram tickets using a mobile phone. Single, Day, Week, Group and Season tickets can be bought in a matter of seconds.

One particular advantage of the NETGO! app is the flexibility to add new features, allowing it to continually adapt and grow to new ticketing rules and systems. Our flexible ticketing systems can also be implemented across train and bus networks with ease.

If transport companies are looking to modernise their services, investing in smart mobile ticketing is crucial.

If you’d like to speak to specialist transport app developers about your ticketing systems, please get in touch.

What Augmented Reality trends can we expect in 2023? What is the future of AR and VR technology? 

The world of Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality is rapidly developing, with new trends and technologies advancing every month. 

Gooii’s team of developers is constantly researching and developing the capabilities of these new technologies and Augmented Reality trends. We invest in new software and new programmes and spend time testing and understanding them. This enables us to create solutions and products for our clients that use the latest cutting-edge technology. 

Gooii Director Phil Hasted outlines his top XR (Extended Reality) trends that we’ll be sure to see in 2023 and what they might mean for Gooii’s clients. From Apple’s long rumoured AR headset to the exciting possibilities of Web XR, we outline what we can expect from the world of AR and VR in the year ahead. 

What are your predictions for the digital world over the next 12 months?

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will continue to grow 

AR, VR and Mixed Reality will gain greater market share and popularity. This will be driven by lower cost, lighter weight devices coming to market. 

Influx of Mixed Reality technology

Mixed Reality allows for AR and VR worlds to be combined. I see Mixed Reality being used more and more, fuelled by the release of Meta’s Quest Pro headset. Imagine adding CGI content to the real world, then being able to step through a portal into a fully immersive VR world and out again into the real world.

Exciting Augmented Reality headset launches

At Gooii, we’re already developing apps and experiences with Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Jisc’s ‘Magic Leap’. I’m excited to see what some of the other major players will be launching this year as well. 

One AR headset to keep an eye on is one in development by Niantic, the makers of Pokemon Go. They will almost certainly utilise their AR development platform ‘8th Wall Web’ for this, which enables immersive AR content to run through a website, rather than having to download an app. This technology will mean that companies will be able to offer a seamless AR experience on their websites. Their work with Snapdragon Spaces is also really exciting.

Other headsets of note include Nreal, the Magic Leap 2, Lynx’s R-1 and Lumos. The development of more AR headsets means that there will be cheaper, lighter weight products available for our clients to choose from. 

But will 2023 finally be the year Apple releases its XR headset? If the rumours are true, it could be a really exciting year. 

What are your predictions for Apple’s XR headset?

Apple will only release the headset when they know they’re innovating beyond anything else currently in the marketplace.They’ll also want to ensure there’s a consumer market for the product. With this in mind, my first prediction is that it won’t be for at least another year, but there are rumours it could come sooner.

8k cameras and real-time scanning

I believe it will be based on iPhone technology and will come housed with multiple 8k cameras built into the headset. I’d also expect the remote sensing method LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to feature heavily in the headset, which will enable fast real-time scanning of the environment. 

A Mixed Reality headset

It’s unlikely that the headset will be AR, so it will most likely be Mixed Reality. This means that  when viewing the real world through the device, it will be through its cameras, much like the Meta Quest Pro, as opposed to the HoloLens 2 which projects holographic images via the headset. 

Incredible high resolution experiences

However, I expect the resolution to be far higher and to be almost indistinguishable from viewing through a pair of glasses. This will enable incredible experiences, from adding content to the real world, stepping into Virtual Reality, as well as manipulating physical objects in the real world – something that isn’t possible with the tech currently available. 

If Apple’s release trend continues, version one will establish a user base and, if successful, version two, which will truly deliver on the promise of the headset, will be released within 12-18 months of this. This is a pattern Apple has followed with the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch and I expect this to continue and for it to innovate its range in the same way.

Linked to Apple’s RealityOS

I originally thought the device would be powered by an iPhone, and it still might be, however since announcing Apple RealityOS, an iOS-based operating system, it’s now more than likely that the technology will be standalone. 

I would also expect Apple to find ways to keep it within its ecosystem, so it might be that an iPhone or iPad is still required somehow – similar to the Apple Watch. Also, the fact it’s called 

Wider reaching audiences

The names ‘Reality OS’ and ‘AR/VR/XR OS’ suggest that Apple doesn’t want to limit itself to a single technology. Nor does it want to rely on acronyms that the general public doesn’t understand, suggesting that Apple is looking beyond tech enthusiasts.

Lightweight and essential for day-to-day use

Finally, I’d expect the headset to be incredibly lightweight as Apple moves towards future iterations being worn on a day-to-day basis. Apple will be thinking beyond gaming apps and to making them as essential as your phone.

What is Web XR and how do we use it?

Web XR brings AR and VR to the web, rather than apps on handheld devices. It is a new and incredibly exciting area that will reduce the barriers currently associated with AR and VR. For starters, people won’t need special devices other than their phone and they won’t need to download an app, as they will run it via a browser. 

Furthermore, Web XR can be made cross-platform, meaning that a Web XR app will run on iOS, Android, Meta Quest Pro and HoloLens 2 all from the same website link. This means that developers can create exciting and innovative content and users can bring their own devices, be that their phone, AR or Mixed Reality headset.

What research and development is Gooii doing around Web XR?

We are currently R&Ding Web XR technology and we’re seeing incredible results. So far we’ve been able to do much of what we can with the HoloLens 2 or Meta Quest Pro and have created AR, VR and MR projects that allow you to step through AR and VR worlds. However the technology is still in its infancy and there are limitations that we don’t face when creating a dedicated app.

How is Gooii responding to these trends? What technologies are you developing?

Gooii is constantly innovating. R&D is the core of what we do. We purchase the latest technologies as soon as they’re released and immediately begin to learn and push the boundaries of what’s possible with them. 

We want to be ready for when the right job comes along, allowing our R&D to not only inform our developments but to confidently and knowledgeably advise our clients. 

We’re also developing our code base (a body of source code that we use for a software programme or application), which is then put into commercial projects and gives us an advantage in the industry.

We’re also strengthening our links to institutions such as Confetti, part of Nottingham Trent University, which enables us to use their facilities for R&D purposes and innovation. It also allows us to work with NTU students and provide them with invaluable experience working on XR content creation.

Using Augmented Reality and 5G technology to bring Robin Hood to life

Project summary

‘Robin Hood: Arrow Through Time’ is the world’s first interactive holographic movie and experience. Gooii developed Augmented Reality technology using an AR headset to project this holographic movie into Sherwood Forest, immersing the viewer into the ancient story. 

Key deliverables:

• Holographic movie
• Interactive mobile app for AR headsets

The holographic film

Gooii worked with BAFTA-winning director Nick Hutchings to create an interactive holographic film. We worked with a team of talented video producers, directors, actors, DOPs, VFX and SFX artists to produce an entertaining, educational film that users can interact with. 

Click here to read more about the film and cast.

The AR headset

Our team of coders developed an app to work with AR headsets, such as Microsoft’s HoloLens headset, in order to project this film into the forest. The headset projects digital holograms into the real world, in the form of moving 3D images. This is called Augmented Reality, because it creates a reimagined, augmented reality – digital content laid over the moving landscape in front of you. This makes the user part of the movie, enabling you to interact with the film and its characters.

The client

The film and AR experiences were developed as part of Nottinghamshire County Council’s ‘5G Connected Forest’, a unique research project developed to test how 5G technology can boost tourism and the environment in a forest setting. 

As part of the Government’s 5G ‘Testbed and Trials’ programme, Gooii was one of the lead project partners and worked alongside the council and Parkwood Leisure to assess the potential for 5G applications in Nottinghamshire’s Sherwood Forest area. We were proud to work alongside such incredible consortium partners. 

The brief

We were asked to enhance the visitor experience at Sherwood Forest by taking advantage of 5G technology in a rural area and developing XR content in a countryside location. 

The clients wanted to enable visitors to truly experience the story of Robin Hood, rather than just hearing it or seeing it. They wanted to make it feel as though you were right there, witnessing it first hand. 

Other research areas for the 5G Connected Forest project include our Augmented Reality ‘Ghost Walk’ at Rufford Country Park, entertainment pods, with 5G-enabled content and an app-based experience called ‘Tag in the Park’. 

How we developed the project

‘Bringing Robin Hood to life’ was the building block of our development. As part of our R&D, we built prototypes and digital demos of the planned content. This included using different technologies such as the Magic Leap One AR headset and Lidar on the iPhone. We’ve also been working with Mixed Reality headsets such as the Meta Quest Pro, which enables you to step through AR and VR worlds.

We co-wrote the film script and then worked with filmmakers and actors to produce the movie. We then combined the film with Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) and 3D models to create the holograms and create the immersive experience. 

Our extensive R&D enabled us to further develop the AR technology as used on a phone or table in order to create an interactive film, with holograms that are more like those seen in Star Wars and Marvel movies. 

Benefits of the project

Create a more immersive experience

AR headsets enable visitors to hear the swooshing of a sword and arrows flying past their heads, making the film experience incredibly immersive. Visitors to Sherwood Forest were also able to make decisions that would change the course of the story, with multiple different endings.

Augmented Reality brings history to life

We used recognisable actors such as Black Mirror’s Dominic Le Moignan and BGT’s John Archer to play historic figures and bring them to life in the setting they would originally have inhabited. It’s a fun and interactive way to learn about history. 

Read more about how can AR be used for the travel and leisure industry

How to use this technology in your industry

We’re proud to be pioneering the role of 5G in delivering visitor attractions. The possibilities of using AR are endless, particularly in the leisure and tourism industry. Imagine holographic reconstructions in historical sites and interactive historical tour guides, or virtual theme park rides that mix the real world with virtual reality – the worlds of Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality (MR) is your oyster. 

Get in touch if you’d like to discuss how we could develop AR apps and experiences for your business.