COLCHESTER CASTLE – INTERACTIVE BALLISTA
Film: Colchester Castle's interactive ballista, a projection installation that lets visitors fire the Roman crossbow.
Colchester Castle had a replica Roman ballista, a crossbow more than six feet long and wide, and the museum wanted visitors to do more than look at it. We built an interactive around it inside the 1,000 year old castle.
A visitor places a token on a custom made hub, then swipes a hand back without touching anything, and a projected bolt flies at a two storey wall that becomes the target. RFID and touchless swiping were both new to the museum. It has become a favourite with families, donations to the castle went up, and people come back to fire it again. The Colchester Castle case study covers the build.