Technology synergy places international mall as a premiere destination to millions of visitors annually.

As a world-renowned tourist attraction, the billion-dollar AMC Galleria Mall located at the center of Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi, holds the distinction of being Abu Dhabi’s Largest Mall, as well as a focal point of technology and user experience. While events such as Abu Dhabi’s “Festival of Lights” already cement Abu Dhabi as an epicenter of culture and tourism, the Galleria recently completed an expansion to their entire Mall, infusing the sprawling grounds with interactive wayfinding and a host of unique features powered by 22Miles and Intel’s integrated solutions.

At the core of the newly minted user experience sits the 22Miles interactive wayfinding Kiosk, a powerful digital signage solution that improves the wayfinding experience by helping end-users navigate busy, complex transportation hubs and buildings. The solution features interactive, real-time navigation, mapping, and information, all easily managed from the 22Miles Publisher Pro software solution. With the powerful Intel® NUC, a high-performance mini-PCs, each kiosk features an intuitive question-oriented menu and 3D maps where travelers can easily find routes to their desired locations within the Galleria.

Video 1. Intel NUC and 22Miles Galleria Mall Customer Journey.

A one of a kind tourist attraction

Galleria Al Maryah has a reputation for being more than just another shopping mall. The management group that owns Galleria was seeking to set the new standard of defining the crossroads where the world’s best technology, paired the most robust retail shopping, dining, and entertaining experience meet. Boasting a host of stunning new boutiques, top international fashion brands, a chic dining district showcasing innovative chefs and restaurateurs, IMAX theatres, and scores of outdoor open-air entertainment venues, Galleria’s decision to infuse the experience with an interactive wayfinding solution was seen as a necessity.

The Galleria covers 2.7 million sq. ft. and has more than 500 stores, a typical guest experience could take an entire day of roaming freely from restaurants and cafés, engaging in activities such as catching the latest films at the 21-screen IMAX VOX cinema, reading in the public library, or pausing for a light jog in the facility’s health club. With a full-service food market and three rooftop parks atop the mall, the Galleria is not slowing down with new additions for their ongoing expansion project. Subsequent phases of the development will include residential units and a hotel in two high-rise towers. The full expansion will seamlessly link to the adjacent property, The Galleria, Abu Dhabi’s luxury waterfront shopping and dining destination.

Photo 1. The Galleria Al Maryah.

“When they first explained the project to us, we knew that this was not a typical large shopping mall project. They had a vision of creating an experience for shoppers and world travelers, businessmen, families, ambassadors, really to curate a special and unique experience for every type of guest. Working with our Dubai-based partner AIMS who provided local support, design, and all system integration, the goal was to cement Galleria as a one of a kind entertainment Utopia with retail stores, five-star dining, and endless entertainment, in the heart of internationally known Abu Dhabi. So while we started the conversation with Interactive 3D wayfinding kiosks, as we started really digging into how we could make this truly unique, features like ‘Find-My-Car’ and some of our newest innovations such as Augmented Reality with image recognition, were all on the table,” commented Tomer Mann, EVP of 22MILES.

1.8M square feet of mixed retail space & More

“Visitors from all over the world come to the Galleria as it houses boutiques, top international fashion brand facilities, a dining district and outdoor open-air entertainment venues. With large facilities like this, a realizable and robust wayfinding component is essential. The 22Miles platform, paired with the technology inside of the NUC was a great fit for what Galleria’s owners envisioned their visitor experience to be.” 
– Tomer Mann , 22Miles EVP

Technology leading the way

From the moment a visitor enters the Galleria at Al Maryah, they are visually pulled into an exciting interactive journey. Tech minded and tourist-minded shoppers alike are easily immersed in the multitudes of eye-catching possibilities the facility holds.

• The Galleria features 80+ Interactive Wayfinding touchscreen, with 4K definition, these kiosks leverage the advantages of the new generation Intel NUCi7 models curating Publisher Pro Software’s customized UX.
• The Interactive 3-D wayfinding interface covers 7 floors with over 700 points of interest, allowing visitors easy exploration of what would otherwise be an overwhelming navigational challenge
• Custom multi-touch mapping capability with ‘Pinch-and-zoom’ 360-degree rotations provide a near Virtual Reality experience for users of all ages and types.
• Visitors enjoy the convenience of a Mobile solution, supported through a proximity-based solution, Cisco CMX. The kiosks ‘send to phone’ feature triggers the experience.
• With a mall this large, inevitably parking, and awareness of one’s entry and exit points of the mall are a must. The unique ‘Find My Car’ feature is integrated with the facility’s parking sensor systems, enabling shoppers and visitors to quickly locate where they may have parked, via the car’s license tag number.

Technology that helps visitors and management

While the user experience was top of mind when Gulf Related (Galleria’s ownership group) were looking for the right solution, the ability to control, create, and customize content were also a top consideration. Al Maryah’s administrative staff enjoys a holistic view of the system, with the ability to view and study full analytics for any touch or proof-of-play media showcasing all user engagement. Management can highlight certain routes or change certain store locations, and even provide promotional content on individual or multiple kiosks, opening a world of possibilities in terms of revenue generation and even more customized content delivery.

Figure 1. 22Miles part of Intel’s Market Ready Solutions.

Digital Signage and Wayfinding with the Intel NUC

The Intel® NUC is a small form factor PC with a tiny footprint. Short for ‘Next Unit of Computing,’ Intel® NUC provides full-sized PC power in the palm of your hand. The Intel® NUC is easily configurable to exactly the way in which your application requires it.

Figure 2. The Intel® NUC main features.

Intel® NUC and 22Miles – Built for the future of Interactive Wayfinding

With the NUC engine powered by 22Miles, now an Intel® IoT Solutions Alliance Affiliate, customers can not only enjoy cutting edge wayfinding but from a data perspective, administrators can monitor and track every click that occurs, studying visitor or guest insights, while also taking advantage of the capability to push content for advertising opportunities. Integration of existing third-party schedules or promotions is also easily achieved, with data auto-sync to the kiosk within minutes. 22Miles modular kiosk design and content player apps, allow for multiple display configurations enabling customers to maximize space and foot traffic across locations.

Beyond The Galleria Al Maryah

Recent studies show that kiosk type displays are expected to dominate the entire digital signage hardware market between 2019 and 2024. This data is driven by a noticeable increase in the usage of digital signage systems around the world. Global interactive kiosk market size is predicted to reach over USD 38 billion by 2025.

The partnership between 22MILES and Intel®, two established award-winning leaders in computer technology and wayfinding opens a world of infinite possibilities for large shopping facilities like Galleria at Al Maryah Island, as well as a host of other facilities ranging from large arenas to smart cities. As the two companies continue to break new ground in digital transformation and immersive technology experiences, end-users will prove to be the real winners as intuitive technology that simplifies lifestyles, expands access and information, and enhances lives becomes the new standard.