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uma opens offices in the U.S.

Leading Semantic Web Technology Innovator to Expand in U.S.; Will market uma SKIN™ Multitouch Display System to Retailers, Marketers

 

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – uma, the leading innovator in semantic web technology, today announced that it has expanded into the U.S., opening offices in New York and Santa Cruz, California. The company, which last year introduced the first semantic display product, called uma SKIN™, for digital content producers, retailers, and brands, recently announced its first installation for uma SKIN in North America at next month’s International Toy Fair in New York. uma will market its services in the U.S. to a new generation of brand marketers and retailers that seek multiplatform social media solutions for their customers.

 

“The U.S. market is inherently attractive for us, as the digital signage market and the social media market are so intertwined with how public information display and private company displays are developed,” said uma founder and CEO, Christian Doegl. “uma has worked on building the future of the semantic web for years, and now the future has arrived for the broader information market, as represented by any firm that needs to captivate consumers. We will serve a wide range of customers in the U.S. directly, and through our partners.” uma maintains partnerships with a wide range of technology providers, including Intel Corp. and MultiTouch Ltd., among others.

 

The uma SKIN product integrates large-scale multitouch LCD displays with the uma semantic web content curation engine for information delivery.  It can be used in corporate or public communication, retail, exhibition and museum scenarios. uma SKIN enables personalized content that tracks users with RFID and NFC technology and detects motion using 3D sensor cameras, enabling passive interaction with visitors. The semantic content curator engine is able to retrieve and contextualize content from various repositories or the web, including web 2.0 sources. uma SKIN’s semantic content curation engine minimizes the effort for content production, editing and curating.  Like an organism’s skin, the uma SKIN product provides a display that can be touched and manipulated to generate responses in the form of information.

 

uma has seen tremendous interest for uma SKIN in Europe, having launched the product with the stunning Siemens Identity Display multitouch wall at Siemens headquarters in Austria. Uma has also deployed its solution with Otto Group’s SportScheck, the leading German sports retailer and, recently, Bally, which has created an in-store system showcase for customers that was unveiled at the Milan Men’s Fashion Week event. Several German and Austrian conferences have also installed uma SKIN as next-generation information kiosks.

 

“We believe that the semantic web has arrived as a commercial platform, and uma is uniquely positioned to deliver solutions for a new generation of media producers and marketers, and the expansion to the U.S. is well-timed,” said Erik Bovee, director of business development for uma U.S. and a partner with technology investment fund SpeedInvest. “How information is personalized and delivered, in a tactile sense, is what will move the media market in the coming years, and uma provides both back-end software solutions with display solutions.”

 

uma closed a $1.1 million USD round of funding in 2011, led by Oliver Holle, CEO of SpeedInvest , as well as private European investors. The company developed one of the first semantic engines for the web - Melvil© - in 1998, and the company's founder and CEO, Christian Doegl, is a leader in the virtual and semantic web community.

 

About uma© - separating the signal from the noise

 

Since its founding in 1994, uma has been the innovation leader in new forms of knowledge mediation and spatial user experiences. uma provides end-to-end services for its customers, helping with creative planning as well as the implementation and integration of its semantic service platform Melvil©. With its uma SKIN™ technology, uma developed the industry’s first product for semantic display, enabling a wide range of content producers – including corporations, retailers, and brands - to deliver smart content to users on massive, multitouch displays and emerging devices.

 

uma clients include the OTTO Group, Siemens, Intel, IBM, Deutsche Telekom AG, Toy Industry Association, Red Bull, Bally or L’Oréal. uma is headquartered in Vienna, Austria with offices in Munich, Berlin, New York City and Santa Cruz, California. For more information, please visit www.uma.at.

 

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EDITOR’S NOTE: If you would like a color photograph of Christian Doegl, founder and CEO of uma; Erik Bovee, director of business development for uma U.S., installation photos of the uma SKIN product, or uma SKIN product shots, please contact Chris Pfaff on +1-201-218-0262 or chris@chrispfafftechmedia.com