Lothar Hohmann has created the ultimate product for the vain consumer. No, it is not a magic mirror on the wall but a life-like 3D miniature of oneself. The managing director of Precise Group talks about his latest product: This Is Me (TIM).
q&a
q What exactly is a TIM?
a TIM is the next generation of personalised retail concepts that we have developed and made accessible for customers walking through the malls and seeing our outlets. We have the scanning technology that allows us to scan from head to toe in 360 degrees. We can basically create a full 3D avatar of you.
q You can make a figurine about one tenth the size of a normal human, which usually takes one week and costs Dh500 (US$136) to Dh1,200. How, exactly?
a We collect information using a combination of scanners, beamers and camera equipment. We then use powder, glue and ink. In the end, when you take the figurine out of the powder, it's exactly the person that was scanned in.
q How did you come up with the idea?
a My business concept was always to create a value add in retail innovation. Now 3D has reached a point where it is accessible. We started here in November 2002 with retail outlets in Dubai Duty Free. We used technology that was developed in Germany for scanning people's heads. We would scan their faces and put them inside a crystal block.
q And from there you developed a number of other products, including hand-crafted bobble figures of people's heads and cases to personalise electronic gadgets.
a Yes. I was always on the lookout for ways to develop concepts and ideas on a different level. The bobble heads were also something that already existed. We also have Instant Skin, where we give your gadget or phone a [case] that is designed by you.
q Where will you sell TIMs?
a We have integrated TIM into our existing retail infrastructure. We have outlets at Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre, The Atlantis and Dubai Duty Free. Within our outlets, customers can see the TIMs on display and they purchase a voucher for use at our studio.
q This sounds like it will be a difficult retail concept to scale.
a It is easy to scale this concept, because people will be able to purchase a franchise from us and purchase the scanning equipment. We will offer the back-end service and can deliver worldwide. We already have an infrastructure of franchises and retailers in place in the Middle East, Russia and Africa.
q Are there not other people who can steal the technology and use it for their own gain?
a For the current concept, for sure we are unique, but there are people who have used photos and put them on figurines. To scan people from head to toe with the quality of figurine, we are quite unique. But because this technology is available, I'm sure I'm not the only person that has thought about this.
