The London Stare
Bespoke eye-tracking software powering an interactive digital advertising experience
About the project
What if a digital advertising screen could tell exactly when you blinked?
The London Stare transformed a traditional digital out-of-home advertising campaign into an interactive staring competition, challenging members of the public to maintain eye contact with one of four characters appearing on screen.
To make the concept possible, Future Software developed bespoke eye-tracking and blink-detection software capable of monitoring participants in real time and automatically controlling the experience.
Using camera-based tracking, custom software development and automated game logic, the solution enabled each installation to detect when a participant blinked, determine the outcome of the staring contest and progress the experience without the need for external human control.
The result was an innovative interactive advertising campaign that brought together digital displays, computer vision and bespoke software engineering to create an experience people didn't simply watch — they became part of it.
Case Study Breakdown:
01
The Challenge
The creative concept behind The London Stare was intentionally simple: invite a member of the public to challenge someone on screen to a staring contest.
Delivering that concept reliably in a live public environment was considerably more complex.
The digital installation needed to monitor a participant's eyes through a camera, recognise when they blinked and respond immediately.
The experience also needed to operate autonomously across public-facing digital advertising locations, without someone manually monitoring each interaction or controlling the game behind the scenes.
Off-the-shelf software couldn't deliver the precise functionality the campaign required.
A bespoke software solution was needed.
02
The Requirement
The system needed to combine real-time eye tracking with the digital content appearing on screen.
As participants stared at one of four pre-recorded characters, the software had to continuously monitor their eyes and accurately identify a blink. That information then needed to become part of the experience itself.
The application had to:
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Monitor the participant's eyes using an integrated camera
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Detect blinks accurately in real time
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Synchronise eye-tracking data with video content
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Determine the result of each staring competition
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Automatically progress through the experience
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Integrate with the campaign's voucher-printing functionality
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Operate autonomously without external human control
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Perform reliably within a busy public environment
The technology needed to be sophisticated behind the scenes while remaining completely effortless for the person using it.
03
Our Solution
Future Software developed the custom software technology that powered the interactive experience. Our engineers created bespoke blink-detection software capable of analysing camera input and monitoring whether a participant had blinked during the staring contest.
The software connected this real-time eye-tracking information with the wider application, allowing the installation to react immediately to the participant's behaviour and automatically determine what happened next. Instead of simply displaying content, the screen could respond to the person standing in front of it.
The complete experience operated autonomously, bringing together:
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Bespoke eye-tracking software
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Real-time blink detection
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Camera and software integration
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Automated game logic
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Interactive digital signage
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Video content integration
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Automated participant responses
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Voucher-printing integration
By engineering the technology specifically around the campaign concept, Future Software helped turn a creative idea into a fully functioning interactive digital experience.
04
The Outcome
The London Stare demonstrated how bespoke software development can transform a conventional digital display into an intelligent, responsive experience.
The campaign generated significant public engagement:
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16,372 staring competitions played
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3,111 contact lens trial vouchers printed
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228,759 people recorded looking at the advertisement
Rather than passively viewing an advert, thousands of people actively interacted with the technology.
Behind that simple interaction was custom software continuously analysing what was happening in front of the display and responding in real time.
The project demonstrated the possibilities of combining bespoke software engineering, computer vision and digital signage to create interactive experiences that wouldn't be possible using conventional software alone.
