Website directory
Every route into Mad.
Browse the public site by subject, or use site search to find a particular project, service or technology.
AV services
- Bring every part into a working whole.
Mad stages, installs, configures and commissions connected systems, coordinates interfaces and prepares the venue team for daily operation.
- Design that supports the creative vision.
Mad combines design, software, engineering and fabrication to develop interactive experiences, sound environments, physical exhibits and practical systems.
- Keep the experience working after opening day.
Mad helps diagnose issues, maintain installations and plan system updates, with service scope, response arrangements and responsibilities agreed.
- Keep the whole team moving toward the same result.
Mad coordinates design, software, fabrication and installation with clear scope, decisions, schedules, responsibilities and handover requirements.
- Make the design behave as intended.
Mad develops interactive software, controls and systems engineering, connecting creative intent with the digital and physical detail needed to deliver it.
- Make the next decision with a clearer view.
Mad consultancy clarifies ideas, assesses existing systems and develops practical requirements, budget options and an achievable project scope.
- The idea. The detail. The working result.
Mad combines design, engineering, software, fabrication, integration and support for interactive experiences and systems, from early ideas to existing venues.
Portfolio
- A longer history of making experiences work.
Explore Mad Systems’ historical museum, heritage and corporate projects, including Augusta Canal, Liberty Bell, ExxonMobil and the National Constitution Center.
- Albert Robles Center
Mad's first PixelsEverywhere visitor center: complete English and Spanish switching, digital interpretation and custom physical exhibits for WRD in Pico Rivera.
- Blue Planet Theater
Mad's original and renewed AV work for Blue Planet Theater at Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center.
- Crayola IDEAworks
Wireless QuickSilver and RFID-linked interactives for Crayola IDEAworks, a traveling creativity exhibition that premiered at The Franklin Institute in 2021.
- Dimensions in Testimony: El Paso
Mad integrated display, audio, microphones and QuickSilver controls for Dimensions in Testimony at El Paso Holocaust Museum & Study Center.
- Dimensions in Testimony: Richmond
Mad developed a Pepper’s Ghost presentation and integrated audiovisual systems for interactive testimony at the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond.
- Discovery Cube Los Angeles: Interactive Tornado
Mad Systems designed, manufactured and installed Discovery Cube Los Angeles’s interactive tornado, with touchscreen-controlled airflow and lighting.
- ESPN SportsCenter Lobby
Mad Systems created ESPN SportsCenter lobby exhibits with interactive towers, video displays and a scheduling board driven by studio data.
- Everglades Airboat Adventure
Mad Systems delivered the technical system for Everglades Airboat Adventure: motion, projection, multichannel audio, controls and special effects.
- AV systems. Real experiences.
Explore 42 Mad Systems project records: museum AV, visitor centers, interactive exhibits, themed attractions and corporate environments, with project photography.
- Fantasy: Realms of Imagination
Mad's projection and media systems for Fantasy: Realms of Imagination at Bowers Museum, with wireless QuickSilver and TeaParty show control.
- Fire! Science & Safety
Mad's software and AV integration for Fire! Science & Safety at California Science Center, connecting physical controls with bilingual interactive media.
- Griffith Observatory
Mad Systems designed and installed audiovisual systems, interactive exhibits and mechanical telluria for Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
- Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
Mad consulted, designed and implemented the audiovisual and interactive equipment for the Truman Library and Museum redevelopment in Independence, Missouri.
- HP Inc. Customer Welcome Center
Mad developed displays and interactives for HP Inc.’s Customer Welcome Center in Palo Alto, including three video walls and a lobby display.
- Mesa Water Education Center
Mad's design and physical installation for Mesa Water Education Center, including interactive media and projection-mapped pump-room interpretation.
- Missouri Botanical Garden
Mad's LED-wall and AV integration for Missouri Botanical Garden, including TeaParty control and brightness adjustment informed by daylight and light sensors.
- Mosaic, the Jekyll Island Museum
Mad’s wireless QuickSilver installation at Mosaic, the Jekyll Island Museum, supported exhibit media and eliminated a dedicated equipment room.
- National Geographic: Confederate Flying Machine
For National Geographic, Mad reconstructed a proposed nineteenth-century flying machine through physical engineering and fabrication.
- National Geographic: Star Clock B.C.
Mad built an enlarged Antikythera mechanism for National Geographic’s Naked Science documentary, bringing ancient engineering into physical form.
- Orange County Regional History Center
Mad renewed three Orange County Regional History Center exhibit spaces in Orlando with QuickSilver media servers, interactive controls, projection and sound.
- Pennypickle’s Workshop: SATTA
Mad created Professor Pennypickle’s space-and-time travel exhibit with a custom console, eight projectors and an immersive audio environment.
- Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor Museum
Mad's QuickSilver integration for the Steelers Hall of Honor Museum at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
- President Ford's Cabinet Room
Mad contributed to the interactive Cabinet Room experience at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Romero Visitor Center
Mad's Romero Visitor Center renewal combines dome projection, curved displays, physical effects and interactive exhibits with QuickSilver and TeaParty control.
- Science Storms
Mad developed audiovisual systems and acoustic approaches for Science Storms at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, an open science gallery.
- Smithsonian: Interactive Robotics
Mad Systems developed control systems, graphics, media and interactive software for robotics exhibits at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
- Sony Wonderverse
Mad delivered audiovisual systems for Sony Wonderverse at Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook, Illinois, bringing sound and image into a varied entertainment venue.
- Taiji Terasaki: Transcendients
Mad created a walk-through projection container and indoor fog theater for artist Taiji Terasaki, engineering for the demands of mist projection.
- The Children’s Museum of the Upstate
Mad Systems designed museum AV and interactives and renewed the children’s television studio at The Children’s Museum of the Upstate.
- The Kavli Foundation
Mad's 2017 audiovisual and interactive work for the Fred Kavli memorial and meeting facilities at The Kavli Foundation headquarters in Los Angeles.
- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens
Mad Systems provided consultancy, design, implementation and initial media for the outdoor entrance video wall and audio at The Living Desert.
- TIME: The March
Mad supplied immersive audio and audiovisual equipment for TIME’s The March, a civil-rights exhibition at Chicago’s DuSable Museum.
- USC Shoah Foundation Headquarters
Mad combined a seven-display interactive glass wall, museum-quality interactives and conferencing at USC Shoah Foundation’s headquarters.
- Vista del Lago: Water Technology Exhibits
Mad's QuickSilver and Alice installation at Vista del Lago explains LiDAR and other DWR technologies through age- and language-tailored exhibit media.
- Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: Harry Potter
Mad created gigapixel imagery, graphics and software for eleven Hogwarts Castle Model stations, plus Marauder’s Map and visitor movie-making interactives.
- Your Baby's Amazing Brain
Mad transformed a trailer into MOTAL's Your Baby's Amazing Brain exhibition, with interactive learning in four languages and a projection-mapped brain.
Technologies
- A complete DSP . A much wider capability.
Explore Hatter DSP blocks, Lua and Python, soundscapes, MTCL and CTCS privacy sensing, head tracking, personal delivery and continuing acoustic engineering.
- A computing foundation that keeps your options open.
QuickSilver connects reliable AV with local AI, private recognition, visitor companions, accessible guidance and a practical path to future technologies.
- Alice®
Alice® tailors media to age, interests and chosen depth using venue-approved knowledge, with language, accessibility and opt-in continuity.
- Alice® Avatars
Alice® Avatars guide, educate and entertain with stories tailored to age, interests and chosen depth, using venue-approved knowledge and permitted visit continuity.
- Alice® OnBoard
Alice® OnBoard delivers age-appropriate, interest-led media on visitors’ own devices, with chosen depth, language and accessibility.
- Audiovisual systems
Mad designs, engineers, integrates and supports audiovisual and interactive systems, developing sound, media, interfaces and control around the creative brief.
- AV++® Analytics
AV++ Analytics brings selected use, dwell, flow and system observations to venue teams, with clear data sources, permissions and retention.
- Build the experience. Keep the possibilities open.
Explore AV system integration, QuickSilver®, Alice®, Lory®, Mad Hatter™, WorldModel™ and the wider Mad Systems technology family, with capability status and project scope.
- CaterPillar™
CaterPillar is patent-pending guidance for blind and low-vision visitors, connecting audio cues, authored routes and personal interpretation.
- CheshireCat®
CheshireCat® connects consented recognition with visitor preferences. Choose local processing, a temporary visit or opt-in membership continuity.
- CheshireTracks™ Understand the space. Verify the picture.
CheshireTracks develops local camera sensing for occupancy heat maps and visual exhibit checks, without identifying visitors or retaining their images.
- Find the name. Understand its role.
Find Mad’s complete technology family, support tools and reference architectures, with clear routes to product capabilities, implementation scope and development status.
- Give every language the whole room.
PixelsEverywhere makes visual interpretation programmable. Discover the first installation at ARC and complete English and Spanish language dignity.
- LifeSaver™
LifeSaver reduces unnecessary equipment operation through occupancy and schedules, with power stages and visitor-ready wake sequences planned together.
- LookingGlass® Concierge
LookingGlass® Concierge connects configured occupancy, queue and operational information with staff awareness and permitted guest-experience responses.
- Lory®
Lory® delivers approved parallel audio, captions, sign-language video and multilingual media through supported personal-device paths, including ListenAssist®.
- Mad Hatter™ A DSP for what comes next.
Explore Mad Hatter: a complete audio DSP with Lua and Python, soundscape authoring, Mad Presence head-tracked loudspeaker listening and private acoustic checks.
- QuickSilver® Retrofit
Retain suitable displays, projectors and speakers while replacing legacy playback and control with QuickSilver®. Add selected AV++® capabilities after retrofit.
- TeaParty®
TeaParty coordinates media, lighting, power and supported effects on QuickSilver through scheduled cues and events, with timing defined for the venue.
- the Deck™
The Deck™ gives docents, operators and maintenance teams the controls and system views assigned to their roles in a configured Mad installation.
- TruCheck™ Verify the experience.
TruCheck connects visual checks from CheshireTracks, acoustic verification from Hatter and operator inspection through TruView to the intended experience.
- TruView™
TruView™ provides configured remote visual checks of displays, projection and exhibit state, with view coverage and access controls defined for the venue.
- WonderLens™
WonderLens™, currently under development, explores spatial overlays that connect digital interpretation with physical exhibits on the QuickSilver® architecture.
Architecture
- A shared vocabulary for the decisions ahead.
Explore Maris J. Ensing’s books and the current WorldModel.global reference, with a clear distinction between architectural patterns and project implementation.
- Mad Intelligence™
Mad Intelligence keeps engineering active after the team leaves, connecting the designer’s intent, system capabilities and evidence of the experience.
- Purpose. Capability. Evidence.
Explore retained requirements, qualified resources, physical verification, governed adaptation and lifecycle continuity in the Mad Intelligence architecture.
- Shared operational state within the WorldModel™ architecture
How shared operational state supports consent, coordinated decisions and verification within the WorldModel™ architecture for intelligent physical environments.
- Ten layers. Eleven cross-cutting policies.
Explore the ten WorldModel architectural layers and eleven cross-cutting policies, including safety precedence, consent, resilience and non-gating assurance.
- The architecture, in five diagrams.
View and download the five WorldModel architecture diagrams: ten layers, eleven policies, runtime, federation and the Mad technology landscape.
- WorldModel™ A governed operating architecture for intelligent physical environments.
Explore the WorldModel™ reference architecture for governed decisions, consent, coordination, safety and accountability in intelligent physical environments.
- WorldModel™ OS
The WorldModel™ OS reference interface connects shared operational information and governed actions. Software availability and implementation scope are defined separately.
Company
- A useful visit. A considered use of data.
How Mad handles website enquiries, contact security, browser reading preferences and first-party aggregate website counts.
- Audiovisual systems. Designed for the experience.
Mad Systems designs, engineers, integrates and supports AV systems, interactive exhibits, sound, video, projection and show control for physical venues.
- Careers at Mad Systems
Explore current career opportunities and contact Mad about joining the team.
- Introducing Mad.
Introducing Mad, the next chapter of Mad Systems: AV engineering, interactive experiences and intelligence that keeps design intent in view for years to come.
- News
Mad news, project records, design and engineering guides, technology perspectives and a clearly labeled historical archive.
- Original thinking. Documented invention.
Explore Mad patents, technology marks and patent-pending work in Mad Intelligence, Hatter, WorldModel, WonderLens, CaterPillar and privacy-conscious sensing.
- Patent notice.
Patent marking for Mad Systems technologies. View issued patent references and the products and methods associated with those patents.
- What are you creating or changing?
Talk with Mad about design, a new project, an existing system, specialist engineering, a partnership or a focused Wonderland demonstration.
Reference & insights
- A Pragmatic Approach to Equipment Cooling in Exhibits
Practical enclosure-cooling considerations: heat load, equipment limits, controlled airflow, recirculation, access and verification in the installed condition.
- Access belongs in the experience.
Mad’s website accessibility approach, WCAG 2.2 AA target, reading controls, reduced motion and ways to request help.
- Add specialist capability to the team you already have.
Work with Mad on a defined design, software, engineering or technology scope, with clear interfaces, responsibilities and acceptance evidence.
- Alice Technology at Flux Innovation Lounge, London
Alice Technology at Flux Innovation Lounge, London: a dated Mad archive entry with verified context and original-source links.
- Alice-Based Exhibition for DWR's Vista Del Lago
Alice-Based Exhibition for DWR's Vista Del Lago: a dated Mad archive entry with verified context and original-source links.
- Alice® Case Studies
Alice in two documented 2024 settings: Vista Del Lago interpretation and London’s Flux Innovation Lounge, with current product scope kept separate.
- An experience people value. A system your team can operate.
Mad connects design and delivery with operation, maintenance and system evolution, for new venues and installations already in use.
- Announcing WorldModel™ and the Cognitive Governance Layer™
The WorldModel and CGL announcement, with current architecture, patent filings, implementation scope and project qualification clearly distinguished.
- AV Design for Architects and Designers, Part I
A practical design guide to coordinating audiovisual experiences with cable routes, cooling, acoustics, power and the intended visitor experience.
- AV Design for Architects and Designers, Part II
Part II of the design guide: early coordination, infrastructure planning and realistic options for adapting a venue system as requirements change.
- Better questions. Better project decisions.
Practical articles and references for clients, designers and technical teams on design, AV, multilingual experiences, system support and governed intelligence.
- Beyond the Artifact: Key Considerations for Modern Museums
Museum design considerations grounded in interpretive purpose, varied media, accessibility, editorial control, evaluation and practical operation.
- Build adaptive experiences together.
Connect your content and interaction design to a physical venue with Mad software, playback, show control and permitted visitor context.
- CI: Three Questions
CI: Three Questions: a dated Mad archive entry with verified context and original-source links.
- Design and technology for a museum experience
Develop a museum experience through interaction, prototypes, physical design, software and commissioning, with examples from Mad’s project work.
- Designing a complete experience for different visitors
Plan content, interfaces and media so different visitors receive a complete experience, with language, access, preferences and privacy in view.
- Designing Adaptable Training Environments with AV++®
An application perspective on media and interaction for training, with platform functions separated from domain-specific validation and learning outcomes.
- Designing for supportability and system evolution
Plan equipment access, software dependencies, recovery, service responsibilities and the evidence a venue needs at handover and through its working life.
- Develop the experience. Keep the creative intent.
Mad helps designers develop interactions, sound, media and physical interfaces, then connects creative intent to practical engineering and delivery.
- Environmental Audio versus Audio Loops
A late-1990s sound-environment account: layered background tracks, controlled random foreground sounds and loudspeakers placed through a themed space.
- Find the conversation that fits your role.
Find how Mad works with owners, designers, architects, integrators, developers, procurement teams and public institutions, with optional technical detail.
- Five New Monkeys
The five monkeys parable and why Mad chose non-proprietary compute hardware for adaptable, personalized audiovisual systems.
- Fourth Patent for Recognition-Based Media Delivery
Fourth Patent for Recognition-Based Media Delivery: a dated Mad archive entry with verified context and original-source links.
- From Concrete to Consciousness: How Cities Become Aware
A dated perspective on responsive places, with design, consent and coordination explained through illustrative scenarios and current development context.
- From traditional AV to a foundation that can evolve
Choose systems for the experience and its future. A QuickSilver retrofit establishes the foundation for adding selected AV++ capabilities.
- Give the experience room to work.
Mad coordinates acoustics, equipment, networks, power and maintenance access with building and exhibit design, from the brief through installation.
- Give the important decisions room to develop.
Bring Mad into a brief, design, specification or existing-system review. Define experience requirements, prototype questions and a practical next step.
- Governed AI: from a useful idea to a testable implementation
Develop an AI-assisted visitor experience around approved content, visitor choice, local services, human control and a testable implementation.
- Great ideas become real through a great team.
Meet the people behind Mad. Designers, engineers, programmers and project teams turn invention and shared expertise into working experiences.
- How design and engineering meet before installation
Connect design, media, software, fabrication and installation. Resolve the right interfaces and decisions at each stage of an experience.
- How to plan the working life of an experience
Plan for operators, diagnosis, maintenance and component refreshes, with lessons from Mad’s long-term work at Blue Planet Theater.
- Hyper-Personalization: The Must-Have Infrastructure for Guest Experiences
Connect authored content, visitor choices, privacy and QuickSilver infrastructure to create a defined, personal visitor experience.
- Ideas become experiences through people.
Meet the Mad team: combining design, engineering, software and fabrication since 1998 to create experiences and develop technology for their future.
- International AV and Traveling Exhibits
Planning a traveling or international experience: qualified power, spares, transport, assembly and authored language options for each venue.
- Issued Patent Covers Alice® Media Technology
The issued patent behind Alice® technology, with the granted record and current product information.
- Issued Patent Covers Lory® Media Delivery
The issued patent behind Lory® technology, with the granted record and current product information.
- Issued Patent for Recognition-Based Media Delivery
The issued patent behind CheshireCat® technology, with the granted record and current product information.
- LifeSaver
The LifeSaver introduction, with configured power states, visitor readiness and measured energy benefits explained for the actual installation.
- Mad in the press.
Read project coverage, interviews and technology reporting about Mad, plus selected opinion by Maris Ensing, with publication dates and original headlines.
- Maris J. Ensing
Maris J. Ensing is the founder of Mad and author of cornerstone articles on architectural AV, governed AI, and intelligent physical environments.
- Media kit.
Download official Mad logos and company boilerplates. Find rebrand information, a founder biography, technology descriptions and press contact details.
- Non-Proprietary Systems
What standard computer hardware contributes to maintainable venue systems, and why configuration, software, specialist controls and support still matter.
- Opening of Crayola IDEAworks
Opening of Crayola IDEAworks: a dated Mad archive entry with verified context and original-source links.
- Patent Protection for LookingGlass® Concierge
The issued patent behind LookingGlass® Concierge technology, with the granted record and current product information.
- Patented Methods for Personalized Media Delivery
Mad patented technology for personalized media: define the visitor experience, examine relevant IP and establish a qualified implementation scope.
- Personalization Without Surveillance - W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0
What W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0 supports, which privacy choices depend on implementation and how a venue could evaluate a limited exchange.
- Personalizing Cultural Attractions
Joe Kleiman’s April 2024 InPark interview about Mad, Alice, Lory and QuickSilver, linked to the original with a separate current technology note.
- Public experiences built around people.
Mad connects design and engineering with multilingual content, accessibility, practical operation and lifecycle requirements for public institutions.
- QuickSilver at Blue Planet Theater
QuickSilver at Blue Planet Theater: a dated Mad archive entry with verified context and original-source links.
- QuickSilver at Harry S. Truman Presidential Library
QuickSilver at Harry S. Truman Presidential Library: a dated Mad archive entry with article-availability information and a specific related resource.
- QuickSilver® AV System Making Waves
The 2019 QuickSilver perspective revisited through specific design decisions, qualified replacement paths and current operating tools.
- Reimagining Retail: AI-Driven Personalization
A dated perspective on personalized retail experiences, with visitor choice, venue-controlled content and application concepts clearly distinguished.
- Speakers, Speakers and Speakers
A guide to loudspeaker selection and placement, intelligibility and adjacent exhibits, with acoustic design distinguished from playback and level controls.
- Specify the result. Ask for the evidence.
Mad helps define project requirements, RFP criteria, implementation scope and acceptance evidence for design, media and intelligent venue systems.
- Split Flap Boards, Anyone?
An archived design response for the look of a split-flap board using a digital display, with optional personalization separated from the recorded project.
- System Longevity
How maintainability, documentation, software support and qualified upgrades shape a venue system’s useful life, with a documented Blue Planet renewal.
- The Future of Immersive Experiences Will Be Built in Waves
Maris J. Ensing’s three-wave perspective on immersive intelligence, with present tools, governed context and future personal-AI cooperation distinguished.
- Walk the Moon with a Digital Astronaut
An avatar-guide perspective inspired by an astronaut visit, with the imagined museum tour separated from Mad’s Samtoo demonstration and development work.
- Web 3.0/4.0/5.0 - New Patent-Pending Technology
A dated filing perspective on portable preferences and personalized experiences, with patent status, future scenarios and implemented scope distinguished.
- Webinar #6: QuickSilver® Toolbox
The May 2020 QuickSilver Toolbox webinar, with its original recording link, historical product names and separately labeled current technology references.
- What architectural AV contributes to a design
Coordinate sound, media, controls and infrastructure with the physical design so the intended experience can be built, operated and maintained.
- What governed AI means for a physical venue
A concise reference for governed AI in physical venues: authority, decision fields, WorldModel responsibilities, safety precedence and implementation evidence.
- What Makes a Patent Valuable in the AV World?
A practical way to evaluate patented venue technology: purpose, capability, evidence, support and the IP relevant to the proposed implementation.
- What to define before a technology specification
Start with the audience experience and operating needs, then develop the interfaces, infrastructure and acceptance criteria that support them.
- Wonderland. Bring your experience into the room.
Visit Mad’s Wonderland in Orange, California. Explore working technology demonstrations, Mad Presence head-tracked sound and your next design question.
- Working with Mad technology and your delivery team
Mad can supply technology, specialist engineering and implementation support within an agreed project scope, alongside an owner’s selected delivery partners.
- WorldModel™: The Next Category in Themed Entertainment
A perspective on coherent visitor experiences, with consent, member continuity and WorldModel architecture separated from future application concepts.
- Your Baby's Amazing Brain Traveling Exhibit
Your Baby's Amazing Brain Traveling Exhibit: a dated Mad archive entry with verified context and original-source links.