A Florida man is taking the phrase “deck the halls,” to the next level, with his magical home holiday displays, powered by artificial intelligence.Anthony Steel said he has been going all out, decorating his home in Daytona Beach over the past 15 years, for his family and friends.“It was an escape for me. And the more I created, the more I experimented with different types of medium,” Steel said.Steel said he does not do this for the public. He said it is free for his family and friends to enjoy when they host holiday get-togethers.’The more they loved it, the more I did it. And it just became this spiraling, dominant force in my life,” he said.The ProcessSteel said he has collected or built almost all his scenes like gingerbread villages and Candyland themes from scratch over the past decade and a half. Steel said their two kids used to help, but they are now empty-nesters and put everything up themselves. He and his wife excitedly anticipate the drive to their storage units to pick up hundreds of bulbs, lights, trees and unique homemade structures, based on the new themes of each season.”Everyone loves it. Everyone has come to expect some over the top, almost absurd Christmas experience from me, And the challenge is, how do you beat it every year? And that’s, that’s part of the joy for me,” he said.This year, he used a few different artificial intelligence software applications to bring his displays to life.AI-powered holiday magicFrom the moment you walk through the door, you are greeted by snow, village homes and an AI-elf who greets you, after scanning a magical card on a kiosk. This magical scene is placed in what is usually his front entryway. But he has kiosks placed throughout his home. Step further in and you will see whether you are on the ‘naughty or nice list’ in Santa’s workshop, another AI-powered scene. The kiosks form an AI-powered network that creates several tailored, unique and immersive holiday experiences for guests of all ages.”I have an experience which I called Keep the Wonder, which is for the true believers, the small ones who come through and enjoy the experience. And then I have a couple of other experiences which are, for adults who want a little more humor in the mix,” he said.Steel said he recently retired from the tech industry. So he not only appreciates being able to spend more time on his elaborate creations, he loved that he could level-up the experience with AI.“For me, it was I was like a kid in a candy store. Suddenly I could do all of these things. And over the last few years, I’d been experimenting as the models and as the technology has improved,” he said.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —
A Florida man is taking the phrase “deck the halls,” to the next level, with his magical home holiday displays, powered by artificial intelligence.
Anthony Steel said he has been going all out, decorating his home in Daytona Beach over the past 15 years, for his family and friends.
“It was an escape for me. And the more I created, the more I experimented with different types of medium,” Steel said.
Steel said he does not do this for the public. He said it is free for his family and friends to enjoy when they host holiday get-togethers.
‘The more they loved it, the more I did it. And it just became this spiraling, dominant force in my life,” he said.
The Process
Steel said he has collected or built almost all his scenes like gingerbread villages and Candyland themes from scratch over the past decade and a half.
Steel said their two kids used to help, but they are now empty-nesters and put everything up themselves.
He and his wife excitedly anticipate the drive to their storage units to pick up hundreds of bulbs, lights, trees and unique homemade structures, based on the new themes of each season.
“Everyone loves it. Everyone has come to expect some over the top, almost absurd Christmas experience from me, And the challenge is, how do you beat it every year? And that’s, that’s part of the joy for me,” he said.
This year, he used a few different artificial intelligence software applications to bring his displays to life.
AI-powered holiday magic
From the moment you walk through the door, you are greeted by snow, village homes and an AI-elf who greets you, after scanning a magical card on a kiosk.
This magical scene is placed in what is usually his front entryway. But he has kiosks placed throughout his home.
Step further in and you will see whether you are on the ‘naughty or nice list’ in Santa’s workshop, another AI-powered scene.
The kiosks form an AI-powered network that creates several tailored, unique and immersive holiday experiences for guests of all ages.
“I have an experience which I called Keep the Wonder, which is for the true believers, the small ones who come through and enjoy the experience. And then I have a couple of other experiences which are, for adults who want a little more humor in the mix,” he said.
Steel said he recently retired from the tech industry. So he not only appreciates being able to spend more time on his elaborate creations, he loved that he could level-up the experience with AI.
“For me, it was I was like a kid in a candy store. Suddenly I could do all of these things. And over the last few years, I’d been experimenting as the models and as the technology has improved,” he said.