Picsolve International Ltd. is a provider of imagery capture, distribution platforms and retailing solutions for the leisure, theme park and tourist industries. Picsolve is based in
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
, UK and has offices in the US, South East Asia and the Middle East. Picsolve was formerly known as Rx Technology Europe Ltd.
Picsolve has operations at ~500 sites around the world and employs up to 1,500 staff throughout the year.
History
Rx Technology was founded in 1994 in
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
, UK and later changed its name to Picsolve International Ltd in 2002.
The business was acquired by Meridian Equity from its founding owner managers in May 2006. In July 2008 Picsolve was bought by Fidelity Equity Partners in a management buy out worth £33m. The deal included a senior debt package of 13m provided by Royal Bank of Scotland.
Investment
In 2012 Picsolve received a £10m investment from private backers to invest in capital and wipe out debt.
In November 2013 it was announced that Picsolve had received a US$13m investment from Moonray Investors, part of
Fidelity Worldwide Investment
Fidelity International Ltd, or FIL for short, is a company that provides investment management services including mutual funds, pension management and fund platforms to private and institutional investors. Fidelity International was originall ...
.
Transition
The company entered administration on 4 May 2020 with
Deloitte
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...
appointed as administrators. The company then merged with
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
-based
AI specialists Pomvom, closing the deal on 19 June 2020.
Products
Picsolve provide a range of
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
services to
theme parks
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
and leisure attractions including
ride photography, walkabout & event photography, ride video,
green screen experiences,
waterpark
A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
photography and digital products. In 2012 Picsolve launched GSX which uses green screen technology to superimpose people into videos.
Ride Photography
Picsolve installs and operates ride photography on
rollercoasters
A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
(sometimes referred to as
on-ride photography) and rides at more than 350 locations throughout the world. Picsolve technology employs shutterless
cameras
A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...
capable of capturing between 4 and 30 frames per second at 16
megapixel
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...
resolution. These cameras have the ability to capture
image
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
s with an equivalent shutter speed of 1/10,000th second.
Walkabout & Event Photography
Picsolve provide a walkabout photography service at a range of locations including
Alton Towers
Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, ...
,
Atlantic, The Palm and
Legoland Windsor
Legoland Windsor Resort (), styled and also known as Legoland Windsor, is a theme park and resort in Windsor, Berkshire in England, themed around the Lego brand. The park opened on 17 March 1996 and is currently operated by Merlin Entertainment ...
.
Ride video
Ride videos provide video footage of theme park rides for guests. Picsolve has installations that feature both on-board and off-board footage which are combined to create footage which is sold to guests on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
.
GSX (Green screen experience)
Using
green screen technology Picsolve are able to provide theme park and attraction visitors with
superimposed photos. Pictures are taken against either a green or blue screen and then superimposed to make visitors appear against a different backdrop. In 2012 the GSX system won the
IAAPA
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) represents over 6,000 amusement-industry members in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates several global attractions-industry trade shows. Its annual IAAPA Expo in ...
2012 Brass Ring Award Best New Product in the Games and Merchandise category.
Waterpark Photography
Picsolve offer image capture solutions for use with water-based rides.
Digital Products
Picsolve provide services that allow photos to be accessed online, on mobile
and shared across social networks.
Awards
*
IAAPA
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) represents over 6,000 amusement-industry members in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates several global attractions-industry trade shows. Its annual IAAPA Expo in ...
2012 Brass Ring Award Best New Product in the Games and Merchandise category.
References
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Companies based in Derby