Innovation In Immersive Experiences

At VISION, we happen to be curious people—and when you combine curiosity with an inclination to be at the forefront of emerging technology, we tend to do a lot of daydreaming.

What’s possible with what we have? And what do we need to achieve the impossible?

Last week, we had an assignment that allowed us to hone in on our skills that could be used for a variety of live event experiences, big or small in the world of projection mapping—on a wedding cake, of all things. We learned a lot in the process; the first being that a wedding cake is good for more than eating. 

1. Video projection mapping allows us to use any object, place or surface as a screen without distortion to manipulate an object’s natural geometry: See wedding cake reference above.

2. The cost of projection mapping, like most technology, is more attainable than in earlier years but still requires budget to make sure this is the right fit for the client or project.

3. Working with this wedding cake made us think about elevating normal experiences by applying technology. This is about more than the ability to project on large walls or buildings—been there, done that. This is about creating immersive experiences out of nothing; taking an experience from standard to thrilling.

What Is An Immersive Experience?

At VISION, we’re developing new ways to incorporate our clients’ ideas into FULLY immersive experiences. While we’re continuing to explore 3D projection mapping, there’s so much more. We’ve looked into how physical interaction within virtual reality can allow the user to feel as if they’re really submerged within a new reality. For example, we’ve envisioned developing a VR experience that depicts a user carefully progressing down a plank out of a high-up building—and to intensify the contact, we can actually build a small wooden platform that allows the user to feel the width of the wood as they walk, adding a physical reaction (and faux-danger) to the virtual experience. Makes your heart beat faster just thinking about it.

Real Data

Immersive experiences don’t have to rely on physical interaction or projection though. Real-time data can serve as an important jump-off into creating experiences that truly live ON. Using the concept of leveraging real-time data, we’ve developed real-time digital art displays that use web-cams to scan a room to determine how many people are in it. Depending on the time of day or the amount of people coming into the building, the artwork adjusts and fluctuates, creating a work of art (on display) to always be unique and changing.

And the best part? All types of real-time data can be used to drive the content for interactive displays. Weather reports, traffic maps, temperature measurements, celestial patterns, or real bodies in a room—this information can be plugged into displays that adjust the viewer’s’ experience live. For example, you could build a real, physical tree into a wall and project virtual leaves onto it, using real-time wind readings from directly outside to drive the animation breathing life into the tree.

This is our challenge. And this is our passion. To be able to capture a person’s attention and connect them to a brand—to influence their perceptions, to give them the opportunity to accept new ideas or to join a movement is an extraordinary adventure that can have a lasting impact. We are always thinking forward and testing the boundaries of what is possible to create experiences that live ON.

Technology might have limits. VISION doesn’t.

Want to talk about your next immersive experience? Shoot us a note and we’ll be more than happy to explore.