I’d like to go a bit more in-depth with the usage of VR with the environment presented by Marshmallow Laser Feast. Marshmallow Laser Feast is a design trio based in the UK and they create VR and multimedia experiences for businesses. This piece, In the Eyes of the Animal, is a VR experience in 2015 that uses virtual reality software in moss helmets to create artsy impressions of how a forest might look to a mosquito, a dragonfly, an owl and a frog. It was a collaboration with the Forest Commission of England to engage people more with their local forests. According to Hyperallergic, the designers used data taken from remote sensing technology, CT scans and aerial drone footage in order to create the virtual perspectives one sees while wearing the helmet. Not only did people wear helmets that provided the visuals and sound, but they also had sensor packs on their backs in order to feel movement as well. The experience seems to be multi-sensory for the viewer. It’s interesting to me how you could just take the helmet off and see and feel the same space but through “human” senses.
It just seems like an interesting network idea since you’re out in nature physically connecting with other people sitting around you, who are having the same experiences, while also having your own connection with the forest.
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Dunne, Carey. “Mossy Virtual Reality Helmets Let You See the Forest as Animals Do.” Hyperallergic, Hyperallergic Media Inc., 6 Nov. 2015, https://tinyurl.com/ybq9rhs5.