Want to get into VR but can’t stomach a rollercoaster ride? London-based design studio FIELD has an alternative.
Dubbed “Quasar”, the project consists of three sculpted helmets, containing fibreglass, each kitted out with an Oculus Rift headset that plunge wearers into futuristic scenes while motion-tracking armbands allow them to interact with each virtual environment. “Each experience has a slightly different control mechanism and completely different visuals and sound,” Field’s creative director, Marcus Wendt, told Tech Monthly.
Exploring the disconnect between real and virtual and our constant quest for the “new”, the helmets are themed on male, female and androgynous adventurers, representing increasingly futuristic scenarios. The male transports the wearer to the outer atmosphere of the sun where motion is achieved through swimming-style arm movements, while the androgynous one allows you to manipulate and play with abstract, exploding shapes. The female helmet, meanwhile, places the wearer in an intergalactic space where a swoosh of the hand generates new galaxies and nebula. “It’s really calming and it’s a nice pleasant experience. There is no shooting involved,” says Wendt. “It’s more like going to a sauna or a spa.”
It’s an application far removed from VR’s burgeoning role in fuelling adrenalin-filled fantasies, instead exploring a more aesthetic approach. “I think what we are aiming to do is make these intuitive playful experiences that can hardly be described with words but that function on a sensorial, emotional level – basically like being able to play with sound and sculpting sound with your hands,” Wendt says.
Recently on show in London, the project is set to go on international tour later this year, while the team is hoping to release the virtual experiences through a downloadable app this autumn – an approach that Wendt hopes will not only bring the project to a wider audience, but also inspire young technologists to further develop the possibilities for VR. “There is a clear need to develop new concepts unique to this medium,” he says. “And because it is a lot of fun, and you can make awesome stuff with it, I am sure people will do it.”
