In my project, I've decided to create a Mixed Reality (XR) experience for my audience by combining Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) together. As a traveler, I would like to experience different environments before I have physically been to a place. Thus, one of the intended goals of my project is to provide a convenient way for people to get a sense of different types of outdoor environments from the comfort of their own home. The outdoor environments featured in my project include both nature (such as the ocean) and urban (such as the park) sights. To achieve my intended goal, I've proposed an installation for a pair of smart-glasses that will hopefully exist one day in the future. The idea (or concept) behind my installation proposal is that people will be able to view everyday objects at home from a completely brand-new perspective by simply wearing the futuristic smart-glasses. The featured outdoor environments in this project are displayed in multiple virtual 3D spheres. These spheres are created by using 360° panoramas images taken at different places around the world. Each of them is attached to its related real-life object.
When the audience walks into one of the virtual spheres, they will get a super immersive experience while being surrounded by the whole (360°) space. To put it in another perspective, they will be able to look around the space in all directions inside the virtual sphere. This immersive experience will not only come from the visual aspect but the audio aspect as well. In other words, people will also hear different types of sounds as they enter any of the spheres. For instance, when they walk into a sphere of Ocean, they will be hearing the sound of waves splashing in addition to being surrounded by virtual nature.