For the 2013 Digital Shoreditch Festival, Inition opened its doors to a curious crowd, keen to try out our augmented and virtual reality experiences.
Between May 28th and 29th, the line between the real and unreal became increasingly blurred but the ‘wow’ responses were very authentic, even “stomach-churning” according to Liat Clark from Wired magazine.
Following a busy press tour attended by the likes of DigitalSpy.co.uk, The Independent, CNET and New Scientist, the house was open.
The edit suite was transformed into the ‘Inition Medical Chamber’ which housed several healthcare related applications including the “Hypoglycemia Pod”, a multi-sensory experience that disorientated drivers with blurred visuals, distorted audio and challenging steering control.
Originally commissioned by Ogilvy Digital Health, it was designed so medical professionals could empathise with patients who suffer hypoglycemic attacks.
Markers on a mock dinner table and hospital bed came to life when viewed through the iPads. A photorealistic heart, lungs and foot could be dissected ‘digitally’ and a life-sized transparent human body hovered above the table.
The demo space was bustling with people interacting with over 30 VR and AR applications, from changing the paint job of a full-sized Jaguar to flying over the planes of Africa.
Our friends at MakingView showed new software which enables 360 degree video to be explored within an Oculus Rift head mounted display. Simply by moving their head in any direction, guests could experience the speed of a Formula One race or thrill of a base jump.
WizDish inventor Julian Williams brought in his omni-directional treadmill style device soon heading to Kickstarter.
The Oculus Rift was a major draw, with the consumer version not due out until 2014. The wide field-of-view HMD raised almost $2.5 million on Kickstarter last year and we believe it has already kickstarted a virtual reality revolution. Inition decided to create an Oculus Rift Digital Shoreditch Festival experience that people would not forget and came up with the ‘Virtual Vertigo Challenge’.
The experience, which Luke Westaway from CNET described as “totally terrifying”, invited volunteers to walk along a wooden plank across two tall derelict skyscrapers. A few confidently strided across, perhaps still aware of the surrounding onlookers. Others could not even leave the ‘safety hut’. All agreed it was physically and mentally challenging, fully engaging and completely unique.
It was our busiest Digital Shoreditch event yet and we sense an almost tangible excitement about AR and VR. This is just the start and we can’t wait to create even more extraordinary experiences with this extraordinary technology.