On June 29th and 30th, the Immersive Arts Space presented new developments from current projects. Visitors were invited to experience shifting realities with or without Virtual Reality goggles and to learn more about digital gold in our smartphones.
More about the featured research project Shifting Realities.
More about Kamituga | Digital Gold.
The REFRESH#4 conference on Design, Arts and Technology took place from November 10th to 14th 2021. The fourth edition focussed on the topics «Immersive Journalism», «Immersive Play», «Digital Identities», «Digital Doubles» and «Techno-Biological Futures». The conference featured keynote speeches including panel discussions with national and international guests as well as a large exhibition have been part of the conference.
Photographs of the conference have been published and can me viewed in this gallery. All photo credits are with Regula Bearth, ZHdK 2021.
The Immersive Arts Space hosted the Lab Insights and a VR exhibition. Team members offered insights into the projects Shifting Realities (explorations within the intersection of reality and virtuality), Neural Volumetric Capture (experimental methods for capturing photorealistic 3D models), Digital Twins (development of animated digital avatars based on photogrammetry and Meta Humans) and cineDesk (a real-time collaborative simulation tool for the development of film scenes, VR experiences and games in 3D spaces).
Credits:
Multiuser VR: Chris Elvis Leisi, Oliver Sahli
Helium Drones/ SAR: Martin Fröhlich, Max Kriegleder,
Joel Gähwiler, Roman Jurt, Mariana Grüning
Volumetric Capture: Florian Bruggisser
cineDesk: Norbert Kottmann, Valentin Huber
Sound Design: Luca Magni
Lights: Sébastien Schiesser
Project Lead: Martin Fröhlich
Production: Kristina Jungic
Head of Unit: Christian Iseli
Shifting Realities is an overarching interdisciplinary research project, that started in Spring 2021. The goal is to explore the interplay of real and virtual experiences as well as the interaction of VR-users and by-standing spectators in shared experiences. Combining these different perspectives creates scope for new practices and forms
of expression in Extended Reality (XR).
The research is structured in four binary focus areas (or pair of opposites):
• Virtual vs. augmented environments
• Virtual vs. real spaces, objects or humans
• Binaural vs. spatial audio
• Storytelling vs. game mechanics
The research focuses at the interfaces defined by the pairs of opposites above. Through them, differences in perspective, shifts in perception, and the extent of interactivity can be shaped and controlled. The primary goal is the development of prototypical unique solutions in limited subareas.
In a first phase, basic concepts of reality shifts were explored and developed. They all depict situations, in which the users find themselves in transitional states between virtuality and reality. The aesthetics to create such transitional settings are defined by rough 3D scans, sketchy point clouds created in real time by depth cameras or the Oculus passthrough feature. The resulting imperfection of such low-end processes induces an awareness of our fluctuating and at times uncertain perception while experiencing mixed reality content.
In a second phase, three prototypical experiences were developed. Two are device-based with mixed reality components displayed in VR goggles:
• PASSING THROUGH THE REAL and
• FRAGMENTS OF REALITY.
One is installation-based with spatial augmented reality contingent on projection mapping:
• FRAGMENTS OF A CONVERSATION.
For the first time, the three experiences were presented in preliminary versions at the LabInsights in June 2022.
Team:
Researchers: Florian Bruggisser, Martin Fröhlich, Valentin Huber, Norbert Kottmann, Eric Larrieux, Chris Elvis Leisi, Oliver Sahli, Stella Speziali. Production manager: Kristina Jungic; Chief Technician: Sébastien Schiesser. Principal Investigator: Prof. Christian Iseli
During REFRESH #4, team members offered insights into the projects Shifting Realities (explorations within the intersection of reality and virtuality), Neural Volumetric Capture (experimental methods for capturing photorealistic 3D models), Digital Twins (development of animated digital avatars based on photogrammetry and Meta Humans) and cineDesk (a real-time collaborative simulation tool for the development of film scenes, VR experiences and games in 3D spaces).
Lab Insights took place on Nov 11th and 10th 2021 at the Immersive Arts Space.
Installation and immersive performance by Eric Larrieux (MA Electroacoustic Composition) / October 6th – 9th 2021
Jordan Juras & Davide Luciani are Artists in Residence 2021 at the Immersive Arts Space and ICST.
Focal Field explores the spectrum of presence felt in augmented sonic reality – from the intimacy of closeness to the abstracted relation between disembodied voice, sound, and space. Perceptual relations between the real and virtual are tightened by situating augmented reality sound within synthetic reverberant architectures, and reinforcing localisation through light. The installation engages with our necessity to rationalise any aural manifestation. These fields of fragmentation – between the spectrums of connection and disconnection – have led the duo to draft a sound space where the voice, the Phonè, and its experience become the object and subject of aesthetic speculation.
The presentations took place on Thursday, October 22nd 2021.
In the Z-Module “Immersive Landscapes in Art and Film” in September 2021, students from the fields of design, film, theatre and fine arts dealt with photogrammetry, virtual reality and 3D sound. Within two weeks, the groups developed three different immersive landscapes:
– Using virtual reality glasses, an actor could discover a walk-in visual scenery by means of the sense of touch and change it by interacting with virtual objects.
– Real hands became moving digital sculptures in a planetary virtual reality landscape using photogrammetry and motion capture.
– White rigid bodies became transformers of an abstract soundscape via motion capture in a participatory performance in immersive arts space.
In addition to engaging with transdisciplinary art and film projects, the students were able to test and evaluate the latest ‘interactive experience’ with Birdly at Somniacs in a field trip.
Teaching Staff:
Miriam Loertscher (Institute for Performing Arts and Film)
Thomas Isler (Department Fine Arts)
Jyrgen Ueberschär (Departement Fine Arts)
Valentin Huber (Department Performing Arts and Film/ Immersive Arts Space)
Stella Speziali (Immersive Arts Space)
Eric Larrieux (Immersive Arts Space)
Diploma project, MA Game Design, by Oliver Sahli
Power and Presence explores meaningful and empowering interaction in virtual reality and how it can be implemented as game mechanics without breaking the feeling of being in another world. A critical analysis of game design theories and how they need to be applied to VR is demonstrated through a game that uses phonetic interaction.
Oliver Sahli, research associate at the Immersive Arts Space and graduation student in Master in Game Design, showcased his project Power and Presend within the diploma exhibition of the ZHdK in June.
Diploma project, MA Game Design, by Chris Elivis Leisi
In today’s VR games, the body often serves as the controller. However, when the player enters the virtual world, the connection to the physical environment is often lost. This master’s thesis deals with immersion mechanics in VR and reveals the potentials that arise when one’s own home can be integrated into the virtual world as a play area.
Chris Elvis Leisi, research associate in the Immersive Arts Space and graduate student in Master in Game Design, exhibited his graduation project Virtual Real World within the diploma exhibition of the ZHdK in June.
In case of stability issues during playback, try the direct Vimeo link:
https://vimeo.com/event/758283/86e8cbc60b
