UnfoldVR is a project collaboration with Gergo Palkovics as we experimented with Virtual Reality (VR) Technology for the first time. As a result of our experimentations we created a new way to experience VR that focused on the physical and spatial quality of our social interactions. We were invited to demo the project at Oculus NextGen in Menlo Park, California.
The goal of the project was to remove what we understand about the world, and how we behave in it and figure out ways to use the virtual environment to develop new interactions. What can we unfold if we think beyond our current perception of the world?
Solution | Social Exploration
The virtual environment is a social space where engaging with others who are physically present is key to how you explore different spaces. It is a new type of control scheme that dictates how two or more users navigate the virtual space. How they interact with others is tied to the real environment. UnfoldVR invites everyone in the room to participate and put a headset on.
When users interact with others in the real world the virtual environment responds and rewards users with a wider field of view. By reducing their field of view to a small viewport there is an incentive to collaborate with others in order to see more of the environment.
Users use their vision as a way of communicating and understanding their world. Once they spot another user, they can explore the environment together. The interaction of looking at each other will open up a different world that they both can share.
Problem | Social Disconnection
The overlap of the physical and digital world already exists. We take the digital world everywhere we go. There is no need to sacrifice the intimacy of socializing in a real space. Why not join, rather than separate, these two experiences?
