Interactive VR Installation for ZKM Karlsruhe

What happens when you throw a small team of 3D designers, programers and tinkers in a little room for a few days? Super Nubibus evolves! 

The HTC Vive is one of the coolest VR devices, yet it has still some limitations: The physical space the users can access is limited through the both lighthouses and the new freedom in the virtual environment leaves a lot of people uncanny and shaky. We wanted to address these problems in a conceptual way: We designed a physical basket of a hot air balloon that was 1:1 mapped in the virtual. With this device the users were limited in their physical freedom without beeing percieved as hard limitation. The physical basket could be used as fixed guide and connection between virtual and material environment. 

Our concept has proven that these ideas lead to success: During the KAMUNA (Karlsruher Museums Nacht) and Offerta (large consumer fair) we had no reports at all about motion sickness or discomfort. Even children could use our application in an intuitive yet fun way: 

Setup with truss system for the Offerta 2017 in Karlsruhe: 

Fly over historical Karlsruhe and explore the city and its surroundings in a minimalist aesthetic, based on authentic architectural models. Take control of the balloon’s burner and determine how far you are flying over the buildings. Feel the fresh breeze blowing around your neck and the warmth of the blower that radiates from above. But the most important part is: Enjoy the view. 

We are lucky and honored that this project was exhibited at the ZKM: Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe until summer 2018.  In autumn 2018 this project was exhibited at newNew Festival Stuttgart

Research & Findings

  • Staging Virtual Reality Exhibits for Bystander Involvement in Semi-public Spaces (journal paper on researchgate)
  • Staging Virtual Reality Exhibits for Bystander Involvement in Semi-Public Spaces (conference paper on researchgate)
  • Staging Location-Based Virtual Reality to Improve Immersive Experiences (paper on researchgate)

Presenting at EAI Endorsed Transactions on Creative Technologies conference at Aalborg University, Denmark

Get in touch with this project here: www.super-nubibus.de