Project AWE: Awe-inspiring Wellness Environment

Perhaps, VR could make expe­ri­ences of awe more avail­able to people who need them.

Using our knowl­edge on awe in VR, we opted to create an ‘awe-inspiring well­ness envi­ron­ment (AWE)’ with our part­ners at the Centre for Digital Media in Vancouver. Between the iSpace Lab and a team of Masters of Digital Media cohort, we iter­ated a pro­to­type VR envi­ron­ment that takes an imm­er­sant on a jour­ney through time and space. The envi­ron­ment doesn’t use hand con­trollers or com­pli­cated game mechan­ics to nav­i­gate, and fea­tures a scene that allows for full envi­ron­ment explo­ration, and also guided scenes where the imm­er­sant is led. Immersants simply lean in the direc­tion they wish to go. Learn more about this navigation interface.

Many imm­er­sants report feel­ings of per­sonal con­nec­tion to the guide, which is a mys­te­ri­ous crea­ture of light. During the experience’s climax, imm­er­sants have reported deep thoughts about their place in the world. We have a lot of work to do with the envi­ron­ment, as we aim to re-iterate with our par­tic­i­pants in the com­mu­nity through the process of co-creation. Our goal is that our sub­se­quent envi­ron­ments iterated throughout 2018 will allow for even more excit­ing, intu­itive inter­faces, and yet more awe-inspiring features.

How does it work?

Integrating a pre-VR experience with an immersive VR experience, we use a novel, custom interface for intuitive navigation and creative elements to prompt curiosity. In creating AWE, we synergistically combine art-led practice and a research-based design processes to evoke authentic emotions. The result is an installation that in some immersants elicits transformational experiences consisting of feelings of global connectedness and greater purpose.

The use of emotionally-charged audio and visuals aids in eliciting awe and wonder. Through a mixed-reality, physical environment that blends into a head-mounted display (HMD) VR environment, an immersant proceeds through four stages of an awe-inspiring journey: Pre-VR (physical meditation area), virtual Forest, virtual Lake, and virtual Space. A mystical ‘Sprite’ fidns the immersant on Earth, and guides them through the virtual environments, whereupon a the journey builds to a climax in Space with an incredible image of Earth from afar, evoking feelings of awe and connectedness.

The immersive journey

The experience begins inside a mixed-reality environment designed to calm and ready the immersant (stage 1). Projected visuals and soothing audio frame the environment, which contains objects mirroring those in the virtual world, inviting an easing into the experience. Next, immersants are seated on our navigation interface, and wear a HMD with headphones for a 6DoF, immersive VR experience. The first scene is set inside a tent in the middle of the woods (stage 2). “Sprite” appears and guides them through the woods. The immersant can explore, while the Sprite gently prompts them to follow into a lake, requiring a leap of faith and trust. Upon entering the water (stage 3), the immersant gradually sinks with the Sprite into the depths where magical sea creatures venture into sight. Stars begin to appear, and the water opens to a portal into Space (stage 4). The Sprite’s appearance is like that of stars in Space, and in the ultimate reveal, the Earth comes into focus with the Sun unveiling from behind. After reveling in the beauty and vastness of our planet, the immersant’s vision recedes, and they awaken at their campsite on Earth, where it is now dawn.

How do we know what the immersant feels?

We used research to derive and test our theory of awe elicitation, then implemented a variety of validation techniques to obtain evidence whether the design features are effective and inform how to improve them further. This was done through a review of awe-inspiring experiences, use of biosensors to obtain physiological data about the immersant’s emotions, and an interview technique called Cued-Recall Debriefing. Through recognition of the immersants’ affective experience during each iteration, we were able to validate artistic intuition and thus design for the emotional arc.

This installation is undergoing continuous iterations through a research-based design process. There will be forthcoming papers that explore the work in more detail in later 2018 onwards.