Bringing Multi-Sensory XR Experiences To Life With “Symbiosis” At PAM CUT - ARPost

Symbiosis, an award-winning multi-sensory XR acquisition directed by Marcel van Brakel and Mark Meeuwenoord, debuted astatine the Portland Art Museum Center for an Untold Tomorrow (PAM CUT) connected November 12, 2022. It’s 1 of the world’s archetypal multi-user and multi-sensory XR experiences that leverages storytelling and engages each of the participant’s 5 senses, including their olfactory and gustatory systems.

Redefining Multi-Sensory XR Experiences With “Symbiosis”

In Symbiosis, participants are taken 200 years into the future, to a satellite wherever mixed beingness forms locomotion the world and person a symbiotic relationship. To entree this multi-sensory experience, participants request to archetypal prime a quality and role.

They deterioration individualized haptic suits that manipulate their assemblage and posture, arsenic good arsenic change their sensory perceptions. This technology, coupled with brushed robotics, VR sensors, and VR headsets, allows the participants to alteration into caller beings with altered bodies and caller senses and research a new, greatly altered satellite populated by mixed, post-human beingness forms.

Participants archetypal travel a idiosyncratic storyline successful the Symbiosis world but yet travel to conscionable different participants via their altered characters and prosecute with them successful a corporate eating ritual. Here, they stock foods successful some the virtual and existent worlds.

One precise notable facet of the haptic suits is that they are designed to assistance participants consciousness each the antithetic stimuli that travel with this caller futuristic world, frankincense altering their perceptions. Furthermore, the suits alteration the wearers to beryllium successful sync with the post-human quality that they’re playing, helping marque the acquisition adjacent much immersive.

To bring the multi-sensory XR experiences a measurement further, the participants’ senses of sensation and odor are besides engaged. Specially-designed aromas are released successful sync with each unsocial experience. Moreover, the vegetarian snacks designed by a Michelin-starred edifice successful the Netherlands, are offered to further enrich the experience.

The multi-sensory XR acquisition is inspired by the publication Staying with the Trouble and its section “The Camille Stories: Children of Compost,” by Donna J. Haraway, a distinguished prof emerita successful the humanities part astatine UC Santa Cruz.

How “Symbiosis” XR Experience Works

Brought to beingness by Polymorf, a Dutch acquisition plan collective, and Studio Biarritz, Symbiosis transforms participants and turns them into not conscionable spectators but besides performers.

Participants volition beryllium welcomed successful the lobby and fitted into idiosyncratic haptic suits that are equipped with VR sensors. Furthermore, they volition don VR headsets that are equipped with olfactory fixtures, which volition merchandise specially-designed aromas to further enrich the experience.

Throughout the full experience, participants volition beryllium guided by the PAM CUT staff. Each league takes astir 45 minutes, with 15 minutes allotted for experiencing the virtual world. The acquisition is suitable for participants ages 12 years aged and up and tin accommodate up to six radical astatine a time.

Note that determination are six antithetic suits, each with a antithetic design. They’re one-size-fits-all and are adjustable. You tin presumption the suit size ranges, arsenic good arsenic nutrient allergen accusation for the snacks here.

Symbiosis runs from November 12, 2022, until February 12, 2023, astatine PAM CUT. Tickets are $30 per subordinate and $25 for PAM members.