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In virtual reality, what might pixels feel like?

AVRA is a virtual-reality project that explores what real-world textures can translate to visually and aurally when a computerized layer is added to them. We funded this project through Kickstarter, and held our event in Brooklyn, NY in August 2018.

Janel and I are industrial designers by training, so materials and textures are a big part of how we understand design. When we set out to create a virtual reality experience, that was the first thing we missed. We wondered: how could we being tactility to VR?

We started out by experimenting with a LEAP Motion controller, combined with some simple props that corresponded to digital objects we programmed in Unity. Testers responded positively—so we built out a whole room, adding a variety of interactions.

The mirror as a starting point

By placing a mirror in the room and replicating it in VR, we can intuitively demonstrate to people how the experience bridges the two worlds.

Carpet becomes a sketch pad

It's soft, fun to drag your fingers through, and you see a trace in it in real time.

Wind and heat that you can see

What if we could make the invisible forces in the world visible? We took the wind from a fan and visualized it as particles.

We also recreated a hot pipe in our test room, and made it transparent so that you could see the heat rising through it.

The ground is lava (ok, not really)

We wanted every surface to be interactive in some way, so we made the ground react to the proximity of your hand.

Soundscape

We knew from the beginning that the AVRA experience would not be complete without sound. We shared stills, videos, and demos with composer and multi-instrumentalist Firas Abou Fakher, who recorded a bespoke infinitely looping soundtrack that sets the tone of the AVRA universe. With the foundation in place, Firas created sound effects for each interactive element, bringing them to life.

The event

On Thursday August 6th and Friday august 7th, 2018, we rented gallery space and invited our friends, Kickstarter backers, and the public to experience AVRA. We also featured an interactive blockchain installation from the art collective Vapor Ants, and a prototype of a Resonant Body from artist Wolfgang Gil's Sonic Geometries series.