The Science Museum Oklahoma Elemental Worlds exhibit consists of a two-part custom designed hardware/software system co-authored with Pete Froslie. The interactive exhibit fully engages and immerses visitors into a virtual dynamic environment and includes both touch-based interactive experiences and ultra-wide panoramic projected environments.
Visitors design an array of digital creatures and customize their selection through a set of digital drawing tools. Using a touchscreen, visitors use touch gestures to apply color, select drawing tools and bring their creations to like within a surrounding projected virtual environment. The projected environment is a rich and immersive experience with time-of-day-based dynamic lighting and weather, gorgeous atmospheric effects and interactive AI driven wildlife.
Despite its playful, lighthearted nature, the project offered a number of research opportunities. Of primary note, the development of novel processes to dynamically consume two-dimensional visual data and apply it as a wrapper to three-dimensional objects that are projected in real-time.
