AR and VR Experiences From VictoryXR
VictoryXR creates augmented and virtual reality education tools. They’ve been keeping busy this year being involved in the Qualcomm XR Enterprise Program and launching the VictoryXR Academy with Pico Interactive . However, they still found time to create one VR and one AR Black History Month experience.
Journey for Civil Rights in Augmented Reality
VictoryXR’s Journey for Civil Rights in Augmented Reality is a mobile experience for Apple and Android devices. The experience is always available through VictoryXR but is currently on a special reduced rate for Black History Month.
The First Attempt at a VR Experience – The Sensorama. In the 1950s, a cinematographer by the name of Morton Heilig came up with a unique concept he later developed, known as the Sensorama. Featuring an arcade-style theater cabinet, the sensorama was aimed at stimulating a person’s senses. It featured a stereoscopic 3D display, fans and smell generators, stereo speakers, as well as a vibrating chair. The idea of the Sensorama was to fully immerse a person into a film-like experience. Heilig also went on to create as much as six short movies for his device.
Black History Month Modules in VR
The VictoryXR virtual reality application for Black History Month is meant for older students in the junior-high through high school bracket. In this application, students take guided virtual tours of historic locations presented in immersive video.
Modules focus on events including:
- The Montgomery Bus Boycott;
- The Voting Rights Movement;
- Significant Speeches of the Civil Rights Era;
- Figures like Booker T Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and others.
The Pedestal Project by Color of Change
Color of Change designs and promotes campaigns dedicated to combating racial injustice. Their Pedestal Project uses 3D models and mobile AR technology to place civil rights figures on the empty pedestals where “contentious” figures like confederate generals have been torn down.The website includes a tool for finding empty pedestals across the country. While this makes the experience more moving, anyone can use the experience launched from a QR code on the website. Even without AR functionality, users can view 3D models and read stories in-browser. Civil Rights leaders featured in the experience include John Lewis, Alicia Garza, and Chelsea Miller.Virtual Reality is expected to reach $34 billion by 2023 according to Markets and Markets and a combined total of $94 Billion including augmented reality by 2023.
XR and Social Awareness
When you think of XR as a technical medium, it may seem strange that there are many great Black History Month experiences. However, when you think of it as an artistic medium and a social medium, it only makes sense. If you find XR experiences promoting social justice and awareness, be sure to share them, this month and all year.