For Dolby's ongoing site-specific installations at its unique gallery space in San Francisco, GMUNK and Tool created an augmented reality audiovisual quest across the stars. Asteria, inspired by Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and cosmic mythology, consists of a 3-act, mobile AR experience for iOS devices synchronized with a 12 minute film that plays on loop on the gallery’s 64-foot LED wrap around wall.
After San Francisco, we repurposed the content into an immersive installation with 4 massive wraparound screens, floor projections, and 32-channel Dolby Atmos cinematic sound with real-time interactive sound effects. People were transported to 3 different planetary worlds in the year 2027, where they could interact (via different modes of tracking) with each environment by setting off lasers, throwing boulders, and playing with their reflections in water.
Ultimately over the course of its executions, users were able to engage with the awe-inspiring worlds of Asteria across multiple media ranging from augmented reality to audiovisual content, immersive experiential and interactive web.
The Gallery
Leveraging real-time programming, audio-reactive 3D visuals, and immersive Dolby Atmos mixing, celestial bodies move through space while exoplanetary terrain is projected onto the gallery’s LED Ribbon Wall. With Dolby Atmos, sound is not constrained to channels, but moves around you in the three-dimensional space. The Dolby sound system allows users to pan around with their smartphones and be surrounded by sound throughout the gallery, creating a multi-immersive futuristic space adventure, supported by visuals inspired by scientific research and data. GMUNK and Unity Artist, Jeff Bryant, worked together to design the story and visuals behind the three planets in the installation, envisioning the project by looking towards the future of space travel.
AR App
In order to create the best experience for the user and to create a smooth transition between worlds and storylines, GMUNK designed the AR app to pair with the Dolby screen content.
By using a remote server to track time-code sync, the AR app on the user’s mobile device is able to detect where the user is within the gallery film, allowing it to stay synced with their location within the film so each act is experienced in a perfect sequence.
There is also a mode to view the AR experience remotely that doesn’t require you to be onsite at the gallery. Download the Asteria app here.
Immersive Installation
We took the 3-act, 12-minute film version of Asteria and remade the existing content into an immersive installation in New York City. With 4 massive wraparound screens, floor projections, and 32-channel Dolby Atmos cinematic sound with real-time interactive sound effects, people were transported to 3 different planetary worlds in the year 2027, where they could interact (via different modes of tracking) with each environment by setting off lasers, throwing boulders, and playing with their reflections in water.
WebGL Experience
As a precursor and takeaway to the hero experiences, we additionally created a fully responsive, interactive WebGL experience featuring three planets in the world of Asteria. Users could create black holes, toss enormous boulders in anti-gravity and shoot lasers at crystalline asteroids all from the comfort of their own homes and phones. The full experience can be viewed here.
