«Being a Spider» - Virtual realities as spaces for learning and experience

Description

The project is positioned in the field of virtual learning at the intersection of design, communication, and digital transformation, and thus at the forefront of the future of learning. The project utilizes the potential of virtual learning and experience environments to raise awareness about the significantly underestimated issue of biodiversity loss, in the form of the ongoing 6th mass extinction in Earth's evolutionary history.

Through the strategy of perspective change and the use of multisensory perception (airflow, vibration) to enhance immersion, the goal is to achieve maximum empathy with the life world of the spider. Instead of observing the spider, users themselves become the spider— as immersively as possible. The VR experience is developed in collaboration with arachnology experts to ensure scientific accuracy.

Alongside the development process, the impact on raising awareness of biodiversity importance and the willingness to engage in species protection is evaluated through interdisciplinary collaboration with environmental and media psychology research. This is done using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to optimize the experience and ultimately assess its effect.

The VR experience will be made accessible to a wide audience in various museums, such as the Museum of Design.

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Publications