UNEARTHING REALMS: AN EXPLORATION OF NON-VISUAL VR THROUGH HAPTICS, VIBRATIONS AND SOUND.

What happens if people don’t have the fundamental capability of fully experiencing all that the digital realm can offer?

Unearthing Realms is a project by a group of five Royal College of Art students from various backgrounds (IED, IDE, CAP & CCA) who are exploring the relations between the physical and digital realms, as well as the boundaries in between. For our response to 'Being Digital' for our AcrossRCA final project, we have created a simulation which explores non-visual VR territory. Since the digital realm is primarily visual, we aim to explore how virtual reality can become more accessible for people with disabilities.

Through haptics, vibrations and sound, the viewers engage with an audio-sensory platform by standing, sitting, or walking on it. Such audio-sensory components aim to support the physical process in order to create a reality where senses are limited, a reality which triggers experiences and memories, thus allowing the participating individuals to create narratives and dreams of their own.

With this, we pose the following questions: What happens when we don’t have access to the physical dimension? What happens when our reality becomes obstructed by the digital? What happens if people don’t have the fundamental capability of fully experiencing all that the digital realm can offer? Can the digital realm be utilised in order to enhance our experience of reality, as opposed to challenging it?