Our Place In Space
An AR journey through the solar system, exploring what it means to live on earth
The Problem
Big Motive worked with creative partners led by Nerve Centre and acclaimed artist, Oliver Jeffers, to design an augmented reality app and website for Our Place in Space: one of 10 awe-inspiring ideas for UNBOXED 2022 – a UK-wide festival celebrating science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM).
Our challenge was to harness AR technology to enhance a walking trail dotted with scale models of the planets. The project’s central idea explores a world made of borders that separate us… When we zoom out into space, divisions suddenly seem petty and insignificant. Our Place in Space is about experiencing this perspective with our feet still on the ground.
Our Approach
The creative solution is a combination of scale models of the planets; an interactive trail walk; and an AR app that adds an additional layer of audio and animated content.
Working with teachers, children and parents we designed the Our Place in Space app with an episodic content structure that serves as a set of distinct micro-experiences that came together to create a holistic story – with moments of valuable interaction offered as the app is used as a companion to the trail or if simply using the app to learn about the project. Whilst these interactions are synchronised with users’ proximity to the trail sculptures of each planet, the experience allows time for users to put their device away and appreciate the vast distances between each planet.
Outcome
The OPIS experience lets users see how far they‘ve travelled, learn facts about space, add their own star to the Universe and meet a few of Oliver Jeffers’ characters exploring the solar system too. The experience also includes a cosmic view on conflict, looking back in time at the theme of ‘Us and Them’ throughout human history.
