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As Copa America 2024 came to a close in Barcelona, I experienced three different XR installations featured in the Race Village fan zone. These immersive experiences, created by Generalitat de Catalunya, CUPRA, and Acciona, each offered a unique approach to virtual and mixed reality. In this article, I’ll share my firsthand experience with these installations, focusing on the design, user interactions, and narrative elements that shaped each one.
Virtual Reality Experience – Catalunya Experience
Device:
Pico Enterprise 4 headset
Content:
360-degree view captured by drones, showcasing Catalunya’s diverse locations, from coastal areas to inland cities.
Narrative Design:
Users are guided through different parts of Catalunya from a drone perspective, which made the landscapes appear huge. The experienced from valley , sea, mountain with no interruptions or user inputs.
Duration:
Approximately 5-7 minutes.
User Interaction:
This was a passive experience, with no interactive elements. During my experience, I saw many seniors trying it ❤️, so the passive format was an excellent choice, especially for those unfamiliar with VR and it's controller input.
Sensation:
The drone perspective gave a larger-than-life feel to the landscapes. This effect brings out an emotional response.
Virtual Reality Experience – CUPRA
Device:
Quest 3 headset
Content:
The experience began by allowing users to choose between "Experience Mode" and "Design Mode." It combined virtual car customization with fashion-inspired designs, to show how CUPRA believes that choice of car depend on individual personalities.
Narrative Design:
Design Mode - In this mode passive mode , users see 3D Models a virtual runway featuring 6-7 personality archetypes, each with an audio guide explaining their personality. For example, one character might be described as bold and individualistic, with fashion of style using texture of Cupra's design moodboard.
Experience Mode - In this active mode, user see a simulation into CUPRA's garage, where we could interact with cars, personalise and have the feel of their garage from client perspective.
Duration:
The experience could last as long as the user wanted. My session was around 15 minutes as I try different simulation features.
User Interaction : ( Refer to Image above )
What i appreciate is the experiments of hand interactions and gestures interaction within the experience.*see images
E.g : the slider UI allowed users to rotate the car or the gesture to activate menus was unique—it required users to touch the component with side of their hand , with a gesture of bringing the menu up to our own palm to activate it. Very sophisticated Hololens approach ❤️
Areas for Improvement: ( Refer to Video )
The UI elements were placed too close to the user's field of view, which made the interactions uncomfortable. Properly calculating the distance from the user's eye level would greatly enhance the experience, as it determines whether components should be placed in personal, social, or vista zones.
In addition to distance, Y-axis placement is critical. In this experience, the UI was positioned too low, as seen in the video where I had to tilt my head down awkwardly to interact with the menu. Best practice suggests that UI components should be placed within 10-20 degrees below the user’s eye level for comfortable interaction in personal space. Correcting both the distance and vertical placement of the UI would significantly improve usability and reduce discomfort during extended interactions, especially on simulation experience.
One of the most common mistakes I’ve encountered, especially when the design is approached from a traditional product design perspective (and I’ve made this mistake myself many times during my transition to XR design), is the assumption that the user’s full 180-degree field of view serves as their active interaction canvas. In reality, the effective canvas for focus interactions is much narrower, around 60 degrees, while passive interactions comfortably extend to about 120 degrees. Designing for the full 180 degrees often results in awkward and uncomfortable interactions - and that is what happen in this experience.
Redesign Approach - WIP
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Mixed Reality Experience– Acciona
Device:
Apple Vision Pro headset with a central interactive table using AR components.
Content:
This experience showcased Acciona’s role in supporting the America’s Cup race through mixed reality. The central table was the key interaction point, with 3D models and visual content dynamically spawning from the surface. The content was layered with video, audio.
Narrative Design:
The installation visually explained how Acciona’s technology supports the race. The 3D models represented race boats, turbines, and other equipment, while accompanying videos provided narrative context. The table acted as both a physical and virtual anchor
User Interaction:
Passive experience.
Duration:
4-5 minutes
Hope it gives idea to you ❤️ Thanks for reading !
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