In 1903, the first big oil spill occurred. It happened in Australia and 1300 tonnes of oil fell into the ocean. Since then, over a hundred more oil ships lost (part of) their load in the sea. The main concern with oil spills is that they contaminate ground water. In the sea itself it accumulates in organisms and poisons those higher in the food chain or smothers the organisms in and around the contaminated water and gets stuck in sediments on the sea floor. It was also found to reduce growth and photosynthesis levels in various plants. The oil decreases oxygen levels beneath the water, poisons animals and causes eutrophication which is also deadly to underwater organisms. This all can lead to the dying of bigger biomes such as mangroves or deltas. And this is not even all of it. More people are killed because of unsafe water than in war and violence all together. This is why it is necessary to make people aware of the consequences of their actions. Both individuals and big corporations need to get the opportunity to see how their decisions impact the water quality and thus, indirectly, themselves. To achieve this, the following question needs to be answered: How can data regarding water pollution be physicalised in a meaningful and interactive way using a digital medium? In this report the design process of this physicalisation will be described through methodology, ideation, final results and a conclusion. This report and the physicalisation together will hopefully contribute to the awareness surrounding global pollution and its importance to all life on earth.
Fish Out of Water is an interactive VR experience visualizing global water pollution data. It visualizes this data by the amount of pollution in a lake, each object stands for an amount of pollution of that category. Overall we want to raise awareness about water pollution and the dangers it poses to our living environment.
The user can also filter data by year and by pollution type, by using the interactive information board present at the edge of the lake. The user can simply teleport over and interact with the board using their pointer.
The project is developed for the Oculus Go and Gear VR. The project is made in Unity with the Oculus Integration plugin to work with the Oculus Go and Gear VR. Using OVRInput, I created multiple possible interactions with the VR environment. Teleporting, rotating, interacting and grabbing can be seen in the GIF bellow. Next to that FMOD is used for sound design to create a more immersive VR experience.
