It can now be revealed that Powersoft’s compact transducer, Mover, and its Quattrocanali and Duecanali amplifiers are playing a key role in THE MOON CRUISE, an innovative VR installation that takes visitors on an immersive journey to the Moon, at Tokyo Dome City’s Space Travelium, in Japan.
THE MOON CRUISE provides a view of Earth from space, and the opportunity to walk on the lunar surface and take photos that visitors can download as souvenirs. The permanent installation, which opened on November 22, is a free-roaming VR experience in a new purpose-built space experience facility.
The experience was created by STYLY Inc., provider of the STYLY spatial layer platform. The company was tasked with designing a VR experience that simulates the universe.
STYLY deployed Powersoft equipment, including the compact Mover, a low-frequency direct-drive/tactile transducer that lets audiences feel the sound through haptic perception by vibrating the surrounding environment. The body picks it up through bone conduction, stimulating the inner ear, which translates the vibrations into perceivable frequencies.
To provide a synchronised sensory experience for the rocket launch, five Mover transducers were installed into bench seats, delivering powerful vibrations of replicating the low frequency from the BEC IC-120 speakers to create a cohesive audio-tactile effect.
The Mover transducers are powered by Quattrocanali 1204 DSP and Duecanali 804 DSP amplifiers, provided by Audiobrains, Powersoft’s Japanese distributor. This setup has been designed to ensure a realistic rocket launch by combining audio and tactile feedback with virtual reality content.
Tsuyoshi Nomura, executive officer at STYLY Inc., who designed the experience, said: “The narrative centres around travelling to the moon, focusing particularly on the path to the lunar surface. By emphasising the impact and experience at the departure point, it makes the visual-only walking on the lunar surface afterwards feel more realistic. Since the entire facility provides a learning experience, the content encourages the visitors to reflect and act independently, rather than only focusing on the story.”
He added: “The ability to apply sub-harmonics with the Quattrocanali and Duecanali amplifiers was appealing, allowing for the reproduction of the ultra-low frequencies, necessary for rocket reproduction, without the need for additional equipment.”
