AGB’s "Creatures of Australia" sets a new standard for future exhibitions by combining technology, artistry, and environmental advocacy into a cohesive and impactful experience. Zebrar created  3 x immersive experiences for this  exhibit, designed to redefine how audiences engage with and learn about animals under threat by  allowing visitors to explore and interact with Australia's unique wildlife in their natural (digital) habitats. 

Objectives:

• Interactive Learning: Provide a platform for audiences to interact digitally with animals, fostering a deeper understanding of their behaviors and habitats.
• Conservation Awareness: Raise awareness about endangered species and the efforts of conservationists.
• Engagement and Exploration: Encourage exploration and discovery through digital agency, enhancing storytelling and interactive learning without disturbing nature.
• Cultural Innovation: Showcase AGB Creative's commitment to innovating cultural events and exhibitions.

Technological Innovation:

Zebrar’s expertise in digital interaction design ensured a smooth and engaging user experience, allowing visitors to have a meaningful and immersive journey through the exhibit.

Designed not just to entertain but also to educate, by giving visitors the agency to interact with digital wildlife, "Creatures of Australia" encourages active learning and personal discovery. This approach:

• Enhances Storytelling: Digital interactions make the stories of these animals more vivid and engaging.
• Promotes Conservation: Highlights the importance of conservation efforts and the challenges faced by endangered species.

Some  Fun Facts:

1.Despite looking like filmed content, the scenes in the ‘Spotlight on Conservation’ exhibit are actually all digital environments created by Zebrar in Unreal Engine, which is software used by gaming companies to build video games. This enables guests to interact with the content in those scenes.

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2. In ’Spotlight on Conservation’ guests use  hand held devices to point and interact with the content,  including being able to zoom in to take a closer look at animals and their habitats,  trigger birds to fly off, create dust clouds, trigger  special animations and learn about active conservation stories. These devices are  built using ’tracking pucks’ and infrared ‘lighthouse’ technology originally created for VR experiences which have been adapted by the Zebrar team to create this fully interactive in-person experience.

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3. For the ‘Wild Walk’ interactive floor, to make the tracking work using a single overhead web camera, the Zebrar team trained a machine learning model (AI). We did this by taking an overhead recording using the webcam, of 10 minutes of footage with multiple people moving across the animated floor. Each 3rd frame of the recorded footage was exported and each person on the active floor was marked with a green box, which taught the algorithm to identify humans from projected content. Now, whenever the software detects a person on the floor in a particular place, it triggers an interaction. This allows many people to take a ‘Wild Walk’ and interact on the floor at the same time.

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4. The interactive kiosk uses a web camera to track the human skeleton and attach selected digital creatures (spider, koala or cockatoo) in Augmented Reality to the guests upper body - the guest can move around and the creature will remain stuck to them, ready for a photo to be taken.

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Impact and Reception:

Since its launch, "Creatures of Australia" has received widespread acclaim for its innovative approach to wildlife education and conservation advocacy. Key impacts include:

• Increased Awareness: Visitors leave with a heightened appreciation for the efforts of conservationists and a better understanding of the threats facing Australian wildlife.
• Engagement Across Ages: The exhibit successfully attracts both young and older audiences, making it a family-friendly educational outing.
• Positive Feedback: The interactive elements have been particularly praised for making the learning experience engaging and memorable.

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CLIENT: AGB CREATIVE

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