Powersoft contributes its technology for trips to the Moon with virtual reality

The Moon Cruise It's a free-roam VR experience, which simulates a rocket launch and lunar exploration. A scene that is driven by the Mover transducers of Powersoft and the Quattrocanali and Duecanali amplifiers.

The compact transducer Mover de Powersoft and their Quattrocanali and Duecanali amplifiers play a key role in The Moon Cruise, an innovative installation of virtual reality made in Japan and which takes visitors on a immersive trip to the Moon.

The Moon Cruise opened its doors to the public last November in Tokyo. Offers visitors an immersive virtual reality trip to the Moon, a view of Earth from space and the opportunity to walk on the lunar surface. You can also take photos that you can download as a souvenir..

The Moon Cruise is a free-roaming VR experience, permanently installed in the new experience center Space Travelium TeNQ, whose central theme is space travel.

“This space entertainment center has permanent and special exhibitions, as well as workshops that offer visitors a learning experience with a unique global vision”, afirma Tsuyoshi Nomura, executive director of Styles, experience design manager.

Styly was commissioned to create a virtual reality experience that simulated the universe, within the existing architecture.

“The area we oversee is a free-roaming VR experience, permanently installed. There are many event-themed virtual reality environments, but none like this have been permanently carried out on such a large scale”, Nomura says..

Composed of Audio Visual Communications, the installation simulates a rocket launch and lunar exploration. “Transform limited physical space into unlimited virtual environments”, says Ken Yamada, subdirector general de Audio Visual Communications. “The rocket launch scene, powered by Powersoft Mover transducers and Quattrocanali and Duecanali amplifiers, combines sound vibration and virtual reality visuals for an unforgettable sensory experience”.

“Our goal was to provide a realistic experience and surprise visitors.”, Yamada says.. However, Creating a compelling rocket launch experience in a confined, low-maintenance environment posed some challenges. According to Nomura, traditional large-scale motion platforms were impractical due to their size, maintenance requirements and safety concerns.

“A different approach needed to be taken, and we achieved both objectives by designing new easy-to-maintain luminaires and combining them with Mover”, Yamada adds..

The compact Mover from Powersoft is a low frequency direct drive tactile transducer, adaptable to various purposes. Allows the audience to feel the sound through haptic perception, vibrating the surrounding environment, that the human body captures, and through bone conduction, stimulates the inner ear, translating vibrations into perceptible frequencies.

Yamada explains that the compact design, flexibility, The ease of installation and power of the Mover made it the ideal solution for this installation.

To provide a synchronized sensory experience during the rocket launch, five have been installed Move ID transducers on bench seats, that emit powerful vibrations that replicate the low frequencies of the BEC IC-120 speakers to create a cohesive audio-tactile effect.

MoverIDs are powered by amplifiers Quattrocanali 1204 DSP y Duecanali 804 DSP, provided by Audiobrains, Japanese distributor of Powersoft.

This setup ensures a realistic rocket launch experience by combining auditory and haptic feedback with virtual reality content to create an immersive journey to the Moon..

The importance of narrative

For content design, Nomura emphasized the importance of the journey that visitors take on foot to their destination. The narrative focuses on the trip to the Moon, with special attention to the path to the lunar surface.

By emphasizing impact and experience at the starting point, the subsequent walk, solo visual, because of the lunar surface it feels more realistic.

Since the entire facility offers a learning experience, content encourages visitors to reflect and act independently, instead of focusing solely on the story. Nomura adds that this approach provides an experience that truly feels like visitors are exploring the space and taking action..

The collaboration between Styly and Audio Visual Communications was fundamental to the success of the project. According to Yamada, Initial tests showed that Mover provided more powerful vibration through bone conduction effects than competing products. Besides, The possibility of applying subharmonics with the Quattrocanali and Duecanali amplifiers was attractive, since it allows ultra-low frequencies to be reproduced, necessary for the reproduction of rockets, no need for additional equipment.

“Vibration and sound are inseparable”, Nomura continues. “During a rocket launch, unimaginable vibrations and energy coming from the loud noise would impact the body. Mover, that vibrates with the sound source and transmits vibrations in sync with the powerful sounds linked to the images, allows you to create an experience that feels like you are actually taking off into space”.

“With Mover we manage to provide the best possible experience and, combined with content design, we achieved our client's initial objective”, concludes Nomura. From takeoff to moon landing, The Moon Cruise offers a gravity-defying experience that puts the thrill of space travel within guests' reach..