Dance with flARmingos

Dance with flARmingos is an augmented reality installation that premiered as a part of Engadget Alternate Realities Experience on November 14, 2017 at Ace Theater in Los Angeles and would later tour around the world. Built in collaboration with artist Kristin Lucas, the project explores the relationship between humans and flamingos and aims to promote a deeper conversation about interspecies understanding through embodiment.

Debuting at the Ace Hotel, Kristin Lucas showcased her interest and research in environmental conservation through augmented reality and motion capture technology, sparking a dialogue around the observation of flamingos in their natural habitats in a social sensory experience. Using HoloLens headsets, guests were invited to socialize with flamingos from an ethical distance, enjoying these creatures in a life-sized virtual ‘dance.’ Through the headsets, other guests would suddenly embody low poly representations of our pink feathered friends, created with data from 20 adopted wild flamingos. Onlookers were provided a window into the wetlands with provided iPads that revealed the same augmented experience. At the end of the event, participants could circle back and adopt a wild flamingo on-site through Tour du Valat's flamingo sponsorship program.

Glowbox served as a creative and strategic technical partner, working closely with Kristin to figure out how best to realize her idea of a shared augmented experience. Kristin’s vision was to populate a physical space with virtual flamingos and encourage visitors to join the flock. Glowbox created a system to synchronize the augmented worlds between multiple Microsoft HoloLens headsets and iPads, creating a seamless shared reality.

To make the experience available to a wider audience, Glowbox partnered with Kristin to build out the experience as a standalone AR app, available through iTunes and Google Play.