Illuminarium offers a new kind of fully immersive, sociable experience. Guests can enjoy what is essentially a headset-free form of VR which uses multisensory technology to transport them to new worlds, from an African safari to the surface of the moon.
The content is created by a team of storytellers, cinematographers, visual effects specialists and creative technologists, and is displayed on a 360×360 canvas. State-of-the-art technology, such as laser projection, spatial beamforming audio, in-floor haptics, scent and lidar-based interactive technologies help to make guests feel they have truly entered a different world.
It is, as CEO and co-founder Alan Greenberg describes it, “A place that can take you any place”.
Unique haptic experiences at Illuminarium Las Vegas
The first Illuminarium opened in Atlanta, Georgia, in Summer 2021, with the second venue opening to the public in Las Vegas in April 2022, at AREA15. The first show to be launched at Illuminarium was WILD: Safari Experience, which was shot on location in South Africa, Botswana, Kenya and Tanzania, and featured authentic sounds and scents alongside stunning visuals.
Meanwhile, Illuminarium’s latest immersive experience, SPACE takes visitors to outer space, allowing them to see what it would be like to walk on the surface of the Moon or to travel to fall-off galaxies.
One of the things that makes the Illuminarium experience unique is the use of innovative haptic technology. Ahead of Powersoft’s first presence as an exhibitor at IAAPA Expo 2022 in Orlando, we caught up with the Italian technologist and amplifier specialist to learn more about Mover, how this new haptic feedback transducer technology helps to make the experience of Illuminarium visitors unforgettable, and why it is likely to literally shake up our industry.
Brian Allen, executive vice president of technology and content integration at Illuminarium Experiences and Tom Knesel, Powersoft’s general manager for North America, speak to blooloop.
Considering all aspects of the experience
Introducing his role with Illuminarium Experiences, Allen explains that he architects and helps design the systems that allow the Illuminarium to function as a product. He also has a hand in experience design and content creation.
“Making content for Illuminarium Experiences is not as straightforward as making a music video or making a traditional film narrative,” he says. “There are a lot of other aspects to it; we think about everything from choosing a signature scent for the show to interaction design. We look at things like understanding where people are triggering interactives, and where people dwell for the longest in our theatres.
“There is a lot of empirical data that goes with it, but there’s also a lot of forethought in creating this overall attention-grabbing design.”
A unique concept
Allen believes that it is the communal aspect of Illuminarium that makes it a special experience, as well as the ability to layer technology, in order to bring as much reality as possible to a digital space.
“What’s interesting is that it opens up a whole plethora of possibilities, ranging from stunning shows to real-time, choose your own adventure video game content, to evening events with a DJ.”
“What makes us unique is not only the fact that we are a communal, digitally delivered experience, but we also can change out the content very quickly. That content ranges from real-time to pre-rendered to interactive and generative content.
“Another thing that makes us unique is when we release, say a show or a spectacle, it’s not done on release, so our content is very evergreen. For example, The WILD: Safari Experience that we released in 2021 has gone through probably four or five iterations since then. The WILD: Safari Experience that we show today is based on customer feedback, it’s based on adding in more interactive elements, so we are very much adding to the shows as we go. That means we have a lot of flexibility as well.”
A next-level experience
For Knesel, Illuminarium is taking the trend for immersive experiences to the next level:
“So many concepts are trying to do immersive experiences, but they usually require a headset or headphones or extra hardware, which limit the ability,” he explains. “The unique thing about Illuminarium is you have seamless video projection, 360-degree spatial audio and the haptic floor so you get this immersive experience that you can walk around inside. You are not restricted by HMDs or anything like that.
“Something else that’s unique about Illuminarium is the way they’ve designed this to be almost a hardware platform. They’re creating a set of specifications so that artists and musicians can create shows that will run on their hardware, with the idea being that the hardware is the venue.
“They are constantly trying new things and I think that’s what’s exciting. The space is designed to do more than one thing or tell one story.”
Illuminarium Las Vegas
Speaking of how the new location at AREA15 in Las Vegas has performed so far, Allen says:
“So far, it’s done very well. Las Vegas is a different market from Atlanta. But our attendance trends are looking good.”
“At the moment, we’re sticking to one spectacle in Las Vegas, because the crowd is very different. It changes every three days. Most of the crowd is tourists, although we do get about 20 – 30% local visitation as well because we offer a good discount. They want to come and see what it’s all about. Then we’ve also started to do a lot of like late-night events, such as DJ experiences and cocktail experiences. This works well, given the nature of the nightlife there.
“Overall, we’re very happy in Las Vegas and we think it’s launched successfully. Earlier this year, we had our first anniversary in Atlanta, so that was very exciting as well.”
Illuminarium and Powersoft
Powersoft has provided two products to enhance the experience at Illuminarium Las Vegas.
“One is what we call the Powersoft Mover, which is a haptic transducer, and it is fairly unique,” says Knesel. “There have been haptic transducers in the market for 30 years now. However, our Mover is the first one that’s designed with industrial-type projects in mind. It is designed to withstand constant and rigorous use in a theme park or a theatre or an immersive environment like Illuminarium.
“Then the second product is the Powersoft amplifiers, which are required to drive those haptic transducers. So, we take the signal from their sound system, feed that into the Powersoft amplifiers and then “translate” the sound into haptic feedback thanks to our Mover transducers built into the floor.
“We worked very closely with them over two years, looking at drawings, putting things back and forth and making recommendations. It is a close partnership – we speak all the time.”
Haptics play a key role
Explaining how the initial connection was made between the two companies, Allen explains that Powersoft was first introduced to Illuminarium through German pro audio company HOLOPLOT, which delivers audio experiences for Illuminarium. Powersoft also makes some of the components in HOLOPLOT devices.
“We were looking for a robust haptic device,” says Allen. “We were scouring the spectrum of haptic devices ranging from things you might find in a home theatre, to something like Powersoft’s tech, which is more of an industrial product. For us, they were the company with the best product, the most developed product for our needs.”
“We are using Powersoft’s inertial drive version of Mover. We found that it has the most bang for its buck. It’s very small, but it’s very mighty, and we immediately fell in love with it. On top of that, Powersoft also offered us the most robust relationship, given the amount of support that they’ve given us.
“They’re excited about this use of the Mover. Most people want to put these things in 4D theatre seats and just kind of make the seat rumble. They like the idea of having an entire haptic floor. The relationship with Powersoft has been fantastic.”
Haptic technologies play a key role in elevating the experience, he adds:
“From a guest experience perspective, most people, if they were to comment on one thing, it would be the haptic tech. Visitors say, wow, I really felt the elephant stampeding, or the asteroid colliding, or whatever it may be.”
The right technology is key
Choosing the right technology to meet the Las Vegas project’s needs was vital, says Allen:
“It’s important that you have the right technology, or at the very least that you have technology that is going to be reliable. However, on the flip side of it, it is equally as important to have amazing content.”
“When I say content, I tend to take an expanded definition of the word. Most people will just think of audio and video. But I think of content as, when you walk in the door, how are you greeted? When you exit, is there someone saying goodbye to you or asking how your experience was?
“Content is everything from walking through the door to leaving the experience – does it smell good or is the music in the bathroom too loud? All those things, to me, make up the content. So, to truly curate a great experience, you must think of all the details. Yes, the technology drives all of that, and it must be reliable, and it must be flexible. But it’s also about making sure that we’re not just using technology for technology’s sake. It’s about the full guest experience.”
Haptic technology makes experiences feel real
Expanding on this, Knesel adds:
“Sound is visceral. It’s a very critical element of how we experience things, whether you’re at a concert and you feel the subwoofers hitting you in the chest, or you watch a rocket launch where you feel the air crackle. That’s hard to do with a standard loudspeaker system, without breaking people’s eardrums!
“The haptic feedback allows you to put some of that visceral feeling, that physical element back into the audio. Whether it’s music or it’s an elephant stampeding, haptic feedback makes experiences feel a lot more real. It’s more believable. You can literally feel the ground shake, so your body physically feels that you are actively part of the experience.”
Illuminarium set to expand
Illuminarium has big plans to bring its immersive concept to more audiences across the globe.
“We’re rapidly expanding the business,” says Allen. “And now that we can get overseas again, we’re having many great conversations, for instance in the APAC region and the European region, as well as in the Latin America region.
“We’re looking to other partners and other markets to almost be a franchise model. Also, we’d love to have a dozen of these in the United States that are wholly owned and operated. We have locations in Miami, Dallas, and Chicago that are all ready to go, and we’re very excited to bring those online in the next few years.”
“Illuminarium Experiences is always looking for new real estate opportunities in tourism cities and mega destinations. We’re excited to be working with new partners around the world.
“We’re constantly iterating. The product is never really done; we’re always poking holes in our work purposely and that challenges us to push it forward. I’m not sure if anyone else is kind of doing this in the same way that we are. There are a lot of large-scale projection shows and exhibitions that are happening. But we don’t want to necessarily just pop up something and let it run.
“We’re trying to push the boundaries here of what immersivity means and what we can achieve with Illuminarium.”
Powersoft continues to add to haptic experiences
The Powersoft team is on hand to help with this mission:
“Something else we are working on with Illuminarium is integrating our M-Force technology. This is essentially a very high SPL subwoofer,” says Knesel. “That driver system is not based on typical speaker technology. It’s a magnetic linear motion system, like Mover, but it can also generate frequency down as low as five to 10 hertz. That’s another system that we hope to be integrating with them, in the next facility. We’re currently testing it in their Atlanta facility.”
“There’s also interesting potential in the multi-use capability of Illuminarium. So, they have events in the bar where they’ll do 360-degree projection. They’ll put you in the middle of a Japanese street market, or a tea bar, or on the moon. Then they play background music, and we’re looking at integrating the M-Force subwoofer to add air movement, which will add another element to the experience.
“We’re already working on an iteration of the floor for the next venue. This uses a different version of the Mover. The current Mover that we use vibrates. The Mover we’re looking at integrating is what we call direct drive. It has a plunger that can move a load about 10 millimetres. So, the idea is to create an even more realistic experience by directly impacting and being able to move forwards which will create even more realism.”
Powersoft’s future projects
Besides Illuminarium, Powersoft is also working with another very well-known immersive space, looking to add some Mover elements into their space.
“What is exciting about that project is we’re looking at how to unlock a certain set of movements,” says Knesel. “For instance, if people open a door and then turn on a light switch in a particular way, the Mover will create a reaction. We’re interested in helping tell a story with Mover for this customer.
“Then we’re working on a project which will see our technology added to roller coasters or dark rides, to add haptic experiences as the rider is sitting in the seat. That is something we are really excited about.”
Powersoft will be exhibiting at IAAPA Expo 2022 in Orlando. Hosting its own booth for the first time, the company will be showcasing Mover in both a virtual reality helmet setup, demonstrating how it can enhance that experience, and in a setup that is similar to the Illuminarium Las Vegas project.
Knesel adds: “I encourage people to come and see us at IAAPA Expo in Orlando and discover some of the exciting uses for our technology.”
Visit Powersoft at IAAPA Expo 2022 from 15 – 18 November at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. The team can be found at booth #465, and attendees can book a meeting in advance by email.
