HTC VIVE “Khufu Horizon” immersive experience: a wonderful journey of exploration

[Gearbest Technology]As the oldest of the eight wonders of the world, the Pyramid of Khufu is the largest existing pyramid in Egypt. It is the pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. On February 18, “Khufu’s Horizon—The Pyramid Immersive Exploration Experience Exhibition” opened at Beijing Phoenix Center. By wearing HTC VIVE head-mounted displays, viewers can appreciate the charm of Khufu's Pyramid in the virtual world and explore the mysteries within it.

According to the author's understanding, this exhibition had its world premiere in Paris, France, in June 2022, and it was a sold-out event. The exhibition in Beijing this time has a technological upgrade compared to two years ago. The backpack computers required by the audience during the visit have been removed. Based on the LBE tracking mode of HTC VIVE, it can simultaneously track objects covering more than 1,000 square meters. Space, and the audience does not need additional equipment. As long as they wear the HTC VIVE head-mounted display device, they can enjoy the immersive experience.

Comprehensive and safe 360° immersive experience

Recently, at the invitation of HTC VIVE, the author experienced this shocking exhibition of visiting ancient Egypt for the first time. The entire tour takes about 45 minutes. Compared with the 8 to 15 minutes of traditional VR in the past, this nearly one hour duration is more immersive. During the experience, the author took advantage of the virtual tour guide's explanation time to observe almost the entire virtual space 360° without blind spots, and kept moving around, even squatting down to observe details.

Realistic scenes during the experience (entrance)

Of course, you don’t have to worry about hitting walls or fellow viewers due to the differences between the virtual world and the real world. Because in the virtual space, different colored threads will be used to ensure your safety. For example, the space enclosed by the blue line is a space where you can move freely. If you are close to the edge (obstacles such as walls in reality), a warning orange line will appear. Walls in the real world are connected through a mesh. consists of red lines.

In addition, through the avatar, you can also see the virtual images of other viewers in the venue and communicate with the companions in the same group in real time, which not only ensures the safety of the exhibition, but also breaks the loneliness of traditional VR viewing, making the audience feel as if they are really Travel through time and space and experience the immersive feeling. It is worth mentioning that the movement of the audience in the real space completely corresponds to the movement required in the virtual space. This is the secret why this experience exhibition does not cause the dizziness that traditional VR brings to the audience.

Traveling through the past and present, drifting in fantasy

Back to the exhibition itself, the audience took the VIP passage to visit the Pyramid of Khufu as an opportunity to awaken the goddess Bastetto (the ancient Egyptian cat god) during the tour, and thus experienced the unique Pyramid of Khufu through time and space.

The whole process can be roughly divided into two parts. In the first stage before awakening the goddess Bastetto, we followed the tour guide into the interior of the pyramid, which can be said to be a tour experience similar to the real world. It is worth mentioning that the way to enter the pyramid is a square stone slab that can rise and move similar to the one in the game. This was also the most surprising thing for me when I first started playing. I was obviously standing on the same spot, but through the HTC VIVE head-mounted display device, I felt the “sense of weightlessness” of ascending in an elevator.

The second part is a series of fantasy experiences unfolded through the “divine power” of the goddess Bastetto. First, the internal structure of the Pyramid of Khufu is displayed in a floating state, as if you are in a 3D model. Then we “fly” to the top of the pyramid, overlooking the panoramic view of the Giza Plateau (you know, in the real world, you are not allowed to climb to the top of the pyramid), and in order to let us better feel the charm of the pyramid, the goddess Bastetto It also made us bigger and felt the pyramids and Giza Plateau from the perspective of “Ultraman”.

Khufu's funeral

The last stage takes us back to more than 4,500 years ago, “taking a sun boat” to sail on the Nile River in the Fourth Dynasty, and enjoying the infinite beauty of ancient Egypt. The destination is to participate in the funeral and mummy making process of the owner of this pyramid, Khufu.

mummification process

write at the end

In general, with the proliferation of various 3D exhibitions and VR equipment of varying quality, HTC and its partners are very sincere in their willingness to spend time and energy on such a thing. As Huang Zhaoying, HTC's global senior vice president and head of global sales and marketing, said – integrating technology and humanities to release human dreams to the greatest extent has always been the vision of HTC VIVE. “Khufu Horizon” perfectly displays the ancient With the charm of civilization, the audience can also lead the journey of exploration and feel the beauty of exploration. We look forward to promoting the cultural tourism industry in the Yuanverse era to a new height through more projects like this.

In fact, HTC VIVE has always practiced this, such as “Mona Lisa: Transboundary Vision” that previously cooperated with the Louvre Museum, “Eternal Notre Dame” showing the restoration process of Notre Dame de Paris, and “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” Curious Alice”, “Van Gogh's Color Palette” and many other VR content experiences are HTC VIVE's breakthroughs in the field of cultural tourism in the metaverse.

I believe that in the future, HTC VIVE will continue to uphold the spirit of high-tech innovation, continuously strengthen industrial collaboration and cooperation, and create more possibilities for people's entertainment and artistic experiences with its innovative strength and forward-looking vision that has been deeply cultivated in the XR field for many years.