The physical space presents other technical challenges. One is the volume of people: Interstellar Arc can accommodate up to 170 participants at once, Raphaël says, quite a crowd even in a room this large.
That can be an issue for typical VR headsets, which rely on cameras and sensors to triangulate their position within a room. Those devices lock onto fixed surfaces when you’re alone, but it’s much harder with more than 100 people roaming around. “You might start drifting in space and bouncing around, disappearing and reappearing somewhere else,” Raphaël says.
F&P uses an intriguing workaround that utilizes an additional camera built into the top of the headset that points upward at an infrared light grid spread across the entire room’s ceiling. The grid functions almost as a “giant QR code,” as Raphaël puts it, helping each headset maintain its precise location by locking onto the unique pattern.
Etches says he’s seen similar anti-latency approaches for large-scale VR programs, but typically using markings on the wall or floor.
The feature seems to work, at least in my limited experience. I never saw any drifting or bouncing around from any fellow group members, though in fairness there were nowhere near 170 people in the room at the time.
Looking Forward
With new consumer VR headset models arriving each year and lighter, more nimble options on the horizon, Raphaël knows Interstellar Arc won’t be able to rely on the same tech for long. He says F&P have already pushed the Quest 3S “as far as we possibly could,” and that the team will adapt the experience as new models arrive. “You have this technology that’s just barely now getting to the point where it’s good enough, very recently, and it still can get a lot better,” he says.
Etches believes VR has already been edging toward the mainstream in recent years. But he thinks experiences like Interstellar Arc will only fuel the fire by creating a perfect setting for fantasy, historic, or futuristic viewing experiences. “You can’t do it any other way really, can you? Placing someone in a different place in time, without moving them, and doing it with 170 people at once,” he says.