A High-Tech Flight Simulation at the Perot Museum
Entertainment
Key takeaways
Groove Jones collaborated with the Perot Museum of Nature and Science to create an innovative interactive bird flight simulator called "Tournament of Flight" for their Rose Hall of Birds exhibit. This experience allows guests to control a Red-Tailed Hawk through a series of rings using hands-free camera vision and markerless tracking technology.
The simulator begins with a calibration phase where guests strike a T-pose to achieve accurate tracking. They control the bird's speed, direction, and altitude by moving their body, flapping their arms to increase speed, and leaning to steer left, right, up, or down. To ensure safety, an "on-rails" approach was used to prevent collisions.
During gameplay, guests accumulate points by flying through rings of different values placed throughout a canyon environment inspired by Texas landscapes. The rings come in bronze, silver, and gold, each offering different point values. To enhance the realism, wind particles indicate the course direction, and thermal currents can be used to increase altitude without losing speed.
The Red-Tailed Hawk was meticulously modeled and animated using Blender to achieve lifelike movements, including feathering and talon details. Unity's High-Definition Render Pipeline was employed to create a visually stunning world, inspired by Texas canyons, with 3D models of native plants and terrain.
This project's success was the result of effective collaboration and a shared commitment to delivering an exceptional and educational experience. Groove Jones' longstanding partnership with the museum has resulted in captivating experiences that engage and educate visitors.
