Artists Bring Augmented Reality To Aggie Park Through ‘Ocean of Memories’ Soundwalk
Artists Dorothy Chan and Lucy Yao — known as Chromic Duo — presented an evening of augmented reality, soundscapes and storytelling in a fall event titled “Ocean of Memories.”
In the Swaim Amphitheater in Aggie Park, guests experienced an augmented reality soundwalk that explored the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal titled “Life Below Water.”
Chromic Duo worked with faculty and students in seven classes throughout the programs in the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts to create performance concepts, music compositions and augmented reality elements for the event.
Yao said “Ocean of Memories” was crafted as a symbol of climate change awareness by creating a more personal experience for each participant.
“We hope that by asking the students to share their stories about ‘Life Below Water,’ that anyone experiencing the AR soundwalk found something to relate to,” Yao said. “It’s through this personal connection in storytelling and AR that we hope inspires people to make commitments to their community.”
Chan and Yao selected student work inspired by the sustainability goal prompt and featured elements from several of the projects for the final piece. Chan and Yao also examined the work of Texas A&M’s Sea Grant and Texas A&M’s Office of Sustainability and Campus Enrichment to incorporate into the project.
“When deciding how to form this collaboration, we first asked ourselves, ‘What is the story that needs to be told, and where on campus can that story be told?’” Chan said. “By centering ‘Ocean of Memories’ at Aggie Park and collaborating with the college, we were able to pull together so many disciplines spanning theatre, music, AR, visualization and computer graphics into a cohesive story.”
Soundwalk Stations
Faculty and students led participants in several groups through three stations in Aggie Park that encompassed stories about bodies of water through narration, poetry and sounds.
The soundwalk was audibly guided via a smartphone app created by Dr. Edgar Rojas-Muñoz and students in Visualization and the College of Engineering. The app featured augmented reality drawings of sea life, news articles and more on provided cell phones as narration played through provided speakers.
Participants were prompted to find a medallion plaque at the first station, where they could see augmented reality drawings of fish and other sea creatures on the app as they walked around the pond. When guests clicked on a drawing, they heard audio of a student’s memory of water. Guests were also able to draw something related to the ocean on the app, which was captured through augmented reality.
The second station featured news articles that floated around the phone screen about climate change, marine debris and stories of water calamities. In the third station, guests were prompted with the question “Where does this leave us?,” and asked to make a pledge in protecting ocean life.
In the final portion, guests wrote a personal memory of the ocean on one side of a fish-shaped piece of paper, and thoughts about the overall experience on the other side. The paper fish were then displayed in the amphitheater.
Hannah Flores, a freshman Visualization student, said this experience helped her retain information in a new way, rather than listening to a lecture or reading a textbook. Interactive learning is useful to address important issues, she said.
Leonardo Cordero, a fashion designer working with Rojas-Muñoz, said he enjoyed reminiscing about being in the ocean and felt a call to action regarding climate change issues.
“We as individuals have to do something for change,” he said. “I think collaboration is needed now more than ever so that we can come up with different solutions to the problems that we are having.”
Making An Impact
Kylee Friederichs, lead technician and graduate student in Computer Engineering, created the augmented reality app with Rojas-Muñoz. Friederichs said she was excited to use augmented reality as a tool for learning, creating art and collaborating.
“I think crafting a more interactive experience, especially one that ties people’s real stories while also invoking feelings of empathy, makes the experience much more personal,” she said. “And hopefully, more inspiring to encourage people to act based on the information shared and learned.”
Dr. James R. Ball III, associate dean for industry and community engagement and associate professor of Performance Studies, said Chan and Yao’s work matches the interdisciplinary focus of the college.
“I had previously seen their work and thought it cut across so many of the disciplines we were working on and expanding in the college,” Ball said. “They made really exciting work with our students from across the college in so many different ways.”
Yao said she wants students to know their creativity, imagination and skills are valued.
“A student’s imagination and passion can be applied outside of the classroom,” she said. “Whether you’re designing an experience, concert, AR soundwalk or product — we all need people who are thinking creatively about how to create a powerful experience.”
Top photo: Lucy Yao and Dorothy Chan discuss “Ocean of Memories” at the Swaim Amphitheater at Aggie Park. Photo by Glen Vigus.
