As part of its 100th anniversary, BirdLife Switzerland has developed the insect flight simulator "Birdly Insects" together with the Swiss company Somniacs. We presented the travelling exhibition in the Lake Pfäffikon Nature Centre and tested the virtual reality (VR) simulator.
Old butterfly, that's unique! With the insect flight simulator "Birdly Insects", visitors to the travelling exhibition "Take off for biodiversity" experience the world from the perspective of a checkerboard butterfly. As soon as you lie on your stomach on one of the two VR simulators and put on the VR glasses, you find yourself in a new dimension.
Flying like a butterfly for once
The illusion is perfect thanks to the insect flight simulator Birdly: flying through the species-rich flower meadow, you discover the wondrous world of insects and meadow plants at close range and decide for yourself where and how fast to go.
You change the rather leisurely pace of the flight either by fluttering wildly with the two wings or by pressing the slow-motion mode, in which you slow down even more. Using the two buttons on the right and left, you can also set two instructive visual effects. On the one hand, you can view the virtual world in UV light - just as the butterfly perceives its environment. On the other hand, you can display the scents of the other animals and learn how they use them for orientation.
The grassy landscape thus becomes a small adventure jungle. If you overdo it and don't pay attention, you can crash, drown in the water or starve to death in the forest. Basically, however, fluttering in VR is child's play, so that visitors young and old can enjoy the short, 2.5-minute flight in a relaxed manner.
Deceptively real
There is a lot to discover: besides various flowers and plants, you can observe a barn swallow or a green woodpecker, for example. The insect flight simulator was developed by the award-winning Swiss company Somniacs. The company had around 20 animal and 20 plant species digitally recreated and combined them into a deceptively real natural landscape.
The accuracy of the animals' movements has been praised many times by various nature experts. In fact, a great deal of attention was paid to authenticity during the production of the VR experience. For example, plants such as the wild carrot were reworked several times because they were initially too perfect for a natural image.
Only very few visitors are disappointed with the experience because they had imagined something different. Most of the visitors, however, reacted very positively. Even an 85-year-old woman and a man in a wheelchair enjoyed the flight. By the way, those who don't dare can follow the flight on the small screen next door.
Crowd puller for an important topic
Birdly Insects works very well as a fun factor for what is actually a somewhat sad topic. The special exhibition of the organisation Birdlife Switzerland is dedicated to the ecological infrastructure and its importance for nature and humans. At several stations, visitors discover selected examples of what intact nature looks like and what everyone can contribute to it. It quickly becomes clear that biodiversity in Switzerland is not in such good shape and that a lot needs to be done.
Flight simulator continues in Pfäffikon and on tour in Switzerland
In Pfäffikon ZH, the travelling exhibition with simulators is open until 21 September. Visitors can drop by during opening hours without making an appointment, get information and, of course, test the flight simulator.
Further dates are available here: https://www.birdlife.ch/de/content/jubilaeum-ausstellungen
Photos: tancredifotography
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