HavenXR

Extended Reality arrives at UniSC

In a dark, cramped cave, you reach for the only source of light. A burning torch. It’s glow lights up the rock around you as you step carefully toward the exit and emerge on the edge of a cliff. The night sky is grey and dark. A rope bridge swings in the wind, leading toward a tiny rock island over a white, foamy sea. Waves lap at the rock, reaching toward you. Sparks fly from the torch as you step over the void, the wooden planks of the bridge creaking and shifting beneath your feet.   

 You make it across the bridge. Then you take of your goggles and take in the real world. You are standing on a concrete floor in a room with no wind, no flames, no ocean.   

 "When you go into the Haven experience," says Haven XR co-founder Ben Johnston, "you very quickly forget about reality."  

 This is the Haven experience, one of the first extended reality (XR) adventures from a company that is trying to push the boundaries of what’s possible, and has recently partnered with UniSC to set up a full-scale studio on campus. Initially set up in UniSC Maker Space, the company quickly outgrew its original home and is currently constructing a much larger studio, which will allow much greater flexibility in creating XR experiences and allow large groups, including students, to come in and see what extended reality is all about.    

“I love the energy of students," says Haven XR co-founder and CEO Tracy Whitelaw. "They push the boundaries away. Nothing is out of the realms of possibility."  

Tracy is thrilled about her company’s growing relationship with UniSC. It’s a move the company expects will place the Sunshine Coast on the digital map, expanding it into a leading area for the development of new technology. For UniSC students in particular, Haven’s arrival an campus means theoretically endless new avenues for study and learning. With the emergence and exciting possibilities of extended reality technology come myriad opportunities for students to further their own interests by conducting research and learning in new, immersive ways. Animation, design, and creative industries are all key areas which will grow and evolve to support the development of XR, and the applications for a fully-developed educational XR experience may be even wider, such as preparing medical students for surgery or placing them in a virtual board room.  

For some, however, the biggest and most exciting opportunities may come through the ongoing research into extended reality itself.    

"In the XR space, there are so many challenges that are not yet solved," says Tracy. She lists off a string of ongoing research areas: zero latency, high-fidelity graphics, immersive audio, tactile interactions. "Having these as key projects to work on with the university is going to propel the understanding of XR globally."  

 'Globally’ is not an inappropriate choice of word. The company is arriving at UniSC on the cusp of its transition from small start-up to international powerhouse. Haven XR recently signed a deal with Malaysia-based entertainment industry giant Sim Leisure Group to build five XR theme parks in shopping malls across South-East Asia. With so much attention on the growing XR space, it’s a move that will help propel Haven onto the world-stage as a leading innovator of extended reality technology.   

 Yet, despite the prospect of massive international growth, the company is not forgetting its roots. Haven co-founder Ben Johnston is a Sunshine Coast local who is deeply passionate about sustainability. He’s been a key driver in Haven’s focus on regenerative design since it’s conception, a direction which Tracy wholeheartedly supports.   

 “Every company should have social good baked in,” she says. "Regenerative design is really critical when we look at what’s happening globally. We have to get smarter. It just makes sense.”  

 For Haven, social good means many things, but among the most poignant is the ability to use extended reality to affect social change. Tracy dreams of using XR to help people understand what seemingly abstract ideas like global warming might actually feel like.   

 "Wouldn’t it be super cool if you could create a narrative where you go into the experience and it feels like entertainment but it’s actually about a dystopian future, or a future where we’ve screwed up climate change. It’s about the emotive component of thinking 'oh my god, this feels real, and this is what we’ve done'."  

 No less important: the development of XR brings the ability to breach a cultural gap. With extended reality, a person could experience something they have always known but from a different cultural perspective, such as visiting pre-invasion Australia. Helping people understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' perspective on European invasion could become far easier if you could actually put them there.   

 “There’s an opportunity with how we create content and technology to tell far more powerful, emotive, important stories,” says Tracy.  

 Then, of course, there are the far more personal applications of something like extended reality, like the ability to give individual people something they couldn’t otherwise experience. Recently, a UniSC student with very limited movement was brought to the studio and immersed in the Haven experience.   

 "When I see him, from his wheelchair, standing on the edge of a bridge that he can walk across, it gives me goosebumps," Tracy says. "That is the power of good story-telling, and the power of impact that good technology and good narrative can tell. That’s what it’s about. That’s the future."  

 With it’s studio still under construction, Haven XR is still on the way to building the extended reality future its founders foresee. But putting down roots on the UniSC campus, according to Tracy, is an important step, and it's one she is asking students to take with her.  

“I really want this to be something students feel excited to be part of,” she says. “It’s a good opportunity. If you’ve got a good idea, reach out, let’s talk.”  

Scan this QR code using the EyeJack App to get a sense of the Haven Experience.

Writes Mathew Channer.  
Photos: Courtesy of HavenXR