Now You Can Experience Miami's Neon Coral Reefs with Oculus Rift

‘Coral Therapy’ in action via Oculus Rift VR. All photos by Flying Pyramids.

At Design Miami/ 2014, self-described "scientific art endeavor" Coral Morphplogic, the subject of our Coral City documentaries, debuted a conceptual curio that immersed attendees in Coral Therapy, a 360-degree Oculus Rift film. The virtual reality piece put viewers inside the fluorescent world of corals and sea anemones, an experience Coral Morphologic describes on their blog as "much like being inside a virtual planetarium theater."

‘Coral Therapy’ in effect via Oculus Rift VR

Created as part of their Coral City/Aquacultural Transformation project, "Coral Therapy is designed to convey a virtual out-of-body experience in which the viewer is transported to a tranquil tropical reef in outer-space," explains the Coral Morphologic duo, comprised of marine biologist Colin Foord and musician Jared McKay. "An original ambient score enhances the cosmic coral perspective while accentuating the peaceful and relaxing experience."

A side view of the Curio

Magnetic wallpaper by Visual Magnetics adorned the walls of the room developed in collaboration with Miami-based photographer and graphic designer, Flying Pyramids, presenting images of six different, recently-discovered species of Miami-native zoanthid soft corals, while an accompanying, looping film appeared on the ceiling, projected from within a mirrored dome that reflected the full 360 degrees of the surrounding space.

Jared McKay (left) and Colin Foord of Coral Morphologic in the ‘Coral Therapy’ Design Curio at Design Miami/ 2014.

While the Oculus Rift itself is still in the prototype stage, and therefore not currently commercially available, the duo look forward to making Coral Therapy available for purchase in high-definition resolution when the headset is released in 2015.

Below, check out Parts I and II of Coral City, our documentary on Coral Morphologic, directed by John McSwain:

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