Have you ever wanted to see the world through your partner’s eyes?
That's the concept behind BeAnotherLab’s Gender Swap experiment that uses Oculus Rift headsets to let wearers experience how other people see the world.
Each partner wears the head-mounted displays, and by synchronising their respective movements, they can virtually feel and see the other person’s body through their own eyes.
Through the use of Oculus Rift headsets, and first-person cameras, the Gender Swap experiment creates a brain illusion that partner A can see what is being recorded by the visor worn by partner B, and vice versa, pictured. It was created by Barcelona-based artists BeAnotherLabThe experiment uses BeAnotherLab's Machine To Be Another (MTBA) system.
MTBA is an art installation developed with support from the Media lab Hangar and the Univeristat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. It was set up at the L’estruch Cultural Center in Sabadell, Spain.
Through the use of the headset, and a series of first-person cameras, the system creates the illusion that partner A can see what is being recorded by the visor worn by partner B, and vice versa.
One member of the couple is called the user, while the other is the performer.
Through the Oculus Rift goggles, the user is shown a video stream taken from the perspective of the performer's eyes.
Each couple agrees on a set of synchronised movements and the partner's mirror each others hand gestures, and so on, while wearing the headsets.
One member of the couple is called the user, pictured, while the other is the performer. Through the goggles, the user is shown a stream taken from the perspective of the performer's eyes. By mimicking movements, it creates an illusion that what the performer is seeing, is actually being seen through the eyes of the userBy mimicking movements, it creates an illusion in the brain that what the performer is seeing, is actually being seen through the eyes of the user.
The user can also move and interact with objects in a room, while listening to the performer's thoughts spoken through headphones.
This generates the perception of someone speaking inside their mind.
It’s called the Gender Swap experiment because it focuses on letting men and women see the world through the eyes of the opposite six.
The system is an example of an 'embodiment experience' - a neuroscience technique in which users are made to feel as if they are in a different body. It can be used to promote empathy, for example, or increase understanding of differences between sixesHowever, it can also reveal to wearers what it’s like to be short, or tall; thin, or overweight.
The MTBA system is an example of an ‘embodiment experience’ - a neuroscience technique in which users are made to feel as if they are in a different body.
It can be used to promote empathy, for example, or increase understanding of differences.
According to the researchers, MTBA was 'designed as an interactive performance installation.
'[It] offers users the possibility of interacting with a piece of another person’s life story by seeing themselves in the body of this person and listening to his/her thoughts inside their mind.
‘Our main interest through this approach is to use the ‘Machine’ as a tool to help promoting empathy among individuals of different social, cultural and ideological contexts.'
The people involved in the project include Philippe Bertrand, Daniel Gonzales-Franco, Christian Cherene, Arthur Pointeau, Marte Roel and Jordi Planas.
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