The first full 360° Igloo cylinder to have added floor projection is now in use at an Australian university.

The floor projection was added as an upgrade to a previous installation at a science education centre based at Swinburne University of Technology.

The six-metre, 360° immersive experience was first installed with wall projection only. But it was designed to allow easy upgrades down the line.

The Igloo Cylinder was provided by vendor Igloo Vision, and is powered by the company’s  Immersive Media Player and Igloo Enterprise software.

It can be found at KIOSC (the Knox Innovation Opportunity & Sustainability Centre) which is a partnership between a consortium of secondary schools and the university which is located in Melbourne.

KIOSC, which boasts 3D printers and robots among its STEM facilities, offers school students learning experiences that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

Its immersive room provides for shared learning – with no headsets creating barriers between the teacher, students and their peers.

One course which benefits from the Igloo is a forensic science programme for Year 9 and Year 10 students. As part of this course, the students are briefed on a case with actual news footage, don a forensic suit and then begin their investigation.

KIOSC has created its own footage recreating the crime scene within the Igloo. There are photos and footage which can be viewed before the investigation moves to a science lab. There are also recreated interviews with six suspects.  Students are given until the end of the day to solve the case.

The Igloo is also set to be used as part of a Mission to Mars programme, where it will show a panorama of Mars created by NASA’s rover.

Commenting on the Igloo immersive room, one KIOSC staff member said: “The teachers and students all find it great. Everyone wants to be in there all the time. We also hear from other university departments who want to get in and use it. It’s amazing for the students, even if they’ve tried a headset, to get inside the Igloo and be surrounded by the content, whichever way they look.”

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