News

Total Immersion uses â€&tilde;Augmented Reality' in kiosk software to promote eco-awareness

August 23, 2010

This season, environmental consciousness doesn't need to wait for the classroom.

As kids in the U.S. begin that annual back-to-school ritual, Los Angeles-based Total Immersion has joined forces with two environmental organizations to bring an engaging lesson in eco-awareness to children visiting SEA Lab in Redondo Beach, just south of Los Angeles.

In association with the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program and Pavement LA, Total Immersion developed an environmental kiosk that uses â€˜Augmented Reality' to teach kids about pollution and its effects on wildlife and the environment. Chemicals such as DDT and PCB dumped in the ocean near Los Angeles decades ago continue to contaminate natural resources in the area. The Montrose Settlements Restoration Program is taking action to restore these resources.

Kiosk visitors can sample any of three augmented reality experiences, each accompanied by an embedded informational video. As kids witness the nesting habits of bald eagles, they learn about the lingering impact of DDT on the species. A separate vignette highlights habitat restoration among native seabirds, known as murrelets, while a third promotes safe fishing via an animated look at the white croaker, a fish at risk from DDTs and PCBs that are still found in the sand and mud on the ocean bottom.