Virtual Reality Helmet Lets You Experience a Bat’s World

Texas has a huge bat population. In our state’s capital alone there are 1.5 million bats living in an urban colony underneath the Congress Bridge. If you’re curious about how they experience our great state, a new project lets you see through the eyes of bats and other fellow creatures like dragonflies, frogs, and owls and hear the world through their ears as well.

Creative group Marshmallow Laser Feast developed the virtual reality experience called “In the Eyes of the Animal” with the help of drones, sophisticated cameras, and museum footage. Viewers wear a helmet for a visual experience, or grab a pair of bat ears and walk around for a taste of what it’s like to be a bat.

The ears are hoisted up on a stick to hold above one’s head. Ars Technica describes the experience as, “Wear[ing] headphones and a blindfold while walking along a path, with the device picking up sounds in the environment along with a clicking noise that changes depending on how close or far away they are from objects in the environment.”

#iteota the in the ears of the bats ? amazing @bluedotfestival immersive soundscapes ,Can i go again ?? @ANDfestival pic.twitter.com/oJk83TZbW3

— Andrew Summers (@summers14) July 25, 2016

The project is currently touring around the world and has already won a Sundance award. Visit the project’s website to learn more and see photos through animals’ eyes.