The creator of Pokémon GO launches its first mixed reality experience powered by the 8th Wall platform.
Niantic, the creator of popular location-based augmented reality (AR) games like Pokémon GO and Pikmin Bloom, today launched Wol, an educational mixed reality experience powered by the 8th Wall platform’s Metaversal Deployment and artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Available now on multiple platforms, the colorful interactive experience has you following a Northern Saw-whet owl named Wol as it guides you through a virtual recreation of California’s historic redwood forest brought to life in your real-world space.
“The web is a powerful place for augmented reality and we are excited to highlight how the 8th Wall platform can be used to create browser-based content that works across devices including smartphones and mixed reality headsets,” said Tom Emrich, director of product management at Niantic.
“We created Wol to inspire developers to build their own WebAR content that makes use of the truly immersive capabilities of mixed reality passthrough while benefiting from the massive reach and scale of mobile. We can’t wait to see what they create!”
According to Niantic, Wol can be accessed on smartphone and tablet devices, but the experience truly shines on Meta Quest Pro, Meta’s high-end mixed reality headset. The device’s room setup feature allows you to incorporate your furniture and walls into the experience, turning your living room into a living, breathing ecosystem.
As you explore, you can ask Wol questions about the forest’s ecosystem. Wol is powered by AI technology, allowing you to converse with it naturally about everything from plants and trees to the local wildlife.
“We are excited to see great content like Wol being built for Meta Quest devices using the 8th Wall platform. It’s a great example of what is possible with WebXR and mixed reality,” added Nilesh Patel, product lead (Developer Platform) at Meta.
“We believe that mixed reality using WebXR has the potential to revolutionize the way immersive experiences are built and shared, and we are excited to see what the 8th Wall developer community creates in the future.”
“Wol is a really ambitious project, pulling together the latest technology from Niantic’s 8th Wall platform, Inworld and Meta, into a charming encounter with a talking owl,” said Keiichi Matsuda, director at Liquid City, the XR and AI design practice that helped develop Wol.
“We are excited to explore how XR and AI can combine to enable new ways of learning. You can visit Wol just by clicking a link – your living room will transform into the redwood forest, whether you’re on mobile or headset. It’s a really simple and approachable way to learn about the forest ecosystem, with a lot of depth and character.”
Wol is available now on iOS and Android devices as well as Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro. Simply visit meetwol.com via your device’s browser and click “Enter” to get started. The experience is currently being featured on the front page of the Meta Browser app on VR headsets as well, so it should be relatively easy to find.
For more information visit here.
Feature Image Credit: Niantic
