[Jan 2020 to october 2022]

This residency is intended to develop immersive glasses, combining augmented reality technology, audio and navigation through space via a smartphone application. In other words, the “Jules Verne glasses” are designed as next-generation, highly sophisticated audio guides that are ideal for performing arts events.

The project started with an artistic creation for Fabrique des Petites Utopies: walkaround shows Confidences. These shows are conceived as theatrical journeys in the form of walks, enhanced with stories originating in collections of testimonies and stories specific to the various regions in question. The present form is played in the public space and set to music by the troupe’s actors. The Confidences project today consists of a hundred heritage stories that relate the history of a region, its culinary specialities, its battles, its industries, its inhabitants, etc.

From these somewhat quirky heritage stories, the artistic team now wants to adapt these stories to a new form.

The Jules Verne glasses will make it possible to enjoy unrestricted walks, alone or with one’s family in a given area. The user will be immersed in a regional history through a poetic, narrative, audio and visual world while being guided through space with sound, animated images and a smartphone application.

Ultimately, they may appeal to audiences in national parks, tourist offices, museums, theatres and universities, making it possible to discover places and stories in a novel and immersive form. Jules Verne glasses will interest both the young and the old.

The project comprises three proposed research areas: creation of animated images to be integrated in AR glasses, the development of a qualitative and immersive audio device and the development of an innovative navigation application to invent new features required for the smooth running of the walking experience. In addition, Patrice Pointet, a spectacle-maker in Oyonnax, will propose a fantasy design to transform these glasses into a true performing arts events accessory for the user.

Home in Residence 
Fabrique des Petites Utopies and the project team will be in residence in the week of 7 December 2020 at Atelier Arts Sciences in September 2021 and late January - early February 2022.

Launch meeting for the Jules Verne glasses project with the Ministry of Cultureas part of the call for innovative digital services project, a financing mechanism to develop innovative digital solutions facilitating access to heritage, culture and artistic creation.

Financial support from the Vicat Foundation for the development of the Jules Verne glasses, EXPERIMENTA, the Arts Sciences Biennial and 3 performances at their home.