How can 360° projection, an interactive digital world and guided breathing be combined into a single experience?
An interactive 360° experience designed to support relaxation, stress reduction and wellbeing has been created within the SimuDome environment.
Specialists from a VR Lab at one of Poland’s largest universities of technology developed an interactive underwater world that surrounds participants with visuals and sound, creating an environment for guided breathing exercises, relaxation sessions and therapist-led experiences.
The project combined 360° immersion, interactive content, visuals, sound and guided breathing exercises.
From watching an image to entering a digital world
Participants enter the cylindrical SimuDome environment. An underwater world unfolds around them, filled with coral reefs, aquatic vegetation, fish and a slowly changing landscape.
Thanks to 360° projection, the visual experience is no longer limited to a screen positioned in front of the participant. The image surrounds them, reducing visual contact with the external environment and strengthening the sense of presence inside the digital space.
The experience was designed so that a narrator or therapist can guide participants through a sequence of breathing exercises.
One of its key elements is the interaction between the participant’s breathing and the visual environment.
Inhalation and exhalation are reflected in the behaviour of the projected environment. Participants do not simply listen to instructions – they can also observe the digital world responding to the exercise.
As the breathing becomes slower and more controlled, participants gradually immerse themselves in the surrounding visuals and sound.
The combination of breathing, visuals, sound and immersion was used to create an experience designed to support relaxation, focus on breathing, reduction of tension and improved wellbeing.
Technology that stays in the background
The interactive underwater world was developed specifically for the SimuDome immersive environment.
The technological setup uses a cylindrical 360° projection space, a multi-projector system, media server, audio system and interactive real-time content.
Images generated by multiple projectors create one continuous visual environment surrounding the participants.
As a result, users are no longer looking at a conventional screen positioned in front of them. They are standing inside the digital environment.
No VR headset is required. Participants can see each other and the therapist, move within the physical space and share the same digital environment as a group.
Technology itself remains in the background. Its purpose is to create a space in which participants can focus on the visuals, sound, breathing and the guided session.
From 360° content to an environment that responds to people
What differentiates this solution from conventional multimedia spaces is not simply the size or shape of the screen.
The key element is interactivity.
The digital environment can respond to the participant and to the course of the session. Visuals, sound and individual elements of the scenario can be connected to exercises and user behaviour.
This represents a transition from passively watching 360° content to an interactive environment that responds to the user.
This capability opens entirely new areas of application for SimuDome.
SimuDome for modern psychotherapy
An immersive therapeutic environment can be further developed as a tool for clinics, therapy centres, research institutions and specialists exploring new approaches to working with patients.
SimuDome enables the creation of controlled and configurable digital environments in which a therapist can guide participants through specific scenarios without requiring them to wear a VR headset.
This creates opportunities for developing a wide range of experiences – from relaxation environments and breathing exercises to more advanced scenarios designed to support therapeutic work.
Potential directions for further development include technology-assisted psychotherapy, solutions supporting therapy for people with PTSD, mindfulness, breathing exercises and programmes focused on stress reduction and wellbeing.
In clinical applications, SimuDome should be considered a tool supporting the specialist, rather than a replacement for the therapist. Specific therapeutic applications require appropriate protocols, specialist supervision and clinical validation.
Immersive environments for neurodiversity
Another potential direction is the development of controlled environments supporting work with neurodivergent people, including people on the autism spectrum.
The ability to design the intensity of visuals and sound, the pace of environmental changes and the type of interaction makes it possible to create environments tailored to specific scenarios and individual needs.
Unlike individual VR headsets, SimuDome creates a shared physical and digital space in which the participant, therapist, caregiver or group can remain together and experience the same environment.
This opens new possibilities for designing experiences supporting work with emotions, concentration, communication, responses to stimuli and regulation of tension.
SimuDome as a wellbeing room and chill room
The same technology can also be applied outside clinical environments.
One potential direction is the development of wellbeing rooms and chill rooms in workplaces.
An employee can enter SimuDome for a short, guided immersive breathing or relaxation session designed to shift attention away from the working environment, reduce tension and support recovery.
Instead of a conventional relaxation room, an organisation can create an interactive wellbeing environment that changes depending on the type and purpose of the session.
The underwater world is only one example.
The same infrastructure can transport users into a peaceful forest, onto a beach, into a nature-inspired environment or into a completely abstract world designed specifically for breathing exercises, concentration or relaxation.
One space. Many possible experiences.
The project developed by specialists from a VR Lab at one of Poland’s largest universities of technologydemonstrated how SimuDome can combine 360° immersion, interactivity, wellbeing and specialist-led sessions within a single physical environment.
At the same time, it demonstrated a much broader direction for the development of the platform.
SimuDome does not have to be simply a space for displaying 360° content.
It can become an interactive environment that responds to the user, where visuals, sound, interaction and scenario come together to form a single experience.
The user does not simply watch a digital world. They enter it, interact with it and become part of the experience.
