Augmented reality project helps disaster survivors

Full article issued by The University of New South Wales (UNSW).

An augmented reality project exploring the relationship between wellbeing and place will provide insight into why some people in adverse circumstances don’t always access mental health services.

Hard place/Good place, led by UNSW Scientia Professor Jill Bennett, as part of her ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship, will develop an archive of experiential stories with people from regional, rural and remote areas, exploring what it means to be in a ‘hard place’ or a ‘good place’.

The creative research project is coordinated by the Felt Experience & Empathy Lab [fEEL] at UNSW in partnership with Metro South Health (Brisbane) and Darling Downs Health. It is co-designed with people whose lives are affected by adversity, including the effects of climate change, drought, bushfire and flood and combines a 3D-immersive experience of a significant place with a personal narrative.

Hard place|Good place is part of The Big Reach, a networking strategy to connect with communities. The initiative came out of The Big Anxiety Festival – a festival of people + art + science. Professor Bennett launched the research-driven, mental health festival in 2017, as featured in Making a Difference 2019-20.

 

Hard place/Good place is a creative research project examining lived experiences of being in a ‘hard place’ or a ‘good place’ using augmented reality. AR design by Volker Kuchelmeister, lead immersive media designer at UNSW fEEL. Photo credit: UNSW.