Student of São Paulo develops virtual visit to art exhibition with game techniques

During the pandemic of the new coronavirus, which calls for social distance, museums and galleries realized the need for adaptation in the artistic sector. This was the case with the Figueiredo Ferraz Institute (IFF), in the city of Ribeirão Preto, which, through a gamified virtual visit, managed to continue its mission – to disseminate, encourage and make Brazilian contemporary art accessible, even in an atypical period.

The project, which made it possible to virtually present the exhibition Other Landscapes , Collection Dulce and João Carlos de Figueiredo Ferraz, curated by Rejane Cintrão, was developed by the mechatronic engineer and master’s student in Mechanical Engineering at the São Carlos School of Engineering (EESC) at USP, Ícaro Ostan, and co-developer Ingrid Assis Ostan, IFF’s re-educator.

“During the master’s degree I have studied the development of virtual environments, mainly aimed at virtual reality applications, as a way to engage users during the practice of robotic physiotherapy”, informs the engineer. The study and application of “physical system simulation techniques” were also important for the execution of the project, according to Ostan.

The idea of the gamified virtual tour, says Ingrid, came up with the objective of creating a different project for the IFF in this period. Thus, the brothers were divided between the theoretical part and the practical application. Familiarity with development tools facilitated the creation process, says Ostan. “I tried to apply some simple attributes that could increase the realism of the virtual experience and, with that, make the experience more engaging and immersive, such as first-person view, the sound of steps when walking, scale and proportion between objects.”

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