Dark Matter

What if something invisible, like dark matter,

becomes visible and feelable?

Dark Matter

Background and story

This experience was designed to explore new ways to communicate scientific theory, especially the concept of dark matter, to the wider public. Dark matter makes up most of the universe, but it is invisible and can only be detected via its gravitational effects. Dark matter is often discussed in the general media and the concept can be difficult to grasp for non-experts; hence, efforts are being made through the use of technology, sensory experiences, and new ways of storytelling to make it more accessible. Science communication aims to create personal responses to science and thus foster awareness, enjoyment, interest, opinion-forming, and understanding of scientific concepts like dark matter (Figure below).

This project was a research collaboration between the group of Professor Roberto Trotta at Imperial College London and the Sussex Computer-Human Interaction (SCHI) Lab at the University of Sussex, in the UK.

Multisensory elements in the dark matter experience. (a) Fluorescent body outline indicating where people need to lie on a beanbag, (b) Mid-air haptic box with fluorescent hand outline, (c) Dark matter simulation project inside of the inflatable dome where the experience takes place, (d) Wireless noise-cancelling headphones, (e) Box containing popping candy pills, (f) Mid-air haptic device used in b, (g) Scent releasing device.Photo credit: (a, b, d, e, f) Roberto Trotta, (c) Aquarius Simulation rendering for planetarium by European Southern Observatory, (g) SCHI Lab.

Impression: The concept of dark matter.
Event: An installation on dark matter in a science museum (part of The Great Exhibition Road Festival 2019).
Receiver: Visitors of the Great Exhibition Road Festival 2019.
Sensory elements: People step inside an inflatable dome with a friend, lie down on a bean bag, and wear headphones while staring into simulation of the dark matter distribution in the universe. Key human senses (vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste) are stimulated throughout the experience. The user can hear an artificially engineered sound, a storm-like but unfamiliar auditory sensation, that varies in intensity, pitch, and texture to represent the concepts of dark matter wind during an earth-year and its density profile in our galaxy. Moreover, the unflavoured popping candy that dissolves into a sweet taste inside the users’ mouth, creates a crackling effect inside the mouth and skull, amplified by the participant’s headphones.
Concepts: The narrative creates semantic congruence around the concept of dark matter through the different sensory elements, which are spatially and temporally coordinated. Temporal synchrony is also used throughout the experience. For example, the sound is presented in synchrony with the mid-air haptic sensations displayed on the palm of one hand. These elements are further extended with an automatic release of the scent of black pepper to boost the memory retention through crossmodal properties such as freshness, coldness, and pungency.
Enabling technology: This installation is facilitated through the integration of multiple technologies, including an ultrasonic mid-air haptic device to create tactile sensations on people’s hands, a scent-delivery device to release the smell at specific moments, a projector to create the visual effect of the universe inside the dome, and noise-cancelling headphones to follow the audio narrative. All sensory stimuli all controlled and synchronized via a central computer. The mid-air haptic device was provided by Ultraleap and the scent-delivery device by OWidgets.