InSync XR

InSync XR is a hybrid XR installation that pairs a virtual reality journey with a life-sized animatronic creature to explore touch, trust, and how we return to our bodily senses. Set inside a shadowy cave, the experience invites participants into an encounter with Omu, a mythical being that exists across both virtual and physical space.
As participants move through the cave, they are guided toward Omu and gradually learn to relate to it through touch. In the physical installation, Omu appears as a furred animatronic body embedded with sensors beneath its skin. Each touch is read in real time and reflected across both the physical creature and its virtual counterpart. As participants begin to follow the rhythm of Omu’s breathing and heartbeat by gesture, the creature responds: its body settles, its head turns, its voice softens, and the surrounding environment begins to change. What begins as an uncertain encounter gradually becomes a moment of mutual attunement.
By linking tactile interaction with changes in movement, sound, and virtual space, InSync XR treats XR not as a one-way spectacle, but as a shared responsive presence. The project explores how animatronics, sensor-based interaction, and VR can create a form of immersion grounded in attention, timing, and trust.