World’s First ‘Hologram Zoo’ Opens To Let You Interact With Animals Up Close

Virtual-reality solutions provider Axiom Holographics has officially launched the world’s first Hologram Zoo in Brisbane, Australia—a 1,000-square-meter (11,000-square-foot) experiential destination that’s dubbed the “most futuristic animal theme park.”

Visitors can choose to explore 25 different experiences featuring animals from Africa, Australia, the Arctic, under the ocean waves, or even back in time with the dinosaurs. The tour is conducted through two giant hologram tunnels and several smaller rooms where the creatures are projected on the walls.

To make the projections more realistic, the theme park offers 4D effects, including a chilly breeze blowing in the Arctic and some scents wafting from the animals. There’s even a hologram bridge that lets tourists feel as though they’re crossing a 50-meter (164-foot) drop into a canyon below.

According to New Atlas, the technology requires one to don a pair of glasses before entering the dimly-lit rooms. The eyewear is positioned-tracked, tapping on a graphics engine that works to generate a different, realistic image for every person looking at the projection screens.

This allows each visitor to see all the animals from a unique perspective when, in reality, all of the beasts featured in the hologram tunnels come from a single image projection that would appear as a mass of static without the glasses.

“A Hologram Zoo is like a normal zoo. You see elephants, polar bears, kangaroos, and other animals up close and personal. All the animals look real and solid, but they are actually made out of laser light,” the destination’s official website explained.

The attraction will be available to visit in Brisbane for six months. After which, Axiom Holographics has shared plans to expand the offering to “open centers in Japan, Texas, and Europe,” so more hologram zoos could be set up around the globe.

[via New Atlas and The Debrief, images via Hologram Zoo]