VR gets up close and personal with tiger sharks

Filming in the Bahamas at Tiger Beach, the migratory home of the sharks, the project team was led by Matthew Smukall, CEO of the Bimini Shark Lab and the Save our Seas Foundation, and captured intimate footage of tigers and great hammerheads.

Far from being the beast of these seas, the first instincts of the tiger sharks aren’t to kill but to clean the waters of smaller fish or dead and dying prey. This serves a vital role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem, without which smaller fish may overpopulate with dire effects across the marine food chain, while the removal of sick fish prevents the spread of diseases amongst species.

Of course, understanding the power of these sharks and their attuned hunting skills is also part of treating them with the respect they deserve. Because of their voracious appetite, tiger sharks can be curious and aggressive towards humans in the water and as night falls the attention of the sharks turn to hunting, and while their focus was on removal of smaller prey, it did lead to some close encounters with the film crew. It was also observed that a signal of imminent aggression was the fluttering of the shark’s eyelids.

As part of the project, the team were, for the first time, successfully able to tag a tiger and great hammerhead with a small virtual reality camera, giving breath-taking footage, revealing what it feels like to move like a shark. For the great hammerhead, this meant seeing the world in 360 degrees. The footage clearly shows how the hammerhead needs to move its head in constant motion to eliminate the central blind spot.

Building on Immotion’s VR aquatic expertise, and the recent release of Swimming with Humpbacks, the experience is the latest instalment within its Blue Ocean Aquarium series. It combines both motion and amazing imagery, allowing people to transport themselves to the seas of Tiger Beach and ‘virtually’ swim with some of the most amazing creatures in the oceans.

Rod Findley, Group Commercial Director, Immotion Group said: “The experience makes full use of the visual, sound and motion capabilities of our VR Cinematic motion pods to deliver something ground-breaking and memorable, that will enhance the conservation efforts to protect these creatures. Using VR technology to study the movement and behaviour of these sharks can play a crucial part in educating people to gain a better understanding of the species, and the vital role they play in preserving the marine ecosystem.”

Immotion presents its experiences in VR on a proprietary motion platform where seat motion is synced with the VR film to give a 100% immersive experience. ‘Shark Dive’ is part of the Blue Ocean series to aquaria, zoos and science centres around the world.