This week, Wallabies Gone Wild unveiled a new virtual reality version of the trail which makes it accessible to all Hospice Isle of Man service users and people in the wider community, regardless of their health or mobility.

Through VR headsets, users are able to view the Wallabies Gone Wild trail map and take a virtual journey to the large wallabies, situated throughout the island.

Once at their selected location, the user is then treated to a fully immersive, 360 degree, 3D view of the wallaby and its surroundings, and they can also adjust their angle of vision to see the front, back and two sides of the artwork.

The plaques on the plinths of the wallabies which display the artist and sponsor information, along with the unlock codes, are also interactive and can be enlarged within the app to allow the user to easily read more about the artwork and its creator.

Wallabies Gone Wild VR had its first official outing with the Hospice team at the Tynwald Day fair in St John’s.

Since then, Hospice patients attending drop-in sessions at the day unit have also had the opportunity to use the VR headsets and have generally been in awe of their experience.

We are now looking forward to introducing it to all patients and service users, not least the Rebecca House children and families.

It’s the first time virtual reality has been used in this way for a Wild in Art event and it’s hoped that future trails could be enhanced with a VR experience.

This innovative new VR application sees Hospice Isle of Man working in partnership with the Isle of Man Arts Council who funded the initiative.

The app was developed by Jonathan Teare of DreamriVR who visited our 26 outdoor locations, capturing the wallabies and their immediate surroundings with a 360 degree/3D camera, before designing and developing the VR app.

In the future, once the Wallabies Gone Wild art trail has finished, it’s hoped that Hospice patients will be able to use the VR headsets with different applications to take them to their favourite scenic locations or to places that are held dear to them.

For more information about Wallabies Gone Wild visit wallabiesgonewild.im

by Hospice Isle of Man

www.hospice.org.im