トリプルキャスト エアレース渋谷2022-2023 Air Race Shibuya 2022-2023

NOIZ was responsible for the design and supervision of the façade and landscape of the Shibuya complex building “Shibuya Cast,” where the “Triple Cast” project was launched to integrate the VR/AR/physical world realms. NOIZ undertook the planning and platform construction for this project. As various XR environments become more prevalent in daily life, this project serves as a pioneering example of integrating VR, AR, and physical locations into a versatile environment.

As the inaugural phase, Shibuya Cast’s Winter Illumination was extended into the VR and AR worlds. Utilizing Shibuya Cast’s scan data and design data, NOIZ constructed a VR space called VR Cast within VR Chat. Within this space, they organized “Air Race Shibuya,” where participants could race around the vicinity of Cast and the skies of Shibuya. The VR space air race started in December 2022, allowing individuals to freely name their races and enjoy racing with friends. In the second phase starting in January 2023, participants could summon races by name in the VR space, allowing them to “experience” their races as if they were happening right in front of them in the air above Shibuya Cast.

At the physical Shibuya Cast location, a plaza was set up with illumination similar to the VR space’s start/goal points. Augmented reality (AR) markers were placed around the plaza, which, when activated, summoned virtual air races, blurring the boundaries between the real and virtual worlds and inviting visitors into the expanded reality.

NOIZ was responsible for the conceptualization, direction, technical and visual coordination, and supervision of the physical environment for this integrated experience. The main experiential realms of the project include:

1. VR Experience: VR Cast was constructed within VRChat, allowing for the continuous hosting of “Air Race Shibuya.” Participants with compatible VR equipment could immerse themselves in the virtual air race, competing for the best time over a three-lap course set in the vicinity of Cast. After reaching the finish line, participants could freely fly around Shibuya’s skies and between buildings. VoxelKei was responsible for world construction.
2. AR Experience: Flight logs of “Air Race Shibuya” from VR Chat were exported for each race and reproduced as AR experiences at the physical Shibuya Cast location. Using building data from Shibuya Cast and occlusion, the virtual race was recreated at the plaza, allowing visitors to experience aircraft flying between buildings from various viewpoints. DETOR handled the construction of the AR application.
3. Physical Venue Experience: At Shibuya Cast Garden (plaza), Winter Illumination gates identical to those in the VR Cast were installed, along with limited-time photo spots in Shibuya. AR markers were placed in various locations around the plaza, allowing visitors to summon virtual air races from these points and experience races from those viewpoints. NOIZ was responsible for the design of the physical environment.

Triple Cast aims to create a versatile platform for interlinking VR, AR, and physical spaces, facilitating easier collaboration between expanded reality realms in future seasonal events and corporate promotional activities. Following Air Race Shibuya, plans are underway to continue implementing events and promotional projects using this platform.

[Triple Cast / Air Race Shibuya 2022-2023] December 12, 2022 (Monday) – February 26, 2023 (Sunday) / SHIBUYA CAST. GARDEN