About This Project

In the heart of London you can visit Outernet's - London's most visited attraction - most ambitious project to date: "The Butterfly Trail". This world-first mixed reality experience, built in collaboration with Aircards and PixelArtworks, is situated within the iconic Now Building in Soho. Utilizing a 25K native resolution, visitors find themselves enveloped by 23,000 sq ft of wrap-around LED screens, making it the most extensive collection of LED screens worldwide.

Participants, armed only with their smartphones, step into Professor Peter Pelgrin's imaginative world. The adventure kicks off with an AR slingshot game, enabling users to release butterflies and interact with synchronized real-time on-screen animations. A custom hand-tracking solution, crafted by the Aircards team, has been integrated, allowing users to truly hold a butterfly in the palm of their hands.

Drawing in over 85k visitors weekly, Outernet has become one of UK's most visited attractions.

Impact

An industry-leading innovation, setting a new global precedent.
Engaged an average of 10k users a week.
Received overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees and industry professionals alike.

“It’s wondrous to think you can step into nature in the heart of London and hold butterflies in your hand. Launching The Butterfly Trail at Outernet, one of the UK’s most visited attractions, with such innovative experiential technology helps us break creative boundaries with audiences looking for new, exciting immersive experiences.” Tom Burch - Managing Director - Pixel Artworks.

Technical Details

WebAR experience built with 8th Wall, Threejs, A-Frame, and Javascript.

Responsibilities

Lead Development: Oversaw the entire XR experience development, covering UI development, 3D scene creation, and AR interactions.
Gameplay Mechanics: Engineered the AR slingshot game's foundational logic, incorporating dynamic 3D content.
Dynamic 3D Content: Employed dynamic instantiation of 3D assets, balancing optimal performance with high-quality aesthetics.
Hand-Tracking Integration: Collaborated with the Aircards R&D team to incorporate their custom hand-tracking system, letting users hold animated AR butterflies in their hand that respond to hand gestures.
World-First Capabilities: Established a websocket communication bridge between the AR app and the Unreal scene, enabling real-time on-screen animations driven by user actions.
Performance Optimization: Carried comprehensive performance assessments, refining code and assets to guarantee consistent functionality across diverse devices and high user volumes.

Press & Media Coverage

BBC Sounds - Virtual butterfly house comes to Tottenham Court Road
Evening Standard - Outernet London launches a brand new immersive butterfly experience
Art Plugged - The Butterfly Trail
Outernet London - Embark on the Butterfly Trail at Outernet
Secret LDN - A Mixed Reality Butterfly Trail Has Arrived In Central London
London World - London butterfly trail experience
London The Inside - The Butterfly Trail at Outernet
London Cheapo - The Butterfly Trail at Outernet
Yahoo Style UK - London butterfly trail: Video of Outernet’s amazing immersive...
AR Rocks - Exploring The Butterfly Trail: A Next-Gen Immersive Experience at...
Mobile Marketing Magazine - Pixel Artworks to launch ‘The Butterfly Trail’...
JustLifeLondon - The Butterfly Trail: A Next-Gen Immersive Experience At Outernet London

The Butterfly Trail | Outernet London | 8th Wall