The Internet of Domes (IoD) Project is supported by an AHRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) grant awarded through the University of Plymouth.
Work in Progress: (04/2025 – 04/2026).
The IoD Project aims to generate impact by enhancing audience engagement at international Fulldome festivals through the design and implementation of interactive and performative technologies. It builds on the extensive research into the application of real-time, data-driven content in immersive environments. By utilizing networked devices and algorithmic designs for fulldome venues, the project seeks to enhance audience participation and provide new opportunities for a diverse community of content producers.
IoD employs an iterative prototyping process to design, build, test, and implement a real-time interactive framework in collaboration with key fulldome festival partners. This initiative will introduce a novel infrastructure that supports for new forms of content and expands access for creative producers.
Phase #1 Work in Progress:
LoRaWAN Sensor Visualiser
A demo application to receive sensor data from LoRaWAN devices from an MQTT broker and visualise it on a realtime interactive map.
Kotlin OSC
Kotlin package for serializing objects to OSC messages.
Fulldome Flight Simulator
A simple Unity app for exploring geospacial data in a fulldome. The main scene contains a 3D tileset and a plane that can be flown around the world using an android phone.
Sensor App
This app records sensor data from a mobile device or smartwatch and sends it to a host on the local network using the OSC protocol.
Unity OSC Server
A Unity package for receiving OSC messages.
Unity Fulldome Camera
Unity 6 camera script to render to a fulldome using a fisheye projection. This uses a cubemap rendering approach which renders the scene 6 times, so performance in complicated scenes will suffer.
Unity-fulldome-multiplayer-demo
Multi-user sensor app control of Unity environment.
(image from CULTVR test)
Fulldome for Unity 6
This guide explains how to set up a Unity 6 project for use on a fulldome, using the repositories in the i-DAT organization.
Fulldome Demos
This repository contains fulldome demos showing off interesting mathematical concepts, genetic algorithms, and fun visualizations. Each demo outputs a 2048×2048 video feed that can be played in a fulldome theater.
Phase #1 user testing at CULTVR: [27/08/2025]
IoD Presentations:
- Configuring Incompossible Futures. Claudia Westermann, Chris Speed, Elisa Giaccardi, and Mike Phillips. THE SYSTEMIC DESIGN ASSOCIATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OCAD UNIVERSITY. ARCS OF IMPACT RELATIONALITY IN COMPLEXITY. 06/10/2025
- Understanding Visual Music – UVM 2025 Conference and Festival. Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Brazil. Moderator: Ricardo Dal Farra. Panel: Mike Phillips, Micky Remann, Joseph Hyde, Dennis Miller. 25/06/2025
- Frameless Panel – Immersive Art, Venues and Business Models. Fulldomefestival, Jena, Germany. Moderator: Alexandra Wolf. Panelists: Nicole Koufou Attachée aux relations gouvernementales et aux affaires culturelles, Yasmin Yael Elias Sanchez – B-Dome, Allison Moore is a new media artist, Luisa Mantovani – Kunstkraftwerk, Mike Phillips – i-DAT.org, Kate Wellham – Immersive obsessive, Tom Ammermann (New Audio Technology). 17/05/2025.
WiP:
Background:
The IoD Project identifies a new and innovative layer within this content stack, which provides opportunities for developers, artists, and performers. This layer is based on interactive and performative technologies, as well as new forms of fulldome dramaturgy.
The Fulldome Community:
The IoD Project will be consulting key international Fulldome organisations and practitioners, and will focus on the Best of Earth festival community.
Fulldome UK (https://www.fulldome.org.uk/) / CULTVR (https://www.cultvr.cymru/) / Real Immersive (https://real-immersive.realideas.org/).
Dome Under (https://museumsvictoria.com.au/scienceworks/ ) Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. Many thanks to Warik Lawrance, Director of Dome Under, for the support so far. Academic link: Professor Chris Speed, Design for Regenerative Futures, RMIT University, Melbourne.
Fulldomefestival (https://fulldome-festival.de/info), Zeiss Planetarium, Jena, Germany. Many thanks to Robert Metzner, Director of the fulldomefestival, and Micky Remann and Liese Endler, Immersive Media Bauhaus University, for the support so far.
Dome Fest West (https://www.domefestwest.com/), Los Angeles, USA. Many thanks to Ryan Moore (founder) for the support so far.
SAT Fest, Société des arts technologiques [SAT] (https://sat.qc.ca/fr/sat-fest/) Montreal.
Methods:
Research methods will involve:
Prototyping:
Developing previous prototypes into an open framework, via:
- Mobile controllers with sensors connected to Android phones and microcontrollers.
- Software plugins for fulldome content creation tools such as TouchDesigner, Unity 3D, and Unreal Engine.
- Integration into server technologies, such as Screenberry.
- All accessible under an Open Source license through GitHub.
Workshops:
- The prototypes will be tested and refined through workshops, embracing co-design and participatory processes.
- These workshops will address the challenges of knowledge-sharing within the fulldome community.
- Workshops will be delivered both in-person and online, fostering collaboration among creators while informing our impact process.
People Data:
- Semi-structured interviews to better understand the pressures and values driving this highly motivated community.
- Develop protocols for capturing audience engagement, informed by our previous work on Qualia, Quorum, and Artory.
- Integration of experimental digital frameworks for real-time audience engagement and evaluation.
IoD Team:
With invaluable help from i-DAT folk:
School of Art Design & Architecture folk:
and Faculty of Science and Engineering folk:
William Jay (School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences/ Shaun Lewin (School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences) / Tony Wilson (School of Biological and Marine Sciences)
[/column] [/row]Related Research:
1: Phillips, M. Data Ghosts – An Algorithmic Séance in the Fulldome. Performance Research issue ‘On Ghosts’. Felipe Cervera, Kyoko Iwaki, Eero Laine and Kristof van Baarle (ed.). Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd. Publication Summer 2025, with editors.
2: Phillips, M., 1 Jun 2025, HACKING The (im)material, The Bloomsbury Encyclopaedia of New Media Art: Artists & Practice. Thomas, P. (ed.). London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., Vol. 2.
3: Phillips, M., 1 Aug 2024, Digital Ectoplasm and the Infinite Architecture of the Fulldome. Ghost Stories: Architecture and the Intangible. Baldwin, P. J. (ed.). Architecture & Design Journal, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, p. 111-116.
4: SCIENCE IN THE DOME! 1th Fulldome Festival (Part Two). Jena, Germany. 22/11/2020. Ryan Wyatt, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, Jackie Faherty, American Museum of Natural History, New York, Mike Phillips, University of Plymouth, Anders Ynnerman, Professor of Scientific Visualzation, Linkœping Universuty, Sveden, Hendrik Huthoff, University of Jena, Juna Kollmeier, astrophysicist at the Carnegie Institution for Science. https://fulldome-festival.de/program/
5: Phillips, M. 2020. Bad {data} Behaviours. Panel. S+T+ARTS at UCA: Understanding complex data in COVID times + Fashion: Materialising Numbers at Ars Electronica2020 In Kepler’s Gardens, A global journey to survey the ‘new’ world. 10/09/2020. https://ars.electronica.art/keplersgardens/en/complex-data/
6: Phillips, M. Wonderful Instabilities in Framing Immersion, Stories from an Emerging Market. South West Creative Technology Network Immersion Theme publication. Written by: Mark Leaver Edited by: Hannah Brady & Jon Dovey Published by: SWCTN Watershed, 1 Canon’s Road, Harbourside, Bristol, BS1 5TX https://swctn.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SWCTN_Immersion_Showcase_Publication_D.pdf. 07/2019.
7: Phillips, M. 2016. For Dust Thou Art. Cloud and Molecular Aesthetics. Leonardo Electronic Almanac book , Volume 22 Issue 1. Editors Lanfranco Aceti, Paul Thomas, Edward Colless. Supported and produced by i-DAT. 236-243
8: Scott Hessels, Mike Phillips, Maurice Benayoun, Jeffrey Shaw, Sven Travis. Gigantic: Mediation Beyond Surface Panel). 22nd International Symposium on Electronic Art. ISEA2016 Hong Kong 香港 Cultural R>evolution. 16-22/05/2016
9: Phillips, M. The instruments of darkness tell us truths. MODELS OF DIVERSITY: CURRENT TRANSDISCOURSES IN ART, SCIENCE AND SOCIAL ISSUES. Institute of Integrated Biology ETH ZURICH / IBZ Building, Universitätstrasse 16, Zurich, Switzerland. 19-20/02/2016
10: Phillips, M. (2015) Lab Report #4: Fulldome UK: ‘The thing’s hollow it goes on forever and oh my God it’s full of stars!’ Journal Paper. Ubiquity: The Journal of Pervasive Media. Volume 3 Numbers 1 & 2. Intellect Ltd. Pp 77–106.
11: Charitos, D., Kusch, M., Phillips, M., Poulin, M., Schnell, R., St-Arnault, L. EMDL European Mobile Dome Lab for Artistic Research. Panel. The 21st International Symposium on Electronic Art: ISEA2015, Vancouver, Canada. 14-19/07/15.
12: Kontini, K., Theona, I., Charitos, D., Phillips, M. Investigating the artistic potential of the Fulldome as a creative medium: the case of the E/M/D/L project. Long Paper. The 21st International Symposium on Electronic Art: ISEA2015, Vancouver, Canada. 14-19/07/15
Related Funding:
13: Corino, G. Phillips, M. £30,000. Ludic-Architectures: speculative design space for collaborative building shared digital environments for VR and Fulldome environments. British Council’s UK-China Outward Mobility Internationalisation Partnership Fund, 2022
14: The £200k redevelopment of the Immersive Vision Theatre AV system was enabled by the UKRI World Class Laboratories (WCL) 2021.
15: Phillips, M. 2019. Naum Gabo XR: Tate, £7,400. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-st-ives/exhibition/naum-gabo
16: Phillips, M. 2019. IX SW Delegation. Arts Council England, £20,000. https://i-dat.org/ix/
17: Environmental Futures & Big Data Impact Lab. University of Exeter, Exeter City Futures, the Met Office, the University of Plymouth, Plymouth College of Art, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and Rothamsted Research. The Impact Lab is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Total funding is £6.4 million. 2018-2021.
18: The South West Creative Technology Network (SWCTN). £6.5 million project to expand the use of creative technologies across the South West of England. The network is offers three one-year funded programmes around the themes of Immersion, Automation and Data. Led by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), in partnership with Watershed in Bristol, Kaleider in Exeter, Bath Spa University, the University of Plymouth and Falmouth University. 2018-2021.
19: Phillips, M. UK PI. 2014. European Mobile Dome Labs (http://www.emdl.eu/). EU Culture Programme. Strand 1.3.5, Cultural Cooperation projects with Third Countries (€400k). University of Applied Arts Vienna (lead), i-DAT, Trans-Media-Akademie Hellerau, UoA NTLab (Athens), Society for Arts and Technology (Montreal) kondition pluriel (Montreal), LANTISS (Montreal). E/M/D/L presented three research outcomes (Liminal Spaces, Dream Collider, and Murmuration) at the Society for Arts and Technology, 21/05-14/06/ 2015.
20: The IVT was instrumental to i-DAT’s status as an ACE NPO (2012-2015) which engaged over 1.5 million audiences, 4,348 participants (from which over 3000 are Children & Young People).
Funded by:
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