Immersive Virtual Experience Tells Villagers’ Stories of 1665 Plague

Kyla Ball August 29, 2024

Immersive Virtual Experience Tells Villagers’ Stories of 1665 Plague

A team at the University of Salford have created an immersive virtual experience of Eyam, a village in Derbyshire which experienced a plague outbreak in 1665. 

The Virtual Eyam project was led by Dr Leah Greene, Dr Anna Cooper-Ryan and Denis Chambers with support from colleagues in the Public Health subject area and the Learning & Teaching Enhancement Centre (LTEC) at the University of Salford. 

Traditionally, full-time and part-time students on the Public Health degree programme attend a residential field trip to Eyam to learn about the response to the arrival of the plague. However, often students cannot attend due to access, work, or family commitments. In the past, these students have engaged with campus-based table-top exercises instead of attending the field trip. 

The team used ThingLink to develop a more engaging, interactive and immersive virtual experience that takes learners back in time to 17th Century Eyam via first person narratives and stories. You can explore the whole experience below.

How the experience was created

The background scenes and surrounding environments for the ThingLink virtual experience were developed using Skybox AI by Blockade Labs. This easy-to-use online AI platform allows anyone to generate realistic 360° environments using simple text prompts. (Skybox AI can be accessed directly in ThingLink) Audio from Pixabay further enhances the immersion in each 360° environment. Character profiles, scripts and avatars were created using Microsoft Copilot AI, then ‘brought to life’ by animating them using an AI video generator. As a result, you can hear the narrative “first-hand” from people who lived in Eyam during the plague outbreak. 

Realism and authenticity

The experience has been likened to an immersive video game. Users can navigate around the village, entering traditional houses, the church, green spaces, and graveyard. For these 17th century village environments and landscape, the team consulted Dr Simon Hutchinson from the University’s School of Science, Engineering & Environment, ensuring that renders of the village were as realistic and authentic as possible.

The Virtual Eyam Experience also includes a modern-day version of Eyam with embedded 360° videos and incorporates educational resources and quizzes. This additional context provides a thought-provoking comparison with the Covid 19 pandemic and responses to it. 

This project was presented at the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER) Deans’ & Directors’ Retreat on 06 – 08 June 2024 in Porto, Portugal during a presentation entitled: ‘Harnessing the power of simulation for public health training’.

Multi-platform delivery

The Team worked together to create the Virtual Eyam Experience for future learners at the University of Salford. The experience was developed for a multi-platform delivery; accessed via immersive rooms (CAVE), head-mounted displays (HMDs), laptops/interactive screens or even tablets and mobile devices.

Now, any current or future student who is unable to attend the physical field trip can benefit from an experience much closer to the real-life version than was previously possible.

“We now have access to a fully immersive, realistic, fun, and interactive educational resource”. 

Dr Leah Greene, University of Salford

References:

• Greene, L., Cooper-Ryan, A., Chambers, D. (2024) Virtual Eyam Experience. University of Salford. Online resource. https://doi.org/10.17866/rd.salford.25896412.v1
• Clarke-Cornwell, A.M., Clark, A., Chambers, D., Greene, L., Cook, P.A., McCarthy, R., Wheater, P., Cooper-Ryan, A. (2024) Modern Day Virtual Eyam Experience: an Interactive Learning Resource using ThingLink. University of Salford. Online resource. https://doi.org/10.17866/rd.salford.25854295.v1   
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Further Reading

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