Custom-built audio-tactile equipment

The exhibition uses portable audio-tactile systems developed for public engagement with sound, vibration and climate data. The systems were developed with the Australian Acoustical Society, with support from Curtin University physicists and the Centre for Marine Science and Technology.

The chair experience uses a calibrated tactile transducer integrated into a locally available IKEA POÄNG chair. Low-frequency vibration, extending down to around 10 Hz, is coupled into the seated listener, while headphones provide the audible sound layer. This allows audiences to hear and physically feel signals such as rising atmospheric CO₂, whale song and environmental recordings without requiring a large loudspeaker system.

A larger standing platform version has also been developed for higher-throughput demonstrations. The platform is mounted on rubber isolation feet, allowing the surface to vibrate while reducing transfer into the surrounding floor. Several visitors can stand or sit on the platform at once and feel low-frequency signals together, including climate data, whale song, fire recordings and other environmental sounds.

The system is compact, quiet and scalable. The chair can be deployed in galleries, classrooms, conferences and pavilion settings without custom-built furniture or major infrastructure. Because the chair frame is locally available, the system can also be rebuilt in different locations rather than shipped internationally. The platform provides a larger-capacity option for public events and group demonstrations.

The audio-tactile systems have been tested for electrical safety, magnetic fields and vibration acceleration. Public demonstrations are operated within safe exposure levels and supervised by trained staff.

Portable virtual reality experience

The virtual reality component uses standalone Meta Quest 3 headsets to present immersive carbon science experiences without needing tethered computers, external tracking cameras or specialist projection infrastructure. Each headset is self-contained, with onboard display, tracking, audio, processing and rechargeable battery power. This makes the VR system suitable for temporary exhibitions, schools, conferences and pavilion settings where rapid setup and pack-down are required.

The VR experience takes audiences inside the nanoscale world of carbon materials, including graphite in lithium-ion batteries and carbon-based technologies for clean energy and climate repair. Visitors can move through atomistic and materials-scale environments that are normally invisible: layered graphite, lithium-ion battery structures, porous carbon and carbon capture concepts. The experience is designed to make abstract materials science tangible, linking the carbon people know as pollution with the carbon used in clean-energy technologies.

Multiple headsets can be operated in parallel, allowing visitors to cycle through the experience in short supervised sessions. The system can run from preloaded content, reducing reliance on internet connectivity during events. Headsets can also be cast to an external screen where available, allowing waiting visitors, teachers or Pavilion audiences to see what the participant is experiencing. Hygiene covers, cleaning procedures and staff supervision are used for public deployment.

Together, the audio-tactile systems and VR headsets create a portable exhibition format in which audiences can hear pollution, see inside batteries and feel whale song. The equipment is designed to be modular: each element can operate as a standalone activity, or the full suite can be combined for galleries, festivals, classrooms, conferences and international pavilion settings.