Pongoland at Leipzig Zoo is one of the largest and most modern great ape enclosures in Europe. Our aim is to offer visitors a special kind of change of perspective. The question is: “Are the hands of chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans fundamentally different from ours?”
Our answer: “Just turn your own hand into an ape hand!”
In close collaboration with Alexander Voigt and Marko Fiedler, we are developing a way of transforming the visitor's hand on a screen into that of a primate using live hand tracking. Every movement is transferred to the 3D model in real time. Whether orangutan, gorilla or chimpanzee - visitors can try out for themselves what anatomical features each species has to offer. The packaging is just as important as the function. We decided to give the educative exhibit a cool, technical look. We drew inspiration from old computers and vending machines from the 1990s.
The use of 3D animations and tracking technology in conjunction with the demand for anatomically correct representations was new to us and an exciting challenge! It was very interesting to follow the technical implementation of our idea and to build a bridge between experts in such different fields. By working closely together, we were able to make valuable connections with new partners and expand our technical understanding and portfolio.
