Sensorial Experience Sphere

Overview

HUSPY’s retail concept required more than virtual tours—it needed to transport visitors into properties. The brief: create an immersive experience that engages multiple senses simultaneously, making remote property exploration feel visceral and memorable.

Challenge

Virtual property tours suffer from low emotional engagement. Screens and headsets lack the sensory richness of physical presence. The challenge was creating genuine presence—making someone feel like they’re in a space—using controlled sensorial stimulation.

Solution

We designed and fabricated a custom sensorial sphere integrating:

• Visual: 360° projection mapping surrounding the visitor
• Spatial Audio: Directional speakers creating acoustic environments (street noise, birdsong, interior acoustics)
• Haptics: Synchronized vibration actuators embedded in the seating
• Olfactory: Programmable scent diffusion system
• Climate: Subtle temperature and airflow modulation

Each property experience is choreographed across all sensory channels. Viewing a beachfront apartment includes ocean sounds from the appropriate direction, subtle salt air scent, and gentle vibrations mimicking wave patterns. A city loft delivers urban soundscapes, concrete/steel scent profiles, and the subtle hum characteristic of urban structures.

Technical Implementation

• Projection System: Six synchronized projectors with geometric calibration for seamless 360° imagery
• Spatial Audio: 8-channel ambisonic sound system with HRTF processing
• Haptic System: 12 independent vibration zones driven by custom DAC/amplifier chains
• Scent System: 6-channel scent diffusion with programmable mixing and intensity control
• Control Software: Custom timeline engine synchronizing all sensory channels to millisecond precision
• Content Pipeline: Workflow for converting property data (video, photos, audio) into multi-sensory experiences

Visitor Experience

The experience unfolds in stages:

1. Immersion: Visitor enters the sphere; lighting and audio establish the environment
2. Exploration: 360° views of the property spaces with synchronized soundscapes
3. Atmosphere: Scent and climate cues deepen the sense of place
4. Detail Focus: Haptic feedback draws attention to specific features (textures, structural elements)
5. Reflection: Ambient mode allowing visitors to mentally process the experience

Average session length: 8 minutes. Exit surveys indicate 90% of visitors report feeling “transported” and 75% describe the experience as more convincing than VR headsets.

Impact

The sphere became HUSPY’s signature retail differentiator:

• 40% increase in visitor dwell time compared to traditional showrooms
• 65% conversion rate from experience to property tour booking
• Media coverage in design and tech publications
• Finalist for retail innovation awards

More significantly, it validated multi-sensory experience design as a category. The sphere demonstrates that carefully orchestrated sensorial input creates presence more effectively than visual fidelity alone.

Key Innovation

Most immersive experiences prioritize visual realism. This inverts that assumption: moderate visual quality (360° video, not photorealistic renders) combined with rich cross-sensory cues produces stronger presence. The brain integrates smell, sound, and haptics to fill perceptual gaps, creating coherent spatial understanding.

The sphere doesn’t just show properties—it lets you inhabit them temporally. That experiential shift drives emotional connection, which drives purchasing decisions.