Sensorial (In)verse
Charting your own Skies - In collaboration with ESA
Project_Sensorial (In)verse
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Sensorial (In)verse
October 2023
By Pragya Jain & Rick Heemskerk
MSc Media Technology, Leiden University![Visitor interacting with Sensorial (In)verse @ Space Expo [Photo by Jasper van den Ende]](/media/Sensorial_(In)verse_Diagonalview_SpaceExpo_Oct23-049 copy.jpg)
![Visitors interacting with Sensorial (In)verse @ Space Expo [Photo by Jasper van den Ende]](/media/Sensorial_(In)verse_Frontview_SpaceExpo_Oct23-035 copy.jpg)
![From left to right - Rick Heemskerk, Karen O'Flaherty and Pragya Jain [Photo by Jiaxin Zhang]](/media/Sensorial_(In)verse_team_SpaceExpo_Oct_2023.jpeg)
MSc Media Technology, Leiden University
Sensorial (In)verse is an interactive audiovisual installation that translates astronomical data from the European Space Agency's Gaia mission into an immersive, multi-sensory experience. The project explores how complex scientific data can be made accessible to a broader, non-specialised audience, including people with visual impairments.
Originally developed as part of MSc Media Technology at Leiden University, the project grew beyond the academic context. On our own initiative, we reached out to the European Space Agency and were later invited to present the work at ESTEC. The project was also published in Ruimtevaart Magazine (issue 2024|1).
Astronomical Data to Experience
The Gaia mission maps the motion, position, and properties of over a billion stars in our galaxy. While scientifically invaluable, this data is often abstract and inaccessible to the general public. Sensorial (In)verse asks a simple question: what if you could experience this data instead of just seeing it as numbers or charts?
The installation allows visitors to explore the movement of stars in the Orion constellation over time, shifting perspective away from an Earth-centred viewpoint and towards a more spatial, embodied understanding of our place in the galaxy.
Visitor interacting with Sensorial (In)verse @ Space Expo [Photo by Jasper van den Ende]
Multimodal Design
Star Sound Construction
At the core of Sensorial (In)verse is a multimodal design approach combining visualisation, sonification, and bodily interaction
Star data is rendered visually in a dynamic 3D environment, while sound is used to translate stellar properties such as colour and distance into an evolving soundscape. This makes the installation accessible to visually impaired users and shifts sound from a decorative element to a primary carrier of information.
Interaction is handled through gestural control using a Kinect sensor. Visitors navigate the constellation by moving their hands, changing perspective, speed, and proximity, effectively "charting their own skies" through movement.
Accessibility as a Design Principle
The project was explicitly designed with accessibility and non-visual engagement in mind. Spatial audio allows users to locate and differentiate stars through sound, while interaction relies on intuitive body movement instead of precise visual input.
This approach opens up astronomical exploration to audiences who are often excluded by purely visual scientific representations.
Visitors interacting with Sensorial (In)verse @ Space Expo [Photo by Jasper van den Ende]
Collaboration and Continuation
From left to right - Rick Heemskerk, Karen O'Flaherty and Pragya Jain [Photo by Jiaxin Zhang]
The project was developed in collaboration with Karen O’Flaherty, scientist and science communicator at ESTEC, whose guidance was crucial in maintaining scientific accuracy while exploring experimental forms of representation. Feedback from user testing and expert evaluation directly informed a second iteration of the installation.
Sensorial (In)verse sits at the intersection of science communication, data visualisation, and interactive art, and continues to explore how knowledge about the universe can be experienced.
