As New Horizons explored ways to remove the barriers that people with disability often experience in exploring the world around them, Ryan and his team set themselves the challenge to make better use of technology to improve access.
In world-first, they pitched a proposal to harness the power of Virtual Reality (VR) to make National Parks – and the well-known health benefits of being nature – more accessible for people with disability.
Facing a number of challenges, from filming VR footage in remote locations, to building VR apps and acquiring the consumer technology needed to bring it to life, the team forged a collaborative partnership between National Parks & Wildlife Service, City of Sydney, People & Parks Foundation, Qantas, Telstra and Google.
The team was successful in securing more than $500k funding and $250k in-kind for the project, and launched a prototype and crowdfunding campaign at a packed-out showcase event at Martin Place in Sydney, with more than a thousand people attending on the day.
Using Google Pixel smartphones and VR headsets, visitors were transported to four of Australia’s most iconic national parks: Uluru, The Murray River, the Great Barrier Reef, and Kangaroo Island.
Parallel Parks gained widespread recognition, receiving nominations, and ultimately winning – NSW and national awards for ‘Best Use of Technology’ in 2018 & 2019, respectively.
Parallel Parks was developed for, and is the property of, New Horizons.
