The Allobrain: An interactive, stereographic, 3D audio, immersive virtual world

This paper describes the creation of the Allobrain project, in interactive, stereographic, 3D audio, immersive virtual world constructed from fMRI brain data and installed in the Allosphere, one of the largest virtual reality spaces in existence. This paper portrays the role the Allobrain project played as an artwork driving the technological infrastructure of the Allosphere. The construction of the Cosm toolkit software for prototyping the Allobrain and other interactive, stereographic, 3D audio, immersive virtual worlds in the Allosphere is described in detail. Aesthetic considerations of the Allobrain project are discussed in relation to world-making as it means to understand and explore large data sets. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.