{"id":86004,"date":"2025-05-10T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/?p=86004"},"modified":"2025-04-23T11:15:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T16:15:42","slug":"virtual-reality-immersive-expeditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/virtual-reality-immersive-expeditions\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Immersive Expeditions’ Transport You Around the World Via Unforgettable Virtual Reality Experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Friday is here at last, which means it\u2019s time to trade your corporate to-dos for weekend fun<\/a>. So, what would help you relax and recharge tonight\u2014taking in the latest movie, dining out at a local restaurant or exploring the heart of Paris during the Impressionist era and mingling with famous artists?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Paris is always a good idea, jetting there after work for just one night, not to mention the time-travel element, seems unlikely\u2014until now. Thanks to Fabien Barati.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As co-founder of Excurio<\/a>, an entertainment company, formerly known as Emissive, Barati engineers international cultural adventures through virtual reality<\/a>. While the technology has existed for decades (hello, Nintendo, in the 1980s), Excurio offers a new pathway to entertainment through a format Barati calls \u201cImmersive Expeditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExpeditions, because you wear a virtual reality headset, but you are free to move in a very big space,\u201d Barati says. \u201cAnd in the headset, you will see the pyramid of Khufu or the Notre-Dame cathedral\u2026 and you really feel that you are there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"SUCCESS<\/a>\n\n\n\n

The virtual reality appeal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How many times have you sat down to watch TV, been distracted by texting or doomscrolling and had to rewind the show? And while Nicole Kidman tells us, \u201cHeartbreak feels good in a place like this,\u201d sit next to one mouth-breather at the movies and, boom\u2014that annoyance disrupts your previously rapt attention on the big screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not the case with an Immersive Expedition. Instead of watching something take place and chancing a potential distraction, you\u2019re fully engaged\u2014rubbing elbows with the painters, walking around the pyramid. You\u2019re living out the experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour senses are hacked,\u201d Barati says. \u201cIt\u2019s not real, but your brain and senses tell you it\u2019s real.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excurio offers four Immersive Expeditions, which include traveling through paleo-landscapes from 3.5 billion years ago to present day, in addition to adventures involving the Notre-Dame cathedral, pyramid of Khufu and an Impressionist exhibit in 1874 Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can really walk into those corridors\u2026 and see those objects exactly like in real life,\u201d Barati says. \u201cAnd you can do that in very large spaces\u2026 and you can do that with other people. You are with your friend, your family or colleagues, and you can see each other and live, share and experience all these adventures together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sees virtual reality as a social experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis really feels like a success when we see a family removing the headset and being very happy and chatting with each other,\u201d Barati says. \u201cAnd when they ask each other\u2026 \u2018Did you see that? Did you understand that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Content is still king<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Humanity has always used storytelling<\/a> as a means to connect and share knowledge. Virtual reality brings that story to life, transforming worlds you\u2019ve only seen hanging beneath a glass frame into reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose objects were not meant to be displayed,\u201d Barati says. \u201cThey were meant to be used. And so, what we do with virtual reality\u2026 is create the context so we can see those objects being used a thousand years ago by the very people [who] created them and used them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtual reality storytelling also puts humans at the center by having participants interact with key figures, which deepens the emotional link participants have to the topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you interact, it enhances the immersion and you are more into the moment and you learn more, you understand better, etc.,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each Immersive Expedition runs nearly 45 minutes in length. During that time, a character\u2014like Mona, a young Egyptologist who gives special tours of the pyramid of Khufu, or Rose, a Parisian aspiring writer\u2014will guide the group through the narrative as history unfolds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education is an important component of the expeditions. Excurio partners with renowned experts and institutions, including museum curators and paleontologists, to ensure the historical accuracy of its content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou will meet some characters and be guided into a specific story,\u201d Barati says. \u201cYou will learn a lot, but you will [do so] without realizing it because it\u2019s part of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building an expedition is a large-scale production, akin to creating a video game. To reconstruct the environment, the monuments and the characters from when dinosaurs roamed the Earth or the Impressionists exhibited their work, Barati\u2019s company uses 3D graphics and works with a team of 3D designers, 3D animators, developers and actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is the most important is the content,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s the content and the quality of content that is attracting our audience. It\u2019s not the technology; it\u2019s not the concept. It\u2019s not the format; it\u2019s really the content.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cinema business model<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Barati believes that the Immersive Expeditions business model is similar to that of movie theaters<\/a>. Excurio currently partners with 20 venues to show its expeditions. The company hopes in the future to feature its expeditions in thousands of venues worldwide, like movies playing in theaters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while you\u2019re limited to one movie per room in a theater, you can conduct several Immersive Expeditions simultaneously in the same venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat means that\u2026 in this big space, you can have groups of people walking into their own experience,\u201d Barati says. \u201cSome can be in Egypt; others can be in the Impressionist era.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Immersive Expedition could also be a featured exhibit at a venue for years, while movies only stay in theaters for a few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next frontier<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As this new pathway to entertainment builds more traction (even pop queen Sabrina Carpenter is in on the game, headlining a virtual reality concert last summer) and the technology continues to improve, Barati is driven to stay ahead of the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His company plans a wider rollout of their current expeditions. Excurio is also at work on its next adventure, which will take place in the medieval era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel we are like the cinema industry a hundred years ago, trying to create this new ecosystem, including the creators, the distributors and the operators,\u201d Barati says. \u201cWe are at the very beginning of that with the Immersive Expeditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article appears in the May\/June 2025 issue of <\/em>SUCCESS magazine<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong> Photo courtesy of Excurio.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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She is currently at work on a psychological thriller novel."],"rich_editing":["true"],"syntax_highlighting":["true"],"comment_shortcuts":["false"],"admin_color":["fresh"],"use_ssl":["0"],"show_admin_bar_front":["true"],"locale":[""],"wp_capabilities":["a:1:{s:6:\"author\";b:1;}"],"wp_user_level":["0"],"uuid":["3ad7bdae69553a19e235c19fde624c3f"],"_yoast_wpseo_profile_updated":["1645637663"],"wp_user_avatar":[""],"dismissed_wp_pointers":[""],"mepr_user_message":[""],"mepr-address-one":[""],"mepr-address-two":[""],"mepr-address-city":[""],"mepr-address-country":[""],"mepr-address-state":[""],"mepr-address-zip":[""],"mepr_email_address":[""],"mepr_phone_number":[""],"wpseo_title":[""],"wpseo_metadesc":[""],"wpseo_content_analysis_disable":[""],"wpseo_keyword_analysis_disable":[""],"molongui_author_phone":[""],"molongui_author_job":[""],"molongui_author_company":[""],"molongui_author_company_link":[""],"molongui_author_box_display":["default"],"molongui_author_image_id":["63434"],"molongui_author_image_url":["https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Jill-McDonnell.jpeg"],"molongui_author_image_edit":["https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-admin\/post.php?post=63434&action=edit&image-editor"],"molongui_author_post_count":["63"],"molongui_author_page_count":["0"],"is_geuest_user":["32324"]}}]},"custom_post_content":"<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Friday is here at last, which means it\u2019s time to trade your corporate to-dos for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.success.com\/10-things-exceptionally-successful-people-do-on-the-weekends\/\">weekend fun<\/a>. So, what would help you relax and recharge tonight\u2014taking in the latest movie, dining out at a local restaurant or exploring the heart of Paris during the Impressionist era and mingling with famous artists?<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>While Paris is always a good idea, jetting there after work for just one night, not to mention the time-travel element, seems unlikely\u2014until now. Thanks to Fabien Barati.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>As co-founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.excurio.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Excurio<\/a>, an entertainment company, formerly known as Emissive, Barati engineers international cultural adventures through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.success.com\/how-ai-in-the-metaverse-is-changing-the-world\/\">virtual reality<\/a>. While the technology has existed for decades (hello, Nintendo, in the 1980s), Excurio offers a new pathway to entertainment through a format Barati calls \u201cImmersive Expeditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cExpeditions, because you wear a virtual reality headset, but you are free to move in a very big space,\u201d Barati says. \u201cAnd in the headset, you will see the pyramid of Khufu or the Notre-Dame cathedral\u2026 and you really feel that you are there.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:html -->\n\n<!-- \/wp:html -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-virtual-reality-appeal\">The virtual reality appeal<\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>How many times have you sat down to watch TV, been distracted by texting or doomscrolling and had to rewind the show? And while Nicole Kidman tells us, \u201cHeartbreak feels good in a place like this,\u201d sit next to one mouth-breather at the movies and, boom\u2014that annoyance disrupts your previously rapt attention on the big screen.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Not the case with an Immersive Expedition. Instead of watching something take place and chancing a potential distraction, you\u2019re fully engaged\u2014rubbing elbows with the painters, walking around the pyramid. You\u2019re living out the experience.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cYour senses are hacked,\u201d Barati says. \u201cIt\u2019s not real, but your brain and senses tell you it\u2019s real.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Excurio offers four Immersive Expeditions, which include traveling through paleo-landscapes from 3.5 billion years ago to present day, in addition to adventures involving the Notre-Dame cathedral, pyramid of Khufu and an Impressionist exhibit in 1874 Paris.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cYou can really walk into those corridors\u2026 and see those objects exactly like in real life,\u201d Barati says. \u201cAnd you can do that in very large spaces\u2026 and you can do that with other people. You are with your friend, your family or colleagues, and you can see each other and live, share and experience all these adventures together.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>He sees virtual reality as a social experience.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cThis really feels like a success when we see a family removing the headset and being very happy and chatting with each other,\u201d Barati says. \u201cAnd when they ask each other\u2026 \u2018Did you see that? Did you understand that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-content-is-still-king\">Content is still king<\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Humanity has always used <a href=\"https:\/\/www.success.com\/what-makes-a-good-story\/\">storytelling<\/a> as a means to connect and share knowledge. Virtual reality brings that story to life, transforming worlds you\u2019ve only seen hanging beneath a glass frame into reality.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cThose objects were not meant to be displayed,\u201d Barati says. \u201cThey were meant to be used. And so, what we do with virtual reality\u2026 is create the context so we can see those objects being used a thousand years ago by the very people [who] created them and used them.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Virtual reality storytelling also puts humans at the center by having participants interact with key figures, which deepens the emotional link participants have to the topic.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cWhen you interact, it enhances the immersion and you are more into the moment and you learn more, you understand better, etc.,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Each Immersive Expedition runs nearly 45 minutes in length. During that time, a character\u2014like Mona, a young Egyptologist who gives special tours of the pyramid of Khufu, or Rose, a Parisian aspiring writer\u2014will guide the group through the narrative as history unfolds.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Education is an important component of the expeditions. Excurio partners with renowned experts and institutions, including museum curators and paleontologists, to ensure the historical accuracy of its content.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cYou will meet some characters and be guided into a specific story,\u201d Barati says. \u201cYou will learn a lot, but you will [do so] without realizing it because it\u2019s part of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Building an expedition is a large-scale production, akin to creating a video game. To reconstruct the environment, the monuments and the characters from when dinosaurs roamed the Earth or the Impressionists exhibited their work, Barati\u2019s company uses 3D graphics and works with a team of 3D designers, 3D animators, developers and actors.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cWhat is the most important is the content,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s the content and the quality of content that is attracting our audience. It\u2019s not the technology; it\u2019s not the concept. It\u2019s not the format; it\u2019s really the content.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-cinema-business-model\">The cinema business model<\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Barati believes that the Immersive Expeditions business model is similar to that of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.success.com\/amazon-strategic-pivot\/\">movie theaters<\/a>. Excurio currently partners with 20 venues to show its expeditions. The company hopes in the future to feature its expeditions in thousands of venues worldwide, like movies playing in theaters.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>But while you\u2019re limited to one movie per room in a theater, you can conduct several Immersive Expeditions simultaneously in the same venue.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cThat means that\u2026 in this big space, you can have groups of people walking into their own experience,\u201d Barati says. \u201cSome can be in Egypt; others can be in the Impressionist era.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>An Immersive Expedition could also be a featured exhibit at a venue for years, while movies only stay in theaters for a few weeks.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-next-frontier\">The next frontier<\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>As this new pathway to entertainment builds more traction (even pop queen Sabrina Carpenter is in on the game, headlining a virtual reality concert last summer) and the technology continues to improve, Barati is driven to stay ahead of the competition.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>His company plans a wider rollout of their current expeditions. Excurio is also at work on its next adventure, which will take place in the medieval era.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cI feel we are like the cinema industry a hundred years ago, trying to create this new ecosystem, including the creators, the distributors and the operators,\u201d Barati says. \u201cWe are at the very beginning of that with the Immersive Expeditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph {\"fontSize\":\"small\"} -->\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong><em>This article appears in the May\/June 2025 issue of <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.success.com\/magazine\/\">SUCCESS <em>magazine<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/strong><em> Photo courtesy of Excurio.<\/em><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","tag_names":[],"post_attachment_urls":[],"author_email":"jmcdonnell@mailinator.com","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32324"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.success.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}