What is this?

We have designed a prototype called MeRCURY. It's an immersive diving mask (or waterproof VR headset). Safely floating in pool water, users wear MeRCURY to explore virtual worlds while comfortably breathing through a snorkel. 

We create immersive travel experiences through virtual reality and aquatic installations, without motion sickness, or seasickness ! (pun intended)

We bring the ocean closer to people, via our device.

The Vision

All over the world people including adults and children are not taught to swim and a large number of the population drown every year.

When I was 8  I nearly drowned. Since then my overcoming fear of water and my passion for ocean have led me to create an enhanced diving mask.

Transforming the 11 million residential pools and 300,000 public pools in the USA alone into vast ocean depths

They talk about it

"That was really amazing, truly. Since we’re in water, you truly feel like you’re there."  - Carol M. in Paris

"It feels like we’re diving into the imagination. And if we let ourselves drift, it works perfectly." - Marcus in Geneva.

"Being underwater is a very surreal and beautiful experience." — Shari Frilot, Curator, Sundance Festival
"Aquatic virtual reality raises awareness about the urgency of protecting the oceans without the need for polluting transportation or disturbing wildlife." — Julie GAUTHIER, Filmmaker (NAT GEO, BEYONCE...)

Who Are We?

We are NiGHT, an innovative company blending virtual reality with aquatic experiences. Founded by Pierre "PYARé" Friquet and Jeremy Grasset, our team comprises experts in VR, hardware design, and immersive content creation with more than 20 years in travel agency and 10 years in the immersive field. 

After the Sundance Festival, we had a successful launch at an event related to the Olympic Games in Paris. We exhibited at Mapping festival and World XR Forum in Switzerland. In USA we have had a show at FilmGate in Miami, cumulating to the Jury Prize. PYARé is an apprentice sorcerer. His original works have been covered by media outlets such as Wired, Vice, Forbes, The Verge, CNET, and IndieWire. His commissioned works come from prestigious clients such as Meta, Chanel, Tissot, SBS, the Ministry of Culture, Banque Populaire, Cité des Sciences, and Les Utopiales Festival. 

Jeremy is an EFT therapist and owner of Shanti Travel with agencies in 12 countries. He is above all a lover of travel, particularly to India and Asia, where he lived for 15 years.

Technical Specifications:

• Operating System: Android-based, offering an intuitive user interface.
• Battery Life: Up to 4 hours of immersive experience.
• Display: 1440 x 3040 pixel resolution with a 100° field of view.
• Software: a custom interface designed to launch content, providing a smooth UX and UI experience.
• Audio Experience: Unique sound experience through internal speaker, utilizing bone conduction for sound perception underwater.

Mask Features:

• Comfort: 2 sizes which fits most of the face shapes with a silicone skirt and comfortable seal.
• Clear Vision: Anti-fog treatment and silicone-molded Fresnel lenses.
• Safety: Snorkel prevents water entry, with micrometric adjustment buckles.
• Accessories: It includes a flotation belt to ensure effortless floating, preventing collisions and maintaining neutral buoyancy during the experience.

Why an immersive Diving Mask?

Bored of only observing the swimming pool tiles at your local diving club? Felt like going to space without a too heavy carbon print? 

1. Imagine exploring the ocean’s depths or floating in space while comfortably submerged in a pool. 

2. Aquatic Virtual Reality raises awareness about the URGENCY to protect the oceans without the need for polluting transportation or disturbing wildlife.

3. This device eliminates VR motion sickness, making the experience finally comfortable to continue pushing the boundaries of what can be experienced in VR.

4. We want to fulfil the promise of virtual reality : being somewhere else, freed from the physical laws.

5. NiGHT solves the key challenges of traditional VR with limitation of playable space, transforming the swimming pools into fully immersive environments.

Aquatic VR projects offer entertainment, education and wellness, connecting to provide impactful and engaging transformative journeys.

"Being underwater is a very surreal and beautiful experience." — Shari Frilot, curator of Sundance Festival

Where an immersive Diving Mask?

How will your contribution be used? 

Now, we need your support to scale production, expand our content library, and make MeRCURY accessible to enthusiasts and professionals worldwide. This campaign will fund the final stages of development, manufacturing, and marketing efforts to ensure a successful global launch.

The funding will go directly to our R&D and content development. We want to hire more engineers and designers. We are already working on more VR content as well as the next iterations of the headset (APOLLO), which enhance visuals and add hand-tracking.

What We Need & What You Get

What's the Current State of the Product?

After 2 years of intensive R&D, MeRCURY is in the pre-manufacturing phase. Our current prototypes have been rigorously tested and received positive feedback from early users and experts in the field. We’ve validated the design and components, and are ready for mass production. We can rely on distributors to promote like Diversion in France and Sandman in China and sell our services.

We have had more than 10,000 VR divers so far. 

How to convince you?

It's time to share what we do to the world. We were very hesitant to do a crowd-funding campaign. But we wish to turn this campaign into a fairy tale. Perhaps you will say "I was there"!

What do you get out of it?

This is the exciting part (as told as Indiegogo's guidelines), the perks! The merch! We were told to keep mostly digital items and not let ourselves go to the t-shirts-and-cups-rabbit-hole.

The perks we are offering are:

1. MeRCURY, the prototype of our immersive diving mask
2. Files of two VR experiences (to be watched in a non-waterproof VR headset)
3. Soundtrack of SPACED OUT, our VR experience shown at Sundance Festival
4. Real physical paintings by our cofounder's mother (the artist Marie-Paule Bilger) inspired by the floating beta-testers
5. Digital postcards of our VR experiences

The Impact

What's Unique About MeRCURY?

MeRCURY stands out with its multi-sensory immersive design. Once users put on the VR headset, due to the "double immersion" provided by VR + Water, the immersion metaphor is fully realised thanks to aquatic virtual reality. 

Challenges & Risks

MeRCURY is in the pre-manufacturing phase. We have had a wild research & development. 

Product & Adoption

NiGHT has achieved significant milestones in the development and launch of its MeRCURY immersive diving mask:

• Prototype: Developed the first working prototype in 2022.
• Launch: Successfully launched during the Olympic games’ Cultural Olympiad in September 2023, with full booking capacity.
• Partnerships: Established a key partnership with Diversion Cinéma in June 2024 to drive product sales and distribution in immersive content spaces.

To drive adoption, NiGHT plans to expand into pools, cruise, water parks, and spas, leveraging partnerships and the public’s growing interest in immersive experiences. Continued public events and collaborations with institutions will further accelerate market penetration. We want to create a community of divers, creators and scientists 

Roadmap

What Is the Environmental Impact of Our Product?

We are committed to sustainability. MeRCURY is designed with eco-friendly materials and is fully repairable to extend its lifespan. We use recycled plastics and eco-conscious production methods to minimize our environmental footprint. Additionally, by offering virtual underwater experiences, we promote ocean conservation without the need for travel, further reducing environmental impact.

Milestones

What's our plan for solving these challenges?

We were very hesitant to do a crowd-funding campaign. So many times fake promises end up become the norm. But we wish to turn this campaign into a fairy tale. Perhaps you will say "I was there"!

In regards to the term and public perception of immersion, navigating between hype and bullshit.

Our perks include digital items which are already available. In case we don't deliver the hardware items in 2025, we will reimburse 100%.

Other Ways You Can Help

Some people may not be able to contribute financially, but they can still help in other ways!

Just your fingers and click on your mouse. Share our campaign with your networks, whether through social media or directly with friends and family.

You can use Indiegogo's built-in share tools to easily spread the word.

One day, you will be joining our army of AquaticVR-ians!

Join our movement if you are an ocean lover, a diver, a director, a researcher...

+ Website: nightimmersion.com
+ Instagram: instagram.com/nightimmersion
+ Twitter: twitter.com/NiGHTiMMERSiON
+ TikTok: tiktok.com/@nightimmersion
+ Reddit: reddit.com/r/AquaticVR/
+ Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/1076310273633525/
+ Discord: discord.gg/sfx5VpJf

Thank you for your support, we literally couldn't have done this without you. We are beyond excited to see what you create, and we look forward to delivering the MeRCURY into your hands as soon as possible.