100Hz Whale

100Hz whale visual cover
Coding in C# in Unity Platform
Whale design by Lotus Qu

Inspiration

Sea sickness is a major health issue in the marine setting, reported to be a significant contributor to onboard accidents and incidents such as navigation errors, which can eventually lead to environmental disasters such as oil spills. Witnessing oil tanker operators, marine scientists, sailors, and even young children suffering from this condition made us want to find an alternate, accessible solution to the currently existing seasickness medications that had fatal side effects, such as drowsiness and decreased alertness.

What it does

100Hz Whale is a user-friendly rhythm game that runs on a calm Lofi music along with 100Hz sine waves in the background, which is scientifically proven to reduce seasickness by stimulating the inner ear, improving balance, and alleviating dizziness. It is drug-free and keeps the user alert and functional. The prototype background music is approximately 40 seconds, following a consistent beat in which the user matches the rhythm by tapping on the screen at a designated time. It is simple enough for nauseated users and engaging enough to distract users from symptoms.

How we built it

We used free audio sources from Pixabay.com and Freqies.com’s 100Hz Sine Wave and Jazz Lofi Music in G Major scale as the drivers of our interactive rhythm game. A Jazz and Lofi combo does not contain lyrics, and, therefore, would be more calming for users experiencing nausea and similar symptoms. Regarding visuals, the design was hand-drawn by our team member, consisting of illustrations with simple, low-saturated colors to create a deep ambience. We coded our product using the programming language C# on Unity, a game development platform. We referenced a previously developed rhythm game on the Unity platform to customize and add additional details to meet our goals.

Challenges we ran into

Throughout the hackathon, we ran into challenges when realizing none of our team members had prior experience with the programming language C#. We also found difficulties in creating an accurately aligned beatmap with the music, as well as synchronizing the tap targets to the 100Hz background frequency noise while maintaining a comfortable musical flow.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that we built our first functional app as complete beginners, creating hand-crafted visuals aimed to soothe nausea, and that we developed a drug-free solution that addresses real maritime safety risks.

What we learned

Through trial and error, we learned how simple rhythm games are created and coded using C#, the beneficial effects of certain frequency sounds on seasickness, and the application of our previous knowledge in Python to learn a new programming language.

What's next for 100Hz Whale

Moving forward, we plan to expand our audio library with more relaxing, lyric-free tracks to give users variety during long cruises. We also hope to incorporate multiple frequency options, allowing users to find their optimal therapeutic frequency. Finally, we aim to partner with maritime academies and naval programs to test our prototype and validate our solution on drug-alternative sea sickness.