3D Academia [Bot Army - 103]

Before scanning the image
Model after scanning the image
After clicking on read more button

Inspiration

It is very well known fact that the human brain perceives knowledge best in the visual form. The resources available to the students, be it articles, textbooks or even interactive YouTube videos do not seem to do justice to the students as they should. While moving forward in the age of AR, students should be provided with interactive gamified learning environment. And we have come up with exactly that.

What it does

Whenever a student wants to understand a particular image or model deeply, he/she will open the application and scan that particular image using the application. By doing so, a 3D interactive model of that image will appear which student can zoom and rotate to view from multiple angles. Also, we are providing a 'Read More' button, which will allow the students to read important points regarding the topic.

How we built it

Our process started with taking accurate measurement of the images present in the textbooks. Using the measurements, we created the models on Blender. It was one of the most tedious part of the project as rendering of the models required quite a few time and computational power. Next, using the Vuforia Augmented Reality Engine we linked the textbook images with the 3D models. Finally, using the Unity platform created the AR features like the 'Read More' button and converted the project into and apk file.

Challenges we ran into

We used Blender to create models of diagrams and rendering these models was quite tedious. Firstly rendering models requires very high computation power, so rendering a single model was a time consuming process and our laptops could not handle other tasks during this process. Our most of the time was spent in it. To create the 3D models and link them to diagrams we used Vuforia engine. While creating models we had to precisely calculate the dimensions of the diagram so that the right model will appear after hovering on particular diagram. The precision of measurements must be in millimeters.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

In the span of the hackathon we were able to create and implement all the models of the whole chapter. The models images we chose we very complex and detailed. Another achievement we had was that, initially our application was not able to detect the images and pop the 3D model. Eventually, we improved our system and made the image detection part very efficient. Most of all, it gives us most pleasure that we have created something from scratch which has the potential to actually make learning interesting and efficient.

What we learned

Considering this was our first hackathon, it was like we were sailing in a sea of new and well, quite amazing experiences. We got to learn how such events are held, analyze if we have the metal to do it (P.S. We have it ;D), and how to efficiently work in a team. We learnt that working in a team we have to play to our strengths and skills as well as work around our weaker spots. Talking about the project we got to learn quite a few new fields of technology and how we can effectively use them in bettering the lifestyle of our society. Summarizing our learnings, we would say along with the new experiences and new skills, it was fun learning.

What's next for 3D Academia

For now, we implemented the models only for one chapter of CBSE class 11 textbook. Further we can expand the scope of our project to span the entire textbook or even entire syllabus. We can research about other image detection technologies which will improve the efficiency of the application. We are also planning to add other gamified features to improve the user experience and interaction.