BRIDGED XR

XR Games to help people with Learning Disabilities. We are addressing the problems that people with these disabilities (like ADHD) have, and help them overcome their weaknesses while having fun.

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Inspiration

We have members in the group who have Learning Disabilities such as ADHD and Dyslexia. We wanted to build a project around helping people who struggle with learning like we did.

What it does

The early prototype of this project just allows users to access the Geography game. (Other games can be quickly created that help with other subjects; like science or math) Which is supposed to be a fun way to play with a map.

Our target audience are people with Learning Disabilities and are in middle school. By the time kids reach middle school, they are expected to start learning to cope with their disabilities. We want to aid these kids.

  1. When the user starts, countries will fly around the user's space.
  2. From there, users can pick up countries they find, the game will tell them what the country is and even audio will play saying the country's name.
  3. Then the user will place the country on a Country wall where it will snap into place on a map to show where the country is on Earth.

Users will see the countries, read what the country name is, where they are on the map, learn the pronunciations.

How we built it

We decided as a group that doing a Design Sprint method would be best given limited time and resources. Which involves us researching and understanding the problem, then diverging ideas, then deciding on solutions, then developing the prototype, and finally validating the project works.

Part 1 (Research) We decided that our target audience will be kids (middle school age) would be our target audience. More specifically, kids with learning disabilities. We spent time researching what the disabilities are, the science behind the disabilities, and how experts are addressing the issues. We drew inspiration from EndeavorRx games and wanted to create a fun, paced, interactive game for the purpose of learning while addressing solutions to the symptoms of kids of these disabilities; such as trouble focusing, restlessness, management, etc

Part 2 (Idea) We explored solutions and started designing the basic mechanics of our form factors. We thought up with ideas such as different subjects and game mechanics. We explored potentially doing Geometry or Science or Geography.

  1. Geometry - Scatter Shapes on the floor, have the user find specific types and put the shape in the correct bins. The bins can be labeled like "Right Triangle, Obtuse Triangle, etc"
  2. Science - Simulate Photosynthesis via having a plant that reacts to lighting in the room. If plant object is placed in light, it will bloom. If placed in shade, it will not
  3. Geography - Have country shapes scatter, users can pick up the countries and apply the country to a wall map. Learning their geographic location, how to spell the country, what the country looks like and even how to pronounce the country name

Part 3 (Decide) We ended up deciding to go with Geography. With the idea of scattering the countries in user's space. Kind of like they are in zero g space. User can pick up the country, the user will get feed back with audio and visuals that says the country name. The map on the wall will highlight where the country goes and the user places it in the correct slot.

Part 4 (Prototype) We built a prototype using Magic Leap, Unity, and MRTK.

Part 5 (Validate) After building the prototype. We tested with a few users and confirmed basic functionality works. There are some bugs to kink out but that will be addressed as time is given.

Challenges we ran into

-Hand Tracking -Plane Tracking -Snapping -Color Random Generation -Choosing the Platform -Haptics

Accomplishments that we're proud of

-Getting it all to work. Getting it functional -We feel like this project is meaningful and an accomplishment on its own. -Team building, time management, and collaboration with the team

What we learned

-We learned more in-depth about the different Learning Disabilities. Like ADHD and dyslexia. We learned the science behind the disorders and how things are being done to help aid the problems. Help people cope. -Learned about using the MRTK and AR Interactions -Connecting to people with diverse backgrounds

What's next for BRIDGED XR

-Adding more Games/Subjects (Math, Science, etc) Was thinking of a science feature where you can have an AR Plant that simulates what Photosynthesis is. The plant will bloom or die based on if it is in the light or not. -Expanding the features and User Interface. And Full Menu system including Subject Selection, Difficulty selection, etc -Expanding the Audio (use native languages/accents when pronouncing the country names and maybe changing the background music to music that relates to that country while you holding it). -We wanted to address as many accessibility issues as we can but due to time constraints, we are limited to what we have right now.

Team Responsibility

Advisor - Kevin Park || Team Lead and UX Designer - Kyle Diaz || Lead Engineer and UX Designer - Lavin Amarnani || Assistant Engineer and UX Designer - Mohammed Irfan Shaik || UX Designer - Labdhi Turakhia || UX Designer - Avarna Agarwal

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