Inspiration

In Bangladesh and many parts of South Asia, children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often wait months for therapy due to limited specialists, high costs, and lack of accessible clinical tools. Therapists also struggle to objectively track behavioral progress because most observations are manual and inconsistent.

We wanted to build a system that could make therapy more immersive, measurable, and data-driven. Inspired by the potential of VR and AI in healthcare, we created BridgeVR — a platform where children can safely practice real-world social and navigation skills while therapists receive structured clinical insights powered by AI.

What it does

BridgeVR is an AI-powered VR therapy platform designed for children with ASD and their therapists.

Children enter browser-based immersive environments such as:

school corridors
classroom entrances
road crossings

Inside these simulations, they practice communication, navigation, and decision-making skills in a safe and sensory-controlled setting.

During every session, BridgeVR captures structured behavioral events in real time, including:

hesitation time
route decisions
retries
task completion
interaction patterns

A Python backend sends this session data to Claude AI, which analyzes behavioral patterns and generates:

clinical observations
difficulty readiness evaluation
therapist recommendations
session summaries in plain language

Therapists can then monitor progress through a React dashboard containing:

behavioral analytics
progress charts
AI-generated insight cards
parent-friendly reports

BridgeVR aims to make evidence-based ASD therapy more accessible while helping build one of the first structured ASD behavioral datasets in South Asia.

How we built it

We built BridgeVR using a modern full-stack AI architecture:

Frontend

React.js
TailwindCSS
Three.js / WebXR for browser-based VR environments

Backend

Python
FastAPI for API handling
Structured behavioral event pipeline

AI Layer

Claude AI for behavioral analysis and clinical insight generation
Prompt engineering for structured therapist recommendations

Database & Analytics

Firebase / PostgreSQL for session storage
Real-time event tracking system
Dashboard analytics and progress visualization

We designed the VR environments to be lightweight and browser-accessible so children can use the platform without expensive VR hardware.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was translating complex behavioral interactions into structured data that an AI model could meaningfully analyze.

We also faced challenges in:

designing sensory-safe VR experiences for ASD children
maintaining low-latency real-time event streaming
creating clinically understandable AI outputs
balancing immersive environments without overwhelming users

Another major challenge was ensuring the AI-generated recommendations remained structured, explainable, and useful for therapists rather than generic summaries.

Accomplishments that we’re proud of

We are proud that BridgeVR combines:

AI
VR
behavioral analytics
healthcare accessibility

into a single platform focused on real-world impact.

Some achievements we are especially proud of:

Creating browser-based VR therapy accessible without expensive hardware
Building real-time behavioral event tracking
Generating structured therapist insights using AI
Designing therapy environments tailored for ASD children
Focusing on accessibility in underserved regions like Bangladesh

Most importantly, we built a platform that has the potential to reduce therapy access barriers for families who currently receive little or no specialized support.

What we learned

Through this project, we learned: