ImmerSea: Pulse of the Sea

The Ocean Through VR

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This project was created as a submission for NASA Space Apps Challenge 2025.

Summary

Pulse of the Sea is an interactive VR experience designed to bring to life the unseen heartbeat of our oceans. It utilizes an interactive WebXR virtual reality experience that can be accessed with VR headsets (HMDs) or directly from the web. The project invites audiences to dive beneath the ocean surface and feel the hidden power of eddies. These swirling currents shape marine ecosystems and have a global impact on the climate. Through storytelling and interactive 3D visualisation, viewers are able to observe how eddies transport nutrients, fuel plankton blooms, and connect life across the oceans. This project is significant because it makes Earth science more accessible to people. It closes the gap between complex satellite data (e.g., SWOT and PACE) and public understanding, highlighting why ocean dynamics matter for biodiversity, carbon storage, and climate stability. Moreover, this project reminds people of the reality that the health of the ocean is inseparable from our own fate. It allows them to experience, learn about the ocean, and take advantage of the web's reach to make VR ocean education available to everyone.

Project Details

Pulse of the Sea is an interactive web-based VR experience that brings the hidden world of ocean eddies to life, from the perspective of a sea turtle. The project transforms real oceanographic concepts into an immersive storytelling journey, where users learn how eddies form, their impact on marine ecosystems, and how NASA’s satellite missions, such as PACE, SWOT, and GRACE-FO, monitor them from space.

Through the narrative, users explore how eddies transport nutrients, influence plankton blooms, and regulate Earth’s climate. This project aims to raise awareness of the connection between marine life and ocean processes.

This project was developed using technologies such as:

  1. Languages & Frameworks: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebXR for immersive VR experiences
  2. Software: Unity (initial prototyping), Visual Studio Code, and GitHub The design of this project aims to balance education with accessibility, ensuring that young audiences and the general public can explore real satellite-driven data through interactive storytelling.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The AI tools below were used to assist in the development process:

  1. GitHub Copilot was used to help write and debug small sections of the WebXR code, improving efficiency.
  2. ChatGPT was used as a planning assistant for outlining the storyboard, and refining the narration script.
  3. ElevenLabs was used to generate the narration audio for the sea turtle’s voice.

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