Inspiration
My mentored research professor, Dr. Sharif Ferdous, did his graduate projects on using virtual reality for medical applications, such as relieving pain and helping injured people recover. I wanted to create a project that had the same overall goal of helping people get better.
What it does
It puts its user inside a virtual simulation of nature with sounds effects. The environment is a flat plain with trees all about. Currently, the camera rig is not allowing users to look around their surroundings, but that is the goal, along with allowing the use to traverse through the environment.
How I built it
I used Unity 2019.2.0, along with the Oculus Assets library, to build the project. The project was loaded onto the Oculus Go using Android Studio.
Challenges I ran into
The aforementioned Camera Rig issue, which I believe to be a bug with the Oculus assets. During development, I was having issues with the Assets having to constantly update and restart the editor. Also, I originally wanted to develop this application for the Oculus Rift, but the software would not install on the appropriate hardware needed for it to run.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I am proud of being able to brainstorm the idea and build the application over the short amount of development time I had. I am also proud that I was able to accomplish this on my own. I also am patting myself on the back that I had a backup plan in case the Rift situation turned out like it did.
What I learned
I learned to develop my software concept first before I decide which platform to put it on, as many factors can change that aspect of development. Also, I learned that I do not need to rely on others to be able to create a fully functioning project at a Hackathon that I am proud to demonstrate to others.
What's next for The Walk of Life
First up is integrating the Camera Rig correctly so that the user can look around the environment. Second, I want to add walking back and forth through the environment with the Go's Touch controller as a start point, and the springboard that idea into full gamepad support for all movement directions. A further off goal I have is to create a separate application or a plugin that runs in tandem with The Walk of Life that gives the user compliments and encouragement throughout the simulation, as to potentially increase how comfortable a user is in the environment.
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