Treectory

Demo
py1
uecpp1
BluePrint
WeatherSystem
FurtherUpdate

Inspiration

We can always hear the call for environmental protection, but it seems to be a giant topic that is far away from our daily life. So we decided to visualize the conceptual numbers of energy consumption to more relatable and direct metrics for the public.

How I built it

Install

Our program is only compatible with python 3 for now and contains two test/show cases. Go to the github link, clone or download the whole repository as zip file.

Beta Test

To see tree number decreases, run

python3 main.py 1

To see tree number increases, run

python3 main.py 2

To extract pc power consumption, run (this feature only works in Windows 8 or 10)

python3 pc.py

Challenges I ran into

Although Blueprint in Unreal Engine 4 is good for fast prototyping, the functionality of Blueprint is limited. For example, Blueprint is not suitable for read external files and run external executables. In order to solve this, we created and added a customized function to an Cpp and header file that is inheriting from BlueprintFunctionLibrary.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

We accomplished our goal within the designated time fram.
We combined environmental awareness and entertainment purpose
Instead of running external executables in UE4, we export the demo program in UE4 to an .exe file and called the file in our main python program.

What I learned

How to run Windows command and obtain battery report of the PC in python program.
How to add customized Blueprint functions into Unreal Engine 4

What’s next for Treectory

Data

With the development and popularization of the smarthome, we can gain more energy consuming data on other devices, such as lighting, cooling, and heating systems. For example, we can get Tesla’s, air conditioner’s, heater’s real time electricity consumption. Other form of energy using can also take into account, such as fuel, water
With a more sophisticated database, we can generate energy consumption reports, perform series of statistical analysis, and predict energy consumption trends in both micro and macro scopes.

Visualization (with preview)

We can add more elements and environments, such as decorations on trees (act like skin in games), factories, outer-space exploration in our app. We can also implement a complete incentive mechanism to make the game more interactive which will motivate the users to save more energy or buy the features they want. Some of the profits can be donated to the environmental friendly charity.
Due to limited time, we only visualize the data on the UE4 which requires a high performance computer to run. We can also implement the game on mobile phones or other portable devices.

Just for fun

Thanks to the great potential of Unreal Engine 4, a TPS mode will be added to this project in the future. We call it Ranger Mode! This mode utilizing the UE4 Level that is generated by usersdata individually. Users can go to others map, or they can invite others into their maps for combat. The randomized allocation of trees not only just for landscape view, they can also strategically places tree to change terrain features to gain advantages. Besides playing for fun, the user will gain more environmental awareness by playing this game mode. The more environmental friendly the player is, the more trees the player can save. As a result, the player will get a more complex terrain and more covers, which will give it a better chance to stay alive from enemies` attack.

Moreover, a dynamic weather system may also be implemented in the future.