EduVerse is a virtual reality environment designed to help students learn physics concepts experientially. The project was conceived as part of the coursework for SI 659: Developing AR/VR Experiences at the University of Michigan School of Information.
Traditional physics classrooms often face limitations in terms of resources, exploration, and engagement. Building a well-equipped lab can be expensive for schools. So, our overarching question is: How can we use modern technology to make studying more intuitive and accessible? For this purpose, our goal is to: Create an accessible, intuitive, and engaging experience of teaching Physics material that can be demonstrated in the form of VR: “Newton’s Law of Motion” & “Optics – Reflection”
Solution
Our solution is a VR playground consisting of 2 scenes – a Newton’s Law of Motion scene and an Optics scene. The former, designed by me, is a classroom-like environment with 3 different setups (2 interactable), and the latter, designed by Reuben, is a playground with a laser and mirror setup. I then combined the two scenes.
Design Process
"Everytime I went to Physics Lab, or any lab as of fact, I had a set of instruments, a given time and a goal to achieve.
That's it.
Physics was not physic-ing"
While we had tons of ideas to start from, a particular experience resonated with both Reuben and me. Among the ideas, we decided to build on something impactful and personal. We followed a design process where we developed low fidelity of environment and objects, built up on the interactions, and finally, the touch-ups.
Challenges
- Challenge: Oculus XR Kit not supported on team projects
As Reuben and I decided to work on this together, we needed to be in sync with our projects to ensure we could build a cohesive and complete playground. However, this restricted us from using the ready-to-use XR Interaction Kit for Gaze, Pinch, and other motions. I used ChatGPT, brainstormed interactions for my scene that could be implemented, and designed scripts to implement them.
Impact
This project has opened up many possibilities for me in the field of education. I have always been passionate about education, and I have always wanted to make a difference in the field of education, which I did by participating in peer mentoring roles. This project has shown me that I can use my technical skills to make a difference in education. Many educators suggested taking it for a field study in K-12 schools and expanding the scope to other subjects. I am excited to explore more projects in this field and take this project further. If you are interested in collaborating on this project or have any feedback, please contact me!
Expo Poster
