BridgedXR is Assistive learning for aiding people with learning disabilities, using Geography as a teaching subject in Mixed Reality.
We have members in the group who have Learning Disabilities such as ADHD and Dyslexia. We wanted to build a project around helping people who struggle with learning as we did.
Slide Deck
What it does
The early prototype of this project just allows users to access the Geography game. (Other games can be quickly created that help with other subjects; like science or math) Which is supposed to be a fun way to play with a map. Our target audience is people with Learning Disabilities who are in middle school. By the time kids reach middle school, they are expected to start learning to cope with their disabilities. We want to aid these kids.
- When the user starts, countries will fly around the user's space.
- From there, users can pick up countries they find, the game will tell them what the country is and even audio will play saying the country's name.
- Then the user will place the country on a Country wall where it will snap into place on a map to show where the country is on Earth.
- Users will see the countries, read what the country name is, where they are on the map, and learn the pronunciations.
How we built it
We decided as a group that doing a Design Sprint method would be best given the limited time and resources. Which involves us researching and understanding the problem, then diverging ideas, then deciding on solutions, then developing the prototype, and finally validating the project works.
Part 1 (Research) - We decided that our target audience will be kids (middle school age) would be our target audience. More specifically, kids with learning disabilities. We spent time researching what disabilities are, the science behind the disabilities, and how experts are addressing the issues. We drew inspiration from EndeavorRx games and wanted to create a fun, paced, interactive game to learn while addressing solutions to the symptoms of kids with these disabilities; such as trouble focusing, restlessness, management, etc.
Part 2 (Idea) - We explored solutions and started designing the basic mechanics of our form factors. We thought of ideas such as different subjects and game mechanics. We explored potentially doing Geometry or Science or Geography.
- Geometry - Scatter Shapes on the floor, have the user find specific types and put the shape in the correct bins. The bins can be labeled like "Right Triangle, Obtuse Triangle, etc"
- Science - Simulate Photosynthesis via having a plant that reacts to lighting in the room. If a plant is placed in light, it will bloom. If placed in the shade, it will not
- Geography - Have country shapes scattered, users can pick up the countries and apply the country to a wall map. Learning their geographic location, how to spell the country, what the country looks like and even how to pronounce the country name
Part 3 (Decide) - We ended up deciding to go with Geography. With the idea of scattering the countries in the user's space. Kind of like they are in zero-g space. The user can pick up the country, the user will get feedback with audio and visuals that says the country name. The map on the wall will highlight where the country goes and the user places it in the correct slot.
Part 4 (Prototype) - We built a prototype using Magic Leap, Unity, and MRTK.
Part 5 (Validate) - After building the prototype. We tested with a few users and confirmed basic functionality works. There are some bugs to kink out but that will be addressed as time is given.
Challenges we ran into
- Hand Tracking
- Plane Tracking
- Snapping
- Color Random Generation
- Choosing the Platform
- Haptics
Accomplishments that we're proud of
- Getting the functionality
- We feel like this project is meaningful and an accomplishment on its own
- Team building, time management, and collaboration with the team
What we learned
- We learned more in-depth about the different Learning Disabilities like ADHD and dyslexia
- We learned the science behind the disorders and how things are being done to help aid the problems
- Help people cope
- Learned about using the MRTK and AR Interactions
- Connecting to people with diverse backgrounds
What's next for BridgedXR
- Adding more Games/Subjects (Math, Science, etc), such as a feature where you can have an AR Plant that simulates what Photosynthesis is. The plant will bloom or die based on if it is in the light or not.
- Expanding the features and User Interface and Full Menu system including Subject Selection, Difficulty selection, etc.
- Expanding the Audio (use native languages/accents when pronouncing the country names and maybe changing the background music to music that relates to that country while you holding it)
- We wanted to address as many accessibility issues as we can but due to time constraints, we are limited to what we have right now.
Team Responsibility
- Advisor - Kevin Park
- Team Lead and UX Designer - Kyle Diaz
- Lead Engineer and UX Designer - Lavin Amarnani
- Assistant Engineer and UX Designer - Mohammed Irfan Shaik
- UX Designer - Labdhi Turakhia
- UX Designer - Avarna Agarwal
View Source on
MIT Reality Hack 2022 - TEAM-05
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