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Hope Training Academy (HTA)

At my most recent research opportunity, our team worked with HTA to create VR lessons on how to assemble a computer. As the lead developer, I was tasked with creating the interactions between the different PC parts. I created a system that allowed for multiple PC parts to be encased in each other while adding the ability to include/exclude certain parts if desired. The research focused on recreating a preexisting lesson that HTA had a web based alternative to, and compare the experiences of people who participated in either the VR or web based experience. While our research only required a small amount of PC parts, our team had a simulation that included most major parts on high end gaming computers. In the hopes we would received more funding to continue the project, I built our system to be modular so that it could be easily expanded on in the future. It was the first time I had led such a large team for more that just a game jam, and I am very proud with what our team was able to put together in our time working together. If you are interested in more details about the project, you can check out this article or browse HTA's website to find more information on their projects.

Indy VR Study (PerspeckiVR)

The Indy VR Study was my first foray into real Virtual Reality. I had the chance to develop a small app for the Merge VR Cube for my first game jam, but the limitations that 3 degrees of freedom movement provides didn't wow me much. It wasn't until a few years later, when I was approached by an IUPUI faculty member about a Unity developer position for VR research that I saw the potential for the technology. Indy VR Study, or PerspectiVR as the team named it at one point, was a joint collaboration between the IU school of medicine, and the school of informatics and computing. The study aimed to recreate a scenario in VR that a psychologist would normally walk through their patient within their head. I was brought on as a second developer to help the lead keep up with the high workload. It was a great learning opportunity, and I was even able to create the character customizer that we used in the app. Aside from that, I created an android sister application that acted as a guide to the VR experience and contained a server for participants to fill out. The lead developer and I had to synch the two apps together through a Firebase server. I learned a lot of lessons about running large scale projects from this research, but most important of all, it ignited a passion for virtual reality that I hope to continue to grow. If you are interested in more info here is an article written on the study.