Project Overview

Eduverse is a virtual reality environment designed to help students learn physics concepts through hands-on, experiential learning. Developed as part of SI 659: Developing AR/VR Experiences at the University of Michigan School of Information, it addresses common challenges in traditional physics classrooms, such as limited resources, restricted opportunities for exploration, and low engagement. We aim to create an accessible, intuitive, and engaging VR experience to teach physics concepts, demonstrated through topics like “Newton’s Laws of Motion” and “Optics – Reflection.”

Problem Statement

How Might We make abstract physics concepts more tangible and relatable so that students can connect physics principles to real-world applications and phenomena?

Solution

Our solution takes the form of a VR Playground that seamlessly integrates interactive experiments, allowing users to explore Newton’s Laws of Motion and the Reflection of Light in an engaging and hands-on way. The experience unfolds across two immersive environments: a classroom setting featuring three dynamic physics experiments and a playground setup where users can manipulate lasers, mirrors, and targets to deepen their understanding of light behavior.

Backstory

While thinking of a concept for the project, we ruffled through a bunch of ideas, some were as practical as AR tools for architecture, whereas some were as zany as a Ouija board horror game. As we narrowed down our preferences, what it really came down to, was our common shared experiences in life. Both of us, having completed high school in India had a similar experience with science experiments in the lab. We remembered how we never really got a chance to “play” with physics and were limited to merely observing the experiments that a teacher performed.

Ideation

Our goal was to design a solution that would make physics concepts more tangible and relatable, bridging the gap between theoretical principles and real-world applications. Through our discussions, we envisioned creating an interactive and immersive VR experience where students could actively "play" with physics, test principles in a safe environment, and witness real-time outcomes.

Research

To design engaging physics experiments, we focused on making middle school concepts interactive and relatable by connecting them to gamified demonstrations. Through this process, we identified Newton’s Laws of Motion and Optics as the core topics, given their foundational importance and potential for immersive interaction.

Physics Concepts and Gamified Demonstrations

We explored how popular game mechanics could inspire creative ways to teach these concepts:

Newton’s Laws of Motion: Games like Angry Birds, with its emphasis on projectile motion, and racing simulators, which model acceleration and friction, inspired us to design experiments featuring ball physics. These activities demonstrated concepts such as inertia (objects at rest or in motion), friction (effects of different surfaces), and tension (dynamic rope mechanics).
Optics: For light-related concepts, we drew inspiration from Pong, which illustrates angles of reflection, and First Person Shooter games like Valorant, where precision with laser-like aiming is central. This led to the idea of interactive laser puzzles where students manipulate light paths to explore reflection and refraction.

Newton’s Laws of Motion explained withe the help of simple toys

Demonstrating the Angle of Incidence and Refraction with a laser gun and a mirror.

Bridging Theory and Gameplay

These inspirations allowed us to create a seamless integration of education and entertainment. By using familiar mechanics, students could experiment with real-world physics principles in a fun, risk-free virtual environment, bridging the gap between theoretical learning and practical application.

Development

Creating the Environment and 3D Assets
The development process began with sketching out experiments and visualizing the VR simulations. I created detailed 3D assets for interactable items and the surrounding environment, ensuring they aligned with the educational objectives of the project. These assets were designed to facilitate the intuitive exploration of physics concepts in a visually engaging way.
Designing Interactions and Object Physics
I focused on designing realistic object behaviors by implementing physics interactions and developing trigger points for animations. This allowed objects to respond dynamically to user actions, fostering an interactive and immersive learning experience that encouraged hands-on experimentation in VR.
Integrating and Testing VR Functionality
Using the XR Interaction Toolkit in Unity 3D, I integrated interaction controls tailored to hand-held VR controllers. This ensured smooth and intuitive user navigation. The process involved extensive user testing and debugging to refine the system, delivering a polished and immersive experience that prioritized both functionality and user engagement.

Using a sprint board helped us analyze the progress of every ticket.

Reflections

We gained valuable insights into applying and simulating real-world physics in a virtual environment while striving to create an organic experience incorporating natural human interactions. This process highlighted the complexity involved in making a project functional and intuitive in an XR setting, deepening our understanding of the challenges in designing for such environments.
Showcasing our project’s core features at the 2024 University of Michigan School of Information Project Exposition provided invaluable experience in presenting our work to a diverse audience. The positive feedback from peers and instructors, along with actionable suggestions for further development, reinforced the potential impact of our project.
Lastly, I would like to thank my professor, Dr. Michael Nebeling, and my GSI for the course, Shweta Rajaram, for mentoring and guiding us throughout the semester and the project. My teammate Nikesh Kumar has been a great resource to this project and I’ve learned a great deal from his creative approaches to problem-solving.

Eduverse

Team

My Role

Timeline

Tools