Project Synopsis
"Human Parts" seeks to alleviate stress and anxiety among women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. The app offers a therapeutic experience by immersing users in virtual trails within six different US National Parks.
Within this immersive journey, users not only find solace amidst picturesque landscapes but also draw strength from firsthand narratives of breast cancer survivors. The experience incorporates breathwork techniques, aiming to provide a calming sanctuary during the challenging path of cancer treatment.
Beyond the virtual realm, the project aspires to deepen the connection with nature, encouraging users to embark on real-world visits to these parks post-recovery.
National Park Virtual Environments
Saguaro National Park, Arizona
Glacier National Park, Montana
Redwoods National Park, California
Volcanoes National Park, Hawai'i
Arcadia National Park, Maine
Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
Collaborators
More collaborators coming soon!
Key Features
The project encompasses the following key elements:
- Virtual trails within six US National Parks, to immerse users in serene landscapes spread across the country.
- Inspiring stories from breast cancer survivors shared during the virtual experience.
- Breathwork techniques, offering stress relief during treatment.
- Integration of real Geo-Terrain data using the OpenLand plugin in Unreal Engine 5.3.
- Creation of visually accurate landscapes using reference images from various sources.
Technological Landscape
Unreal Engine 5.3 served as the primary platform for modeling all six National Parks namely :
Saguaro National Park (Arizona), Redwoods National Park (California), Volcanoes National Park (Hawai'i), Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky), Glacier National Park (Montana), Arcadia National Park (Maine).
Saguaro National Park (Arizona), Redwoods National Park (California), Volcanoes National Park (Hawai'i), Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky), Glacier National Park (Montana), Arcadia National Park (Maine).
The project leverages the OpenLand plugin to integrate real Geo-Terrain data, ensuring authenticity in the virtual environments.
Roles and Responsibilities
As the creator and designer, my responsibilities included:
- Researching and shortlisting trails in each National Park for accessibility, scenic views, and distance.
- Designing and modeling each of the six National Parks in Unreal Engine 5.3.
- Navigating challenges such as creating accurate virtual models based on image references and learning new plugins for realistic simulations.
- Handing over the completed environments to the VFX team for further development.
Challenges and Solutions
The project encountered hurdles in crafting realistic virtual models without physically visiting the parks and simulating natural elements like snow, lava, and smoke. Navigating through the various GPU crashes while creating these detailed environments was also challenging.
Solutions were found through diligent research, plugin mastery, and a commitment to achieving authenticity within the Unreal Engine environment.
Project Outcomes
Over a five-month period, "Human Parts" achieved the creation of true virtual copies of selected trails in six US National Parks.
The project is an ongoing collaboration, with the VFX team continuing development. The anticipated completion date is set for May 2024, with the aim of providing a comprehensive and therapeutic experience for women undergoing breast cancer treatment.
The project has been featured in the European and United States IVRHA Virtual Reality and Healthcare
Global Symposiums
Global Symposiums
Saguaro National Park, Arizona
Redwoods National Park, California
Glacier National Park, Montana
Volcanoes National Park, Hawai'i
Acadia National Park, Maine
Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
Environment Creation Process (detailed documentation below)
Below are the steps I followed to create the various detailed and visually accurate National Parks :
- Along with Professor Sarah Bassett and Professor Nicholas Pilarski at the RVCoLab, in-depth research was done on all the major National Parks across the United States.
We then narrowed down our area of focus to the mentioned 6 National Parks, which were spread across all regions of the US, keeping in mind accessibility, diversity of regions as well as appropriate fits for the themes that we wanted the narrative to follow.
We then narrowed down our area of focus to the mentioned 6 National Parks, which were spread across all regions of the US, keeping in mind accessibility, diversity of regions as well as appropriate fits for the themes that we wanted the narrative to follow.
- I then researched the various hiking trails in each of the shortlisted 6 National Parks and shortlisted 5 hiking trails in each, keeping in mind accessibility, scenic views, duration of the hike, level of difficulty of the trail, and type of trail (loop or out and back).
These options were then presented to my Professors, who then shortlisted the final hiking trail for each National Park.
These options were then presented to my Professors, who then shortlisted the final hiking trail for each National Park.
- To create each environment, I started by selecting a region on the map that covered a majority of the selected trail. and importing the geo-terrain data as alpha height maps that were used to create the landscape in Unreal Engine, using the OpenLand Plugin.
- The next step was to create a material blueprint for each landscape which would allow me to paint and merge different materials and textures on the landscape. The materials were sourced from Quixel Bridge and were selected based on visual accuracy to reference images found in the AllTrails Hiking App, photographs on social media, videos, and vlogs by content creators.
- The materials and textures were then painted on the sculpted landscape and the trail path was created. This was done while keeping 360-degree image and video references open to achieve accuracy to the real world.
- Once the landscape was created, I looked for 3D Assets on Quixel Bridge, the Unreal Marketplace, and TurboSquid that would best represent the flora, rock formations, and landscape debris in each National Park. These assets were then placed on the landscape by creating a Landscape Grass Type function. Some assets were also intentionally placed in certain parts of the landscape to achieve accuracy and mimic the real world.
- Multiple review sessions were scheduled during this step for each National Park to verify the density of flora, accurate scale, and placement of assets, as well as to ensure the Level of Detail of each asset was accurate.
- Post this, using the plugin Ultra Dynamic Sky, the exact lighting, weather system, and time of day were created for each National Park.
- These were then reviewed and critiqued contextually to the narrative that they would appear in, and once everything looked good to all involved in the project, the environments were finalized.
- I then handed over the file with all 6 finalized Virtual Environments to the VFX Team to take the project forward.
