During my Bachelor's in Communication and Multimedia Design at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, I completed a minor in Virtual Reality. This program provided hands-on experience and collaboration with a diverse team. Throughout the minor, I learned to:
○ Create 3D XR assets
○ Design UX/UI specifically for XR/VR environments
○ Visual Design for games
○ Development using the Unity game engine
Working full-time with a multidisciplinary team, I gained invaluable skills in teamwork and project management, ensuring we delivered high-quality solutions to meet our clients' needs.
Project Overview
Problem Statement
One of the major challenges in training beginner robotics students is the inherent risk of handling heavy machinery. Allowing inexperienced students to operate a robot arm can lead to accidents, equipment damage, and safety hazards. There was a pressing need for a controlled environment where students could learn and practice without these risks.
RobotLab VR
RobotLab VR is a virtual reality application designed for robotic students to learn how to operate a robot arm in a safe and controlled environment.
RobotLab VR
Design process - XR Assets
3D modeling software
In the development of RobotLab VR, I created XR assets using the 3D modeling software Blender. This process involved designing detailed and realistic 3D models of lightning features, the environment building blocks and some decor. Blender's robust toolset allowed me to sculpt, texture, and animate these assets, making them both visually appealing and functionally precise.
Building Blocks
For our project, we decided to create a futuristic space-themed experience. Research showed that gamified training helps the audience learn in a more fun and exciting way. Before beginning the modeling process, I curated a mood board inspired by sci-fi wall designs, drawing from sources like Artstation, Deviantart, and Pinterest. This research helped me understand key design elements:
○ Spaceship environments often feature cut-off corner shapes to handle external pressure better.
○ Lighting features are typically embedded in the walls for both way-finding and aesthetic purposes.
We chose a hexagon-shaped room for the project. I modeled a corner piece, three types of walls, and two types of window pieces. The wall designs included a straight piece and two cut-out pieces at 30 degrees to fit seamlessly with the corner piece. The window designs followed a similar approach, with one straight-ended and one 30-degree cutout piece.
Below is a step by step visual guide of my design process.
1. Overall shape of the walls
2. Making wall pieces
3. Adding corner pieces
4. Making the window
5. Making the window suited for a hexagon shape
6. Building the environment
Lightning feature
Before starting the modeling process, I collaborated with my team to determine the necessary assets for the white box area of our experience. We decided to include a lighting feature to create a more sci-fi atmosphere. I began by researching sci-fi lighting styles for inspiration.
Key Insights from Visual Research:
○ Spaceship environments often use bright, neon-colored lighting, similar to fluorescent lights.
○ The lighting has an industrial and purposeful feel, often guiding paths on the floor or walls highlighting important areas.
We decided to create a tile that could be seamlessly repeated, serving as both a wayfinding path and an atmospheric element in the space.
Below is a step by step visual guide of my design process.
1. I took the top middle picture as an inspiration reference to work off
2. Modeling the hexagon shapes
3. The model gave me some weird reflexes, and later I concluded that there was an object under there which made it flicker
4. I was happy that I managed to make some more complex shapes, create more depth and got to use a modifier.
5. After implementing, we decided the feature needed to be scaled down
6. The lights implemented in the wall blocks worked nicely
The Lightning feature implemented in the walls as an end result
Design Process - UX / UI Design
1. V.1 of the story board before we defined the concept
Story Board
A storyboard is essential for every UX/UI design because it visually maps out the user journey, illustrating how users will interact with the interface. It helps designers anticipate user needs, identify potential pain points, and ensure a seamless, intuitive experience. Additionally, storyboards facilitate clear communication among team members and stakeholders, ensuring everyone shares a unified vision of the project.
2. V. 2 final storyboard. I made a persona for the storyboard named Jenna, a mechanics student who is new to the robot lab and needs to finish the VR training before she can work with the real robot arm. The storyboard shows the happy flow of the student interacting in the VR training.
Pre-Onboarding
During our first testing round, I found that most issues stemmed from users not knowing how to handle a VR experience, such as improper headset placement or damaging controllers. These problems detracted from the training and the overall VR experience. As noted in the research, "Pre-VR landing experience is crucial; failing to manage it properly can lead to negative attitudes and lost trust." To address this, I focused on creating effective setup information and troubleshooting guides, initially considering physical cards but ultimately opting for a mood board with brochure ideas to ensure users have reliable and accessible information before using the headset.
1. The pre-onboarding brochure
Floor mapping
To align the VR environment with the real robot lab, I mapped the lab’s layout and created a floor plan that integrated key objects using linear leveling techniques. This ensured that trainees would become familiar with the actual lab setup. I learned the importance of understanding level constraints and balancing real-world measurements with our design.
Design Process - Visual Design
Character Design
To guide the students through the experience, we developed a robotic character. I conducted extensive visual research to gather inspiration and understand what robot characters typically look like.
Key Insights from Visual Research:
○ Robot Characters: Often depicted as cute, smaller sidekicks rather than humanoid figures.
○ Textures and Colors: Clean, shiny, white robots suggest a pristine environment, while robots with flaky paint and dirt indicate a desolate setting.
Initially, our robot design leaned towards a humanoid appearance. However, further research indicated that users are less friendly towards humanoid AI. To foster a protective and caring relationship, we opted for a small, clumsy, pet-like robot.
Research Insights:
○ Uncanny Valley: Humans tend to be uneasy around humanoid robots.
By making the robot more pet-like, we aimed to create a more endearing and approachable character that users would be inclined to care for and protect.
1. Mood board with inspiration
2. Sketches of robot with wheel
3. Sketches of robot with legs
4. Final sketch of RBI-2
5. Final model of RBI-2
1. Mood board of materials for space environments
Material Design
Leveraging my academic background in interior design, I applied my knowledge of material selection and experimentation to create a cohesive material palette. However, I needed to delve deeper into materials suitable for a futuristic environment. Through my research, I learned that futuristic design often features wavy horizontal lines on flooring, with dominant hues of white, grey, and black, complemented by shiny, glossy silver and accent shades of red, yellow, light green, and mystic blue. Common materials include metal, plastic, leather, and glass.
2. The materials for 3D development
4. Materials applied in the environment
3. Materials applied to the building blocks
4. Final materials applied in the environment