Welcome to
NaturePill

A realistic multisensory virtual reality forest environment with the goal of accessing the restorative benefits of nature
designed by Soo Kyung Ahn and Lynn Weyn.

Into the Forest

In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.
- John Muir -

Nature has numerous health benefits and has been prescribed to relax and reduce stress, aptly called by some as a “Nature Pill”. Thus, it is important to have access to nature, but there can be restricting factors such as distance or mobility impairments. Virtual nature is a substitute that provides these benefits, and we created a multisensory virtual forest environment that incorporates the best environmental designs to maximise relaxation.

Goals

Find the best design to incorporate the 4 senses of sight, hearing, smell, and touch (using physical props)
Create a virtual environment with realistic elements that maximise relaxation
Find the best locomotion technique that maximises immersion and minimizes cyber sickness
Efficiency: have good frame rates and low latency

Environment Features

To create a realistic environment, we incorporated a waterfall, river, terrain height variations, trees and plants, debris, an interactable bench and branch, sky with clouds, sun, natural lighting, fog, and wind.

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Design Methodology

The first prototype sketch of the environment.

Design iterations started with a low fidelity prototype sketch, upon which feedback was given before creating an Experience Document, a document detailing the design choices for the environment. A slide show of our chosen design was then presented to the supervisors, who gave appropriate feedback, after which changes were made to the Experience Document before implementation was done. During development, feedback on design was also given and the environment was adapted accordingly.

Development Methodology

A top-down diagram of our environment, with labeled components. The dotted lines represent player boundaries.

We had three development iterations , the first being a “first playable”, allowing users to move around but with some placeholder objects still being present. The second iteration refined and implemented locomotion alternatives and replaced placeholders with their intended objects. The third and final iteration added final details to the scene and incorporated sound and smell design.

Meet the team

Researchers

Soo Kyung Ahn
AHNSOO002@myuct.ac.za Research
Lynn Weyn
WYNLYN004@myuct.ac.zaResearch

Supervisors

James Gain
james.gain@uct.ac.za
Gosia Lipinska
gosia.lipinska@uct.ac.za