garden cards
gARden cards is a AR/VR get well soon card. I created this project with four teammates I met at the 2019 Reality Virtually Hackathon at the MIT Media Lab. This project won best Mixed Reality at the Hackathon for which we were awarded $3,000.
1. Friends plant a garden
Using a website, friends can build a virtual garden together for a friend/colleague/relative in the hospital. Each friend chooses a flower that they can attach a message to and record a voice message for their loved one and “plant” in the virtual garden.
3. View in VR
In VR, recipient can navigate with gaze gestures, moving their head left and right 30 degrees to make the garden planet spin. We design it this way instead of requiring controllers so that it could be accessible to someone who is bedridden or has limited mobility. When the recipient hovers over a flower, they see the written message from their friend and they hear the voice message play.
2. View in AR
The recipient receives a physical card with instructions on how to view it in AR on their phone or tablet or VR on a headset. We built this with A-frame, so it can be viewed on any platform.
The flowers grow over the course of the hospital stay (time period can be set at the creation of the card) so that the recipient can view the garden each day and see it grow and eventually bloom. We hope to add a feature to allow the recipient to virtually harvest the flowers and send them back to their friend as a gesture of gratitude.
My contribution
On this project, I contributed to the ideation, design, wireframing and storyboarding. My main role was as the 3D designer. During the hackathon I did 3D modeling for the first time using Cinema 4D. I created a series of flowers that could grow over time and environment assests (dirt, a bee and clouds):
I’m unfortunately not in this photo because the award ceremony went late and I had to catch my bus back to NYC!