SteadyStateVR

Inspiration Moments of conflict escalate fast, in classrooms, field trips, parties, hospitals, and youth sports. Practice is rare, training is expensive, and most tools are passive (PDFs, slides). We wanted tiny simulations that anyone could immerse themselves in to challenge their critical thinking and communication.

Whether in support of navigating peer pressure at a bar or workplace training with difficult customers, virtual reality is a powerful space to explore challenges without giving up the comfort of failure.

What it does SteadyState VR is a virtual reality (VR) application that simulates tense situations and directs users through their responses. In the environment, the user is dropped into a realistic scenario with characters and rising tension in a particular conflict, prompting their strategic decision-making. Their choices update the characters' state (emoji + chip) changes and the aftermath of the simulation.

How we built it As we began the hackathon, our main goal was to finish something that we were proud of, regardless of the track that was chosen. After countless hours of brainstorming during the first night, we settled on a VR application to empower teams and individuals with de-escalation, since conflict resolution is a crucial part of daily life. The project is built on a zero-dependency web app using HTML, CSS, and JS through an A-Frame framework. Additionally, arrays and outcome objects define dialogue, character states, and simulation aftermaths. Throughout the simulation, certain user choices trigger changes in the characters' temperament and influence the final result, indicating whether the situation was handled successfully. VR was something that we had some experience in, but wanted to expand our knowledge in, so we went through trial and errors using different platforms and hardware to create our application. After trying to use Unity to build for the Meta Quest Pro 2 and subsequently running into multiple errors, we pivoted towards a web based VR using A-Frame that could be integrated with the Meta Quest. As a result, it runs great in full-screen or on a VR-compatible device like the Meta Quest 2.

What’s next for SteadyStateVR Our goal throughout the hackathon was to incorporate a full VR world with immersive UI/UX design, but time constraints pushed us to prioritize the functionality of the simulation. Moving forward, we plan to re-incorporate voice input and tonal analysis from the user, realistic visuals, and AI analysis and feedback so users can focus on continuous improvement. Since there are multiple ways to approach human interaction, AI models are especially helpful in this case since they promote inclusivity and diverse perspectives, pushing the boundaries when it comes to how people view problem-solving.

Built With

• a-frame
• css
• html5
• javascript
• oculus-gear-vr
• vr