Immersive Tech Challenge for Social Impact
XR Design Challenge Development Update
Dear Innovators,
This week marks the beginning of a 6-week XR Design Challenge hosted by Immersive Insiders, a journey into the world of Extended Reality (XR). This challenge is about pushing creative boundaries, solving real-world problems, and learning immersive technology together. Let's dive into our first week's experiences, the obstacles we faced, and the progress we've made.
What is XR Design?
XR encompasses technologies like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), creating immersive experiences that blend the physical and digital worlds.
The Goal
Our mission is to develop an interactive XR prototype that addresses environmental and mental health challenges for today’s youth. We know that’s a lot to accomplish, but when it comes to eco-anxiety and the mental challenges that arise from climate change, we can’t ignore the environment. In this prototype, we’ll use ShapesXR as our digital playground where we can experiment, learn from failures, and grow.
Our Learnings
It’s been one week of XR immersion, and we’ve been on the YouTube and Immersive Insiders video tour focused on fundamentals, brainstorming ideas, and familiarizing ourselves with XR tools. Here’s the thing: Our founder, while versed in technology and its capabilities, isn’t a developer, but nobody was born learning how to code. Skills are just things we haven’t learned yet. So why not challenge ourselves in these six weeks to overcome a roadblock we’ve been facing on the technical front and focus on mastering new 3D modeling software? We’ve already created a basic interactive environment. It's a small step, but every great project begins with a solid foundation.
Challenges and Solutions
Challenge #1: We don’t have a headset
This might be a “wow” you want to create an XR prototype without a fundamental piece of equipment. Yup. Here’s why:
From a design and prototyping challenge, it does puts us at a disadvantage. However, if our goal is truly an accessible, immersive application for communities who are more likely to be impacted by climate change, do they have access to a headset either?
Solution: Utilize a combination of tools to ensure we can create an immersive application accessible from smartphones.
Challenge #2: Our founder isn’t a developer.
But after 8 years in B2B SaaS and exploring metaverse and web3 tools for art development, you pick up a , and coding is a language, after all, lot of things and coding is a language after all with rules, structures, and inputs that can be supported in unique ways.
Solution: Incorporate AI for code-development
Screenshot of current ShapesXR environment
What’s Next?
In Week 2, we'll focus on building our environment further, including interactions within it, exploring user navigation, and sharing more of the research and resources we discover along the way. Stay tuned for more updates, and feel free to share your own XR experiences—your feedback and ideas drive this challenge forward!
Join the Conversation
Have questions about XR or want to support us? Reply to this article or join the discussion on our socials. Let's create something extraordinary together!
Thank you for being part of this exciting adventure.
Best regards,
Ryn Delpapa
Read more about the founder’s journey shared on LinkedIn.