Dr.Edd, an interactive VR experience tailored for educating future drivers of the Netherlands!
My role in the Project:
Concept design, UI & UX design
Desk research, field research, usability testing, surveys
Visual design, prototyping (Unity)
An opportunity from the established driver education company, DRI-VR.
Our client DRI-VR offers 45 individual lessons to the students where they can go through; learning, practicing, and examinations. These are all pre-recorded 180-degree videos that display situations where the driver should make the right decision from a driver's perspective. Their initial goal is to transform driving classes to a virtual environment where beginner drivers can safely practice traffic rules, hazard awareness and general driving behaviour.
Emphasis on user-friendly experience with the help of interaction models!
DRI-VR mentioned that developing 180-degree videos requires a considerable investment such as preparation and recording in real life. So, the client demanded these videos to be digitally created rather than real-life versions.
‘‘Not all driving problems can be fixed during practice lessons since the limited time a student has on the road. This will only cover ‘some’ of the difficult situations for which the student needs to be fully prepared.’’' - DRI-VR
Extensive research, both within the field and on the desk to understand the pains and gains of our target audience!
As designers and developers, we wanted to educate our target audience in order to have the most influence on their future driving abilities. Our desk research revealed that new drivers lack spatial awareness, panic immediately in unfamiliar conditions, and have poor hazard perception. Interviews and focus group sessions were held with recent students and experts to pinpoint what is possible to improve in the recent product and create a better learning experience.
Taking advantage of digitally created traffic scenarios by providing a bird’s eye view.
In order to enhance understanding and learning process, I wanted to show different occasions with various elements (pedestrians, cars, bikes, etc.). The results from the testings were considerably good where the audience appreciated the way of the presentation and indicated that this changes the whole aspect of driver education. One of their primary points was the ease of comprehension of the traffic situation from a top-down perspective.
3D simulation adding further support to the theoretical portion!
The concept called ‘‘8 seconds’’ is based on the theoretical part of the driving experience, provides users with memory cues that lasts far longer. The students can experience driving from the driving seat and are able to move their heads around in 3D space. A dangerous scenario plays for couple of seconds. As the objects are moving, students will be given four choices such as gas, brake, steer away, coast (watch on YouTube).
Focusing on guidance and enhancing the Virtual Reality experience with a personalized companion concept!
Creating a personalized feeling within a virtual world is essential for a good connection between the product and users. The primary component of this idea is the companion who supports, encourages, and directs students during DRI-VR classes. Therefore, a customized companion appears before the VR experience to introduce the system and give a warm welcome to the students. During the learning process, this companion also giving clues (if needed), tips and tricks regarding students’ performance.
Improving the efficiency within the workplace by providing detailed flowcharts.
This particular flowchart is based on the storyboard created to enhance the delivery side of our concept. Within the flowchart, we visualized the "ultimate" steps of the users. Also, we focused on streamlining our developers' productivity and helping them in the process of prototyping.
Intensive care to the development process of our prototype within Unity.
The guidelines were based on the technical and design requirements of the DRI-VR platform. Aspects like the Oculus Go's performance and functionality - lack of 3D space tracking small processing power - limit the ability for us to create the prototype to our liking. We have brainstormed possible solutions to these issues, which left us with some flexibility regarding the design choices. In simple terms, two examples of these solutions include creating a teleporting function to replace a tracked movement and limiting the resolution of the 3d models & textures.