Problem
Having a child with an ongoing medical condition can be stressful for both caregivers and their children. Going to treatments, doctors, and clinics can cause anxiety for children, and in turn, make their caregivers anxious. Additionally, tasks related to their medical condition, like taking medications, can be a struggle to complete when the child has no interest in completing those tasks.
Solution
With the help of caregivers, "MedPet" provides encouragement, entertainment, and comfort to children with chronic or ongoing medical conditions.
Features like being rewarded with coins for completing tasks set by their caregivers incentivizes children to complete their tasks and treatments related to their disease. The game feature can be a source of entertainment and a way of soothing anxiety prior to medical visits. The AR feature provides an additional layer of comfort by allowing the child to interact and play with their virtual pet on a more profound level.
My Role
UX Designer, AR Designer on a team of three
Scope
2 month internship project
AR Prototype Design Process
The creature below is one of the characters that was designed for "MedPet" by another intern and was the character selected to be made into an AR model for the prototype.
Researching Design Programs
Due to a limited timeframe for this project, the AR prototype needed to be completed quickly. For that to happen, there were several requirements for the potential programs. The chart shows those requirements, programs that were explored, and whether or not they met the specified requirements.
Reality Composer ended up being selected to create the model due to its ability to be quickly and easily used while still having enough variety for design elements.
Building The Design
Building the AR model was a fairly straightforward process. Reality composer contains around ten premade 3D shapes that could then be modified using sliders. Color and texture could then be added so that the model matched the initial 2D design.
Environment Lighting
An additional feature of the AR prototype is its responsiveness to the environment that it's placed in. The model adjusts simultaneously with the lighting. This is important when creating something in AR as it helps to make it feel as if the AR feature is a part of the user's reality. Given that our purpose of using AR within "MedPet" was to strengthen the connection between the child and their virtual pet, having reactive lighting was necessary.
Adding Interactions
For the initial prototype, tapping the AR model causes it to do a flip. Ideally, in later versions of the AR feature, other interactions will be added so the children using the app will have more opportunities to play and interact with their virtual pet.
Final Prototype
1. Click the button to access the file
2. Download “ARMonster.usdz” from Google Drive
3. Send the file to your iPhone or any other apple device with a back-facing camera
4. Open the file
