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February 12, 2024
Mizzou Engineering’s Shane McKelvey and his team won top honors at MIT’s Reality Hack in January for developing a new treatment that uses virtual reality to help young patients receive electrical stimulation therapy. did.
McKelvey, a junior computer science major, and project participants from across the country won in the creative input/output category in the hardware category.
“The biggest takeaway is the friends I’ve made along the way,” McKelvey said. “What stands out to me are the other people who were there and the connections we made. Who you know is just as important as what you know, and Mizzou delivers on both.” Classes and research can help you learn anything, and travel and networking opportunities like this can help you meet people.”
McKelvey was one of four current students and two Mizzou Engineering alumni who participated in the MIT Reality Hack, which has become one of the nation’s largest augmented reality (XR) hackathons since its inception seven years ago. is. Fang Wang, associate professor of information technology, will provide guidance to participants. All participants are participating in undergraduate research in Wang’s VR lab. That experience prepared them for success at hackathons.
Wang also serves as an advisor to the MU Virtual Reality Organization (MUVR), a student organization focused on XR. All six participants are or have served as officers.
While these projects allowed them to leverage industry-level technology in real-world projects, attendees agreed that meeting other attendees was the highlight of the event.
“The most important thing to me is that there are a lot of like-minded people from different places, different backgrounds, and different experiences,” said Livia Fiebelkorn, junior information technology (IT) major. said. “It was a really great experience talking to people and hearing different perspectives.”
Erica Zhou, who graduated with a degree in computer science and a minor, said the event will include leaders in the field as well as meet students from schools across the country, including students from the Intercollegiate XR Association. Experts from the XR community will also participate. IT department in December,
“The hack and the project were great, but the community is a big part of Reality Hack,” she said. “It was a great networking opportunity.”
Mike Sturm, a third-year IT student, volunteered at the event, helping organizers move equipment and directing other participants. This experience gave him the opportunity to see different projects.
“I saw how the skills and things you learn in school are applied in the real world,” he said. “You might be asked to create a program in class and think it’s a one-off thing, but now you can connect it to a real project. It’s a culmination of what you’ve learned. is.”
project
McKelvey’s team created FlexVR Wellness, an entire ecosystem that allows therapists to interact with patients remotely using augmented reality (AR) glasses while the patient is fully immersed in the VR environment. did. The team used the Unity game engine, Normcore multiplayer framework, and Snapdragon Spaces to connect various devices. Ultimately, this system will allow therapists to provide interactive, distance-based therapy.
“Therapists can place objects in a customized space in VR, allowing them to better calm patients in real time,” he said. “With AR glasses, the therapist can see the patient’s VR setup as if it were on a table, and can pick up and move objects like game pieces.”
The goal is to provide children with electrical stimulation therapy, which can be uncomfortable, in a relaxing environment. Ultimately, McKelvey hopes the system will turn treatment into a game, allowing patients to “play” during treatment.
Zhou and her team developed WEDGE, a multifaceted XR controller with two buttons and an LED. This allows users outside the VR setting to receive information about what is happening within the simulation.
“One of the great things about this is that the person using it can use the buttons to interact with the VR experience, and the person outside of VR can see the blinking LED, so they can interact with it differently. “It’s about providing a way,” Zhou said. “One example is in an educational setting, where the facilitator can use her LED to see how the person is behaving within her VR setting. VR Hand – You can use her controller to change her VR experience with LED feedback.
IT senior Albert Zhou and his team created EmpoweredAR, which leverages the power of XREAL eyewear to generate a mesh of the physical environment. This, when combined with distance tracking, provides the wearer with an auditory map. Its purpose is to enable people with visual impairments to better perceive their environment beyond traditional walking sticks.
Mizzou Engineering alumnus Weiyu Feng also participated in a project called Collage MR. Mixed Reality apps allow users to click on objects to generate related experiences. The idea is to be able to connect photos, videos, and 3D scenes, allowing users to essentially “visit” their memories.
Mr. McKelvey thanked Mizzou’s Organizational Research Group (ORG) for funding the trip.
“Meeting people was really valuable for me,” he said. “We were building a connection and I could see why Mizzou was offering an opportunity like this, and I could see how it would impact everyone involved. It’s great to see what I can do for the university when I can help.”
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