Thesis

A Walk Down Oak Path recreates an area of Arnold Arboretum in virtual reality. To create the experience, we overlaid a visual effect on top of the original landscape of Oak Path. During the short journey along the path, each user witnesses dazzling animations that illustrate the disappearance of our natural landscapes. A Walk Down Oak Path enables the user to experience a piece of the Arboretum in a new way.

In the Eyes of the Animal

Northern Red Oak

• The tree is resistant to pollution and is decently hardy.
• Some of the acorns that this tree produces are eaten by wildlife.
• The Northern Red Oak grows fast, at 24" a year.

When we walked through the Arboretum, it was difficult to see the tags that identified the trees. Our original idea was to show people the names of trees were through VR. This would allow people to see the names of trees clearly.

Arboretum Visit

Sketch

Prototype 1

Project Timeline

Start of the project

First drone footage to point cloud test

Free model tree point cloud test

First path with working point cloud tree finished

First Co Spaces prototype finished

Took Arboretum drone footage

Converted drone footage into a point cloud

Made tree models in blender

Put trees into unreal with the path

Animated trees

Unreal Prototype

Point Clouds

3d Model

Drone Footage

Animation

Point Cloud Test

Unreal-VR Test

Point Cloud Path

Modeling our own Trees

Converting them into point clouds

Process of making a tree

Precedents

Notes from Arboretum Visit

• The landscaping felt intentional but there were somethings we wished we could change.
• It felt like a living museum
• We were inspired by the large amounts of of wildlife of the arboretum
• It didn't feel like wildlife, but it also didn't feel like a garden and had a very interesting mix.

Thesis

Environmental Sim is a small, meditative virtual reality game where the user can plant and grow trees while calming music plays, along with viewing other user's creative spaces gardens.

Project Principles

Lively Visuals

Seeing Life

Learning about Layouts

A Botanist in Borneo

Informative Gameplay

Learning About Food Webs

Precedents

SMOKE TREE

• The Smoke Tree (Cotinus Coggygria) has a cloud-like exterior and is very aesthetically pleasing.
• It can survive in the New England Climate that we wanted to replicate.
• It's vibrant bright colors sets it apart from other trees which is ultimately the reason we created this tree first.

Precedents

Pixel Ripped

Nature Treks VR

Sketches

Tiling & Early Ideas

Originally we explored the idea of tiling but moved away from that as we made our way into VR

In VR we wanted to create simple interactables that the user could easily understand

Phase 2 Prototyping:

Creating models

Black Oak Seed

Dawn Redwood Seed

Axe (Rearranging Tool)

Phase 2 Prototyping:

Building the world

Creating sound was a big part of our project to fulfill the meditative feel of the game.

In Unity, we tried to make the game easy to pick up with simple directions without losing any of the "Wow" factor you experience in VR.

Technical Sketch

Final Picture

Next Steps

Create more customization features

Re-incorporate the educational aspect

Allow the ability to share your world to others

an AR information system to augment your arboretum experience with data from the Arnold Arboretum GIS (geographic information system)

Mapping The ARboretum

GIS

GPS location

Source code for the three.js version

Continuation

To illustrate next steps for this project, here are the TODO comments from the source code

Evocative Image

Thesis

The Ascent is a virtual reality game providing the experience of an arborist climbing a tree to retrieve its seeds. When playing The Ascent you use handholds on the tree along with adhesive climbing nails that you can place as artificial handholds to propel yourself up the tree. As an arborist, you must use these mechanics to collect seeds.

Inspiration from the Arboretum

Precedents - The Climb

Precedents

The Dawn Redwood is a gargantuan pine tree standing up to 100 meters tall. The tree was once thought to be extinct and dates back from before the ice age. The tree itself can live for centuries and was brought to the arboretum from china.

Dawn Redwood

Conceptual Sketches

Originally I had two design ideas, navigating through a forest of trees and climbing up a singular tree. These two sketches portray both concepts.

CoSpaces Prototype

• Migrated to unity
• Can climb via VR controllers
• Low poly tree model added

Unity Prototype

Technical Sketch

Mechanics Summary

The player can use their VR controllers to propel their body with the use of handholds. However, the player's hands have stamina that depletes if the grips are clamped too hard or too little. The stamina meter forces the player to regulate their grab force similar to professional climbers.

Final Demo

Tree Discovered

Seed Collection

Sichuan Province

Hubei Province

Where the tree can be found in the US

North Carolina

New England

Physical Characteristics :

Color

Physical Characteristics :

Form

Physical Characteristics :

Texture

Physical Characteristics :

Height

6ft tall person

Tree Height

Pollination

Predation(Japanese Beetle)

Predation + Pollination

Ecology :

Germination Time: One month

Growth Milestones: Grows 24" per year, and lives over 100 years.

Gender Parity: Both male and female distribute the cones

Reproduction

Ecology :

History at the Arboretum

Student Sketches / Models

Sketches

Blender

Final Facts + Notes

The Dawn Redwood is considered endangered and there are only about 200 in the us

Region of Origin

The silver maple (or Acer saccharinum) is found mostly on the east coast of the US. It grows in temperate climates.

Physical Characteristics :

Color

Physical Characteristics :

Form

The silver maple has a vase-like shape, simular to most maples.

Physical Characteristics :

Texture

The bark is flaky and rough, and develops scaly plates, that later become brittle and shaggy. The leaves are flat with 5 points, and can grow up to 8 inches long and 5 inches wide.

Physical Characteristics :

Height

My Height (5'3)

Tree Height (avg. 65 feet)

Pollination

Predation

Predation + Pollination

Ecology :

The germination period is about 1-2 months.

Seed Dispersal Method

Growth Milestones

The silver maple passes through a few milestones, notably reaching maturity at

Gender Parity

the trees can be either dioecious or monoecious, with a lot more of the latter

Reproduction

Ecology :

Fruits + Flowers

Ecology :

Fruits [Scents, Taste, Quality)

Flowers [Scent, Color, Quality)

History at the Arboretum

The Arboretum recieved their first silver maple in 1881. It was brought to the Arboretum by Beatrix Farrend, who was an influential landscape architect who began her career with the Arboretum.

The silver was the tallest tree in the Arboretum for many decades until a storm broke the branches.

Student Sketches / Models

Sketches

Models

Final Facts + Notes

• The silver maple grows at a fast rate of more than 24" a year

• Beavers apparently love this tree

• Early settlers in Ohio Valley used silver maples as a building material because of how fast the tree grew.

Region of Origin

The Tulip Tree or the Liriodendron populates two areas on opposite sides of the earth. The brown triangles represent fossils remains of the tree. The three different colors represent accessions which are different branches of the tree.

Physical Characteristics :

Color

Physical Characteristics :

Form

Physical Characteristics :

Texture

Physical Characteristics :

Height

Avg. Human 5ft 7in

Tree Height

70-90ft

Pollination

Predation

Predation + Pollination

Ecology :

Germination Time:

60-90 Days

Growth Speed:

24 inches a year

Gender Parity:

The Tulip Tree has no gender parity and a clear male and female.

Reproduction

Ecology :

Fruits + Flowers

Ecology :

The Fruit is dry, weirdly shaped, several winged seeds, FIRE RISK!

Flowers Take 15 years to blossom, look like Tulips, Smells sweet.

Species

Ecology :

Liriodendron Chinense:

larger lobe leaves, shorter in height

Liriodendron Tulipifera:

smaller lobe leaves, taller in height

History at the Arboretum

Date of admittance: Unknown

Hybrid was gifted by North Carolina in 1981

Student Sketches / Models

Sketches

Models

MAP

Region of Origin

Physical Characteristics :

Color

Physical Characteristics :

Form

Physical Characteristics :

Texture

Physical Characteristics :

Height

9 meters to 35 meters

Pollination

Predation

Predation + Pollination

Ecology :

Us!

Germinate in spring, in moist environments

Growth Milestones

male/female

Reproduction

Ecology :

Fruits + Flowers

Ecology :

berries

Flowers [Scent, Color, Quality)

History at the Arboretum

Native - No expaditions

Student Sketches / Models

Sketches

Sketch

Models

Final Facts + Notes

root beer!

MAP

Region of Origin

Geographic/Climatic

Physical Characteristics :

Color

Physical Characteristics :

Form

Rounded tree. Mushroom-like shape.

Physical Characteristics :

Texture

Physical Characteristics :

Height

Your Height

60 feet

Tree Height

Pollination

Flowers have both male and female gonads

Predation

Gypsy Moths

Predation + Pollination

Ecology :

Germination Time, 2 days

Seed Dispersal Method

Growth Milestones, 25 years to mature

Gender Parity, has both male and female gonads

Reproduction

Ecology :

Fruits + Flowers

Ecology :

Fruits [Wood, Wet Cardboard, Good)

Flowers [Sweet smell of dawn, White, Good)

History at the Arboretum

The cork tree and its neighbors grew from a seed planted by John Jack. The first arboretum public educator.

Student Sketches / Models

Tree Sketch

Bark Sketch

Models

South-eastern Europe

Physical Characteristics :

Color

Physical Characteristics :

Form

The European Smoke Tree has a big, cloud-like exterior. It does have leaves, but they are overshadowed by the smokey fibers that the tree produces its seeds in.

Physical Characteristics :

Texture

The texture of the smoke tree is fluffy and soft

Physical Characteristics :

Height

Your Height

Tree Height

10-15 feet

6 feet

Pollination

Predation

Predation + Pollination

Ecology :

Germination Time

Up to 2 springs

Seed Dispersal Method

Growth Milestones

Maturity

Gender Parity

Monoecious. (male and female)

Reproduction

Ecology :

Fruits + Flowers

Ecology :

No scent, no taste

No scent, can be red grey or green

History at the Arboretum

First tree came from Alabama, in 1882. Charles Mohr donated it.

Student Sketches / Models

Sketches

Models

Final Facts + Notes

Smoke trees don't actually produce smoke unless they are set on fire.

Smoke trees can be used for a dye. They were used in the civil war for orange dye, and most of the big trees were cut down.