Description of the application

A VR application for training purposes on cactus farming that provides an immersive and educational experience for individuals looking to learn and master the art of cactus cultivation

The application would create a realistic 3D virtual desert environment containing cactus where the user can interact with various cactus, and this application will allow learners to get a feel for how cactus farming is done with precaution without the need for physical space or resources. The user can learn about and virtually operate various farming tools and equipment commonly used for cactus farming, such as sickles. The application also provides feedback about the right task and procedure.

The VR application for cactus farming training offers several significant advantages in the context of cactus cultivation education. Safe and Risk-Learning Environment: Cactus farming often involves dealing with thorny plants, which can lead to injuries. The VR application provides a completely safe and risk-free environment for learners to practise farming techniques, eliminating the potential for physical harm.Cactus farming may be limited by season, condition, and geographical location. With VR, learners can engage in training and practise year-round.The VR application reduce the need for the physical resource,making it cost-effective way to train aspiring cactus farming.

The use of VR (virtual reality) technology in the context of cactus farming applications significantly enhances the learning experience and offers several advantages, such as:

1. Immersive learning: VR provides an immersive and three-dimensional learning environment that closely simulates real-world cactus farming. Users feel like they are in the desert, hunting for cacti and collecting them, which can improve engagement and learning of information.
2. Experiential learning: VR will help users actively practise farming tasks such as plugging them out of the ground with tools and planting them somewhere else.
3. Accessibility: VR provides easy accessibility. This inclusivity can be especially important for people in urban areas or regions where cactus farming is not commonly practised.

Interaction Design:

Interactions are the most important part of the VR application for cactus farming training. Users can physically interact with virtual crops,tools,and the farming environment,mimicking the action they would take in the real world.

Safety Skills: The interaction will allow the user to determine what tools they can grab and use while picking the cactus.

Experience learning: Interaction creates an experiential learning environment where users actively participate in the learning process. This type of learning is more engaging and effective than regular education.

Problem Solving: Cactus cultivation can involve various challenges, such as spikes and hard shells. Interaction will allow users to practise problem-solving skills by presenting scenarios and requiring them to make decisions and take action. 

StoryBoard

The users open a VR application called Cactus Picking and Farming Trainer. In the application, the user can move in the particular area that he wants. There are a lot of models of cacti and sand dunes in the environment. From a user-friendly training perspective, a sickle is provided to grab the cactus so that it should not hurt the user if he picks it from the hand. So the user grabs the sickle and uses the sickle to grab the cactus, then carries the cactus to a place where all the cactus are collected and cultivated. The user will use the other hand to hold the cactus, assuming it has gloves on it, and then it can drop that cactus down. When the user drops the cactus on that area, it gives a text message to the user that they have done the task successfully.

And that's the end of the application.

Technical Development

Specific interface technologies used are:

1. VR Oculus Headsets: VR headsets are the primary hardware interface for users. This device includes sensors, a display, and technology to immerse the user in the virtual world. The headsets will help the user see the desert environment and the models present in that environment.
2. Hand Controller: The handheld device to perform motion and grab objects in the applications consists of buttons, triggers, and sensors that track hand movements. Allowing users to interact with virtual objects and perform tasks as if they were physically present in the virtual environment. The left and right controllers will help the user perform tasks such as motion in a VR environment and grabbing the 3D model in an environment such as a cactus or sickle.

Oculus Integration Package:Used to link the headsets with the application to experience cactus cultivation in a virtual world. It also connects the hand controllers to it.(Oculus Integration | Integration | Unity Asset Store, 2019)

Descriptions of 3D Models 

The 3D models used in this application are:

1. Desert Environment Setup: This 3D model consists of the environment for the desert and all the elements required inside it, like sand dunes, cacti,Rocks etc. Cactus is the most important model used among all, and the components of the cactus model are box collide, rigid body,Grab and grip script.
2. The second 3D model used is Sickle, which is used to grab the cactus so that it should not harm the hand (logic). This sickle has a grabber script so that the user can pick the sickle by hand, and the sickle can also pick cactus at the end.

 References : 

Oculus Integration | Integration | Unity Asset Store (2019). https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/integration/oculus-integration-82022.

Jagdish (2019) 'Cactus farming, Cultivation Practices of cactus | Agri farming,' Agri Farming, 4 April. https://www.agrifarming.in/cactus-farming-cultivation-practices-of-cactus.

Editor (2019) 'How to Get Started with VR: Intro to Your First Virtual Reality Project,' AltexSoft, 18 September. https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/engineering/how-to-get-started-with-vr-intro-to-your-first-virtual-reality-project/.

Tools of the Trade  On-line Guide to the positive identification of Members of the Cactus Family (no date). https://cactiguide.com/article/?article=article12.php#:~:text=Tweezers%20come%20in%20all%20sizes,also%20common%20in%20potting%20cacti.

Models and Environment:

Sketchfab (no date) Celurit (Indonesian Traditional Weapon) - Download Free 3D model by Muhammad Riv’an Fajar (@dsoni7912). https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/celurit-indonesian-traditional-weapon-d2dd496556b14391ab5a2864be1a9742.

POLYDesert | 3D Landscapes | Unity Asset Store (2018). https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/landscapes/polydesert-107196.

Chat-GPT codes:

Implementing the collide for text display using System.Collections;

using System.Collections.Generic;

using UnityEngine;

using TMPro;

public class TextDisplayOnCollision : MonoBehaviour

{

    public GameObject canvasObject;

    private bool textVisible = false;

    private void OnCollisionEnter(Collision collision)

    {

        // Check if the collision occurred with the plane

        if (collision.gameObject.CompareTag("Plane"))

        {

            // Toggle the visibility of the canvas and text

            textVisible = !textVisible;

            canvasObject.SetActive(textVisible)

  }

    }

}