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Exploring Unity and Oculus through projects

Published on by Maiara Araújo

Hello, how are you?

In this article, I will explore my experience and contributions to projects involving the integration of Virtual Reality (VR) using Oculus in the Unity environment. I participated in the development of three distinct projects, each presenting unique challenges and providing satisfactory results. From the creation of GAIA Virtual, a digital recreation of the Institute of Arts Gallery (GAIA) at UNICAMP, to my participation in workshops and collaboration on the "[inside] breathe" project.

For VR integration, the Oculus platform provides tools for Unity (https://developer.oculus.com/unity/), making integration a smooth process with very satisfying results!

The Oculus integration package offers various components, prefabs, game objects, and APIs to help you develop your next virtual reality application in the Unity engine. You can download the package from the Oculus Integration SDK page on the Unity Asset Store or from the Unity Integration Download page on the Oculus Developer Center.

At the time of writing this article, I have participated in three projects.

GAIA Virtual

I assisted in the development of GAIA Virtual (web) and GAIA VR, a research project by Rogério Bordini that digitally recreated the Institute of Arts Gallery (GAIA) at UNICAMP for virtual art exhibitions in an immersive 3D environment. The versions were developed using Unity (C# programming); Corel Draw and Photoshop (UI); and 3DS Max and Maya (polygonal 3D modeling). The VR version was implemented for devices using the Oculus system, such as Gear VR and Google Cardboard. The platform was widely used by the institution during the period of social isolation.

Physical space of GAIA on the left and its digital version on the right.

The VR version has the same aspects as the web version accessed through the site, with the difference that the user needs to download an app in .apk format and have their VR glasses support to fit the phone and use the app. The first version, developed for testing at the university, was for the Samsung Gear VR device, which is compatible with Galaxy S6 models and later.

As the user won't have the assistance of a mouse or keyboard, they must make head movements to navigate the virtual space. A blue circle lights up every time the user points the "aim" of their viewer towards the artwork. To be transported to it, simply look directly at the circle for a few seconds, and the user will be teleported through a fade-in and fade-out effect to the front of the desired piece.


The result of one of the exhibitions viewed through VR is shown in the video below:


The result of one of the exhibitions in WebGL is seen in the video below. In this case, the inputs are only mouse and keyboard:


To view all exhibitions in WebGL format, visit the link www.iar.unicamp.br/gaia/gaia-virtual/exposicoes-anteriores/.

UNICAMP Workshop

I also participated in the "UNICAMP Workshop - Introduction to Creating Immersive Virtual Environments," held over two days as a speaker. In partnership with Rogério Bordini, we reviewed fundamental 3D modeling concepts using Blender, transferred them to Unity, and set up the application for viewing on Virtual Reality glasses such as VR Box and Google Cardboard. The goal was to model a floating island and visualize it within Unity using VR BOX.

Photo taken during the workshop, on the first day and on the completion day.

[inside] breathe

Another highlight was the collaboration on "[inside] breathe," an immersive and interactive audiovisual experience developed by the Homeodynamic Art Group (GAH) of the DASMind/Unicamp network. My role included assisting in the C# code to integrate Arduino with Unity, allowing the reading of respiratory movements captured by a device on the person's chest. These data were converted into visual changes within the Unity environment, providing an immersive and interactive experience.

Interaction test between Arduino and Unity; in this test, the Blur effect is controlled by pressure.

The research group members were Rachel Zuanon (Coordination), Barbara Alves, Claudia Martins, Gabriel Romitelli, Geraldo Lima, Lucas Baisch, Maiara Araújo (myself!), Rafaela Repasch, and Rogério Bordini.

The artwork was presented at the International Art and Technology Meeting (21 ART) in September 2022 at the National Museum of the Republic in Brasília (DF).

See below the video published on TV Unicamp on 08/09/2022:

Build displayed on the computer screen and below, the Arduino installed on the 3D lung (made and printed by Lucas Baisch). This equipment sent numbers to the Unity application, which we retrieved through a script and converted into visual changes in the application.

The person controls the application through breathing and sees their interaction through VR.


I am grateful to have participated in these initiatives because through them, I learned a lot and continue to learn every day. I am looking forward to future opportunities!

Thank you for reading!
See you soon!