Earlier this year, some friends and I participated in a VR hackathon. Actually, it’s my first hackathon ever! Over 20 hours, we hacked together a VR workplace safety training simulator for the Meta Quest 2 headset using the Unity game engine and won second place! :D

Safety Sphere is a VR workplace safety training simulator, with the goal of reducing and preventing injuries by providing a more engaging and educational training experience.

Devlog #

In less than 24-hours, we made two different training modules, one for WHMIS symbols in a chemical lab and another for safe chainsaw operation.

Lab environment for WHMIS symbols
Lab environment for WHMIS symbols
Chainsaw safety training environment
Chainsaw safety training environment

We were all familiar with C#, the language used by the Unity game engine, though only a couple of us were doing the programming. The rest of us created the 3D environments. I also wrote the business pitch and PowerPoint for the presentation.

It was neat to be in a position where I didn’t do any technical work. I got the vibe that I was the team leader, though we never explicitly decided that. Aside from writing and thinking about business, I worked on a ladder safety module, but we cut that one out because it kind of sucked lol.

Writing ideas on the whiteboard
Writing ideas on the whiteboard
Creating the 3D level in Unity (left) and writing the business pitch (right) at 2:31 AM
Creating the 3D level in Unity (left) and writing the business pitch (right) at 2:31 AM

Retrospective #

I’ve reflected back on what I wrote for the business pitch. I feel very critical of it, like if heard this, I wouldn’t be convinced to buy it. Don’t get me wrong, this is not to take away from the amazing work our team did. I’m very proud of what we made in such a short time. I’m totally being too hard on myself.

On the topic of the presentation, I cringe when looking back at when we had to present onstage. I said only half of what I wanted to say - actually, I didn’t even hold the mic close enough so only the judges in the front row could hear me.