BeeSphere
Prototype and VR
This is a prototype of a gamified virtual reality experience that replicates Prospect Park’s Long Meadow in Brooklyn and visualizes the potential impact of geodesic domes in preserving native bee populations.
Project Information
Creative Brief
Inspired by Biosphere II, the 1991 scientific research facility in Arizona, BeeSphere is a virtual reality experience designed to engage melittologists, researchers, architects, and other stakeholders dedicated to preserving native bee populations. This immersive experience allows users to explore geodesic greenhouse domes within a virtual recreation of Prospect Park’s Long Meadow.
It serves as a tool for evaluating and refining designs for physical domes or other environmental planning initiatives before implementation.
Approach
Studies indicate that honeybees do not thrive in greenhouse environments due to their poor visual systems, making geodesic domes particularly suited for preserving native bees and bumblebees. Prospect Park’s Long Meadow has been meticulously recreated using Blender and Unity, including its vegetation, terrain, landscapes, flowers, geodesic domes, and the apiaries inside the domes.
A young student character has been incorporated to encourage youth engagement with this virtual experience, allowing them to explore and interact using controllers.
Impact
Mixed reality serves as an excellent tool for visualizing environmental initiatives. With advancements such as drag-and-drop functionality, projects become more accessible to participants from diverse backgrounds, enabling quick and effective decision-making and feedback.
For BeeSphere, this technology provides audiences and collaborators with an immersive walkthrough experience, enabling them to engage with the virtual environment, explore project concepts, address ecological concerns, and uphold Prospect Park’s historical ethos of harmonizing human interventions with natural landscapes.
Additionally, this virtual experience can be adapted for exhibitions, promotional campaigns, educational projects, local initiatives, and creative plans, offering versatile applications across various fields.
Tools & Skills
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Blender
- Unity
To play, press this screen. To exist and show your cursor, press esc
How to Play: WASD Controls
Movement Controls:
Use your arrow keys, WASD keys to navigate through the Prospect Park Long Meadow and explore the BeeSphere domes. For sprint, press Shift + W and Spacebar for Jump.
- W: Move Forward or Arrow Key ↑
- A: Move Left or Arrow ←
- D: Move Right →
- S: Move Backward or Arrow ↓
- Shift + W : Sprint
- Spacebar: Jump
Camera Controls:
- Mouse Movement: Adjust Camera Viewpoint
NOTE
Please note that this VR experience is not compatible with mobile devices.
