Mobile Gyro Control for Intuitive Manipulation of Virtual Anatomy Specimens

Abstract

The VanVR APP (Vancouver Virtual Reality Anatomy and Pathology Project) is an anatomy educational tool developed as a response to the Covid‐19 pandemic. The web app provided 3D models of scanned prosections to accommodate students with their virtual anatomy lab courses at UBC. The web interface means that interactions with the 3D specimens are controlled by mouse movements, which can be less intuitive and confusing. We have developed a technology that allows students to manipulate and turn the 3D specimens with 6 degrees of freedom using their mobile phones as a controller.The VanVR APP was created using multiple development tools such as Unity Engine for the overall environment setup and UI implementation, C# scripts for the interactive functionalities, 3D photogrammetry for specimen visualization, MongoDB for database, render Unity built WebGL and deployed the web app on Azure app service. To improve the interactivity and increase the intuitive design of the application, a new functionality of mobile gyro control was implemented using Photon to connect with the 3D specimens in WebGL using generated pairing code to match the web app and the mobile device in a virtual room. The orientation of the phone is transmitted to a spherical model in WebGL, which accordingly transforms the coordinates of any chosen specimen displayed in front of the user. This means that simply by tilting a phone like a gyro controller, users will be able to intuitively mirror how the specimen rotates in the virtual lab with significantly more freedom than the traditional mouse movement control. Along with the functionality of zooming in/out and comparing different models side by side, the app simulates the feeling of handling a specimen physically. In addition, learners can view the documented annotations tailored to each specimen illustrating details of various regions on the model.The addition of the mobile gyro control gives a more natural way to examine the specimen. This new feature highlights our student‐centred approach with an emphasis on intuitive and accessible design approaches.The acceleration in the use of virtual technologies during the pandemic has increased the use of related tools and their acceptance in anatomy education. The further development of technologies to improve the student learning experience in AR/VR will certainly broaden accessibility. Some future implementation includes haptic touch feedback on mobile phones which better simulates physical labs, and a mobile AR function that extends the current gyro controller feature, deploying AR rendered specimens assigned from the WebGL end on multiple mobile devices, which can be utilized in a classroom setting.