Chloro uses spatial data and mixed reality to analyze your room, identify the best spots for houseplants, and provide actionable care recommendations.
Final Design
Takeaways
1. Designing Mixed Reality Apps for the General Public
Effective lifestyle mixed reality apps should go beyond immersion and leverage features unique to the platform to solve real-world problems. In this example, the Quest 3’s ability to measure room dimensions and window sizes enables precise calculations of lighting conditions, which can be visualized to help houseplant enthusiasts make quick informed decisions about plant placement.
2. Optimizing Presentation for Feedback and Engagement
When showcasing a project on platforms like LinkedIn, creating a concise 30-second demo video focused on the most impactful interactions proved highly effective. This approach not only captures attention quickly but also encourages more targeted feedback on the app’s core concept and functionality, helping refine ideas and communicate the project’s value more clearly.
Prompt
How can we bring ‘regular’ people into the XR ecosystem?
As part of my entry for the XR Design Challenge ‘24, I explored how to create an effective tool that addresses a core issue within a hobby, leveraging the unique capabilities of mixed reality.
Background
Lighting, the Core Challenge in Keeping Plants Alive
Taking care of houseplants is harder than it seems! Guides online often fall short because every room is different—window directions, lighting, and layouts vary from home to home. It’s a lot of trial and error, leading to frustration and, unfortunately, many dead plants. I wanted to create a solution that eliminates guesswork and helps plant enthusiasts optimize their space for greenery.
Prototyping
As I was developing this project solo, I started by prototyping to determine if my idea was feasible. I started by researching how the orientation of windows affect the amount of light enters your room, and having the scanned windows draw this dynamically depending on the room size.
Planning the General Logic
Prototyping in Unity
Room Orientation
One of the main design decisions I made for this project was automating the room orientation process. Initially, I explored several UI iterations that required users to manually select directions (north, east, south, west) for their room setup. While this approach was functional, it added unnecessary clicks and relied heavily on user input, which could lead to errors or mistrust in the app’s accuracy.
As I continued developing, I decided to streamline this step by automating the process. Now, the user simply stands facing north, confirmed by using their phone’s compass, and presses a confirm button. The app then calculates the window angles automatically, removing the need for manual input.
User looks at a compass while wearing the headset
Pressing the confirm button displays the updated direction
Visual Dev
UI Screens were made using Figma, 3D assets were designed using Womp and Blender, with custom texturing done using Procreate.
Assets created in Womp
Optimized VR Assets
What's Next for Chloro?
Unlike many of my other projects, Chloro will be available on the meta quest app lab once user testing has finished! If you would like to be part of the beta testers, please send me an email for a copy of the experience.
Some future features include:
1. Expanding the plant library with size and pot customization for houseplant interior design.
2. Adding humidity considerations for rare, tropical plants.
3. Developing a palm menu that displays real-time calculations to deepen user understanding.
Thank you!
Thank you to immersive insiders for hosting this incredible event! A special thanks to Minkyu Kim for creating the stunning motion graphic for my project, and to everyone who offered valuable feedback throughout this journey—I couldn’t have done it without your support.
