An immersive Open Source environment using Godot

TL;DR

This paper introduces an affordable, open-source immersive VR and AR environment using Godot, HTC Vive, and Arduino hardware, enhancing user immersion and movement tracking for educational applications.

Contribution

It presents a low-cost, open-source architecture for immersive VR and AR environments that is easy to implement and adaptable for educational use.

Findings

Enhanced user immersion with footplate and Tibetan bridge integration

Affordable and easy-to-implement open-source setup

Suitable for educational laboratory environments

Abstract

We present a sample implementation of a Virtual and Augmented Reality immersive environment based on Free and Libre Open Source Hardware and Software and the HTC Vive system, used to enhance the immersive experience of the user and to track her/his movements. The sense of immersion has increased and stimulated using a footplate and a Tibetan bridge, connected to the virtual world as Augmented Reality applications and implemented through an Arduino board, thereby adopting a low cost, open source hardware and software approach. The proposed architecture is relatively affordable from the cost point of view, easy to implement, configure and adapt to different contexts. It can be of great help for organizing laboratory classes for young students to afford the implementation of virtual worlds and Augmented Reality applications.