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Your virtual buddy: UU
virtual-realitydesign-engineering
- Role
- XR Designer & Unity Developer
- Timeline
- 2023 – May 2024
- Technologies
- Unity (C#)PICO XR SDKSpatial UI & Design SystemsPediatric Healthcare XRUser Journey Mapping
Inspired by the documentary film Life Matters (2019) and clinical research into pediatric oncology wards in Chinese public hospitals, Your virtual buddy: UU explores how extended reality (XR) can support children aged 6–12 undergoing long-term inpatient chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Beyond the physical toll of lumbar punctures, bone marrow aspirations, and multi-hour intravenous infusions, hospitalized children experience prolonged isolation in sterile wards, separation from peers, and a profound loss of agency over their daily environment.
Clinical Journey Mapping & Spatial UI Design System
Through clinical literature review and end-to-end journey mapping of pediatric oncology wards, we identified three high-stress touchpoints across a child's treatment cycle:
- Ward Admission & Disorientation: Entering an unfamiliar clinical environment stripped of personal comfort or play.
- Procedural Anxiety & Infusion Routines: Enduring repetitive, painful procedures and hours of restricted mobility during IV drips.
- Immunocompromised Isolation: Weeks of recovery inside sterile rooms with minimal social contact.
To address these moments without causing motion sickness or cognitive overload for fatigued patients, we designed the virtual companion character UU and authored a pediatric spatial UI design system featuring low-fatigue gaze and single-hand interactions, comforting color palettes, and seated/bedside ergonomic viewing zones.
Unity VR Prototype & Stanford Meaningful XR 2024 Presentation
- PICO DevJam 2023 Prototype: Engineered a playable standalone VR prototype in Unity (C#) using the PICO XR SDK, allowing young patients to customize their bedside space, care for and converse with UU, and practice guided breathing and distraction exercises during procedures.
- Academic & Industry Recognition: Following the hackathon prototype, the research and spatial interaction framework were selected and presented at Meaningful XR 2024 at Stanford University (May 2024).