Enhancing Antarctic knowledge through virtual reality: The virtual polar expedition application

Abstract

Antarctica, due to its extreme environmental conditions, serves as a critical continent for scientific research. In recent years, Turkey has recognized this importance and initiated research activities in Antarctica. Raising awareness about these endeavors and encouraging individuals to pursue careers in this field is crucial. However, it has been observed that some individuals find it challenging to grasp abstract concepts related to Antarctic research. To address this issue, a virtual reality application titled "Virtual Polar Expedition" was developed. Virtual reality technology provides the user with the freedom to move as they wish and the chance to interact with objects, providing a more instructive and memorable experience compared to other applications. At the same time, it is effective in eliminating the abstractness that remains in the mind, giving the user the feeling of being there. Before starting to develop the application, a comprehensive literature review was made, and then the stations and bases established within the scope of the studies of Turkish scientists were modeled using Blender 3.1 software. Then, Horseshoe Island, where Turkish scientists work on Antarctica, was created via the Unity 3D game engine, and application mechanics related to the studies on the island were prepared. After determining the achievements that the application wanted to teach to the user, informative audio recordings about the models were recorded in the studio environment. After the models and sound recordings were transferred to the Unity environment, the output of the application was taken, and the test phase was started. At the test phase, the application was tested in two different virtual reality glasses and the application has been available in Google Play Store. 7 questions, including the achievements, were solved twice, before and after, by 50 people who experienced the application. At the end of the test phase, the instructional nature of the application was proven with numerical data.