Today we offer a little different offer. We met Frederic Plourde and Daniel Castellanos, who used Godot to create an XR educational experience for Somar, a non -profit association that focuses on preserving marine life in Garv.
Frederic Plourde is the leadership of XR in Collabora, where it leads the AR/VR strategy, business development, open source innovation, leadership of a team of talented engineers working on XR and Monado customer projects, and open source Openxr. He is also the Vice Awareness Officer of the KHRONOS Group where he promotes OpenXR Standard cooperation, industry cooperation, and advocates of XR Open and inter -operating solutions. In the Somar project, Frederick played an artistic leadership, as he was offering an overview of the development of an overwhelming XR experience and the leading Collabora efforts towards the development of a Monado cardboard driver.
Daniel Castilian is the owner of Decaccis Studio, and she was contracted by Collabora to work mainly as a programmer/developer in the Somar project.
Can you tell us more about the non -profit organization behind the Somar project, who are they and what are their mission?
unique: Somar is a non -profit organization that focuses on the protection of dolphins, whales and marine life in Garv. Their mission is to raise awareness about the impact of human activities – such as underwater noise pollution – on marine ecosystems. By combining scientific research, education and innovative technology, SOMAR enhances sustainable practices and works to preserve the biological diversity of oceans in the region for future generations.
Can you tell us a little about the XR experience that you created, and what you have identified to achieve?
unique: The XR experience that was developed for the SOMAR project is designed to provide an overwhelming educational tool to increase awareness about the impact of underwater noise pollution on marine life. By immersing users in coastal and external environments located in Al Gharf, the experiment displays the effects of noise from tourist boats, especially whale whale and dolphins activities. Users can directly witness how these basic marine mammals have been disrupted in their communication and fishing activities, and to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges they face. Through this interactive experience, we aimed to engage users emotionally and inform them of the urgent need for preservation efforts to protect these creatures and their habitats.
I understand that the project focuses on its publication in museums and in the classroom in Portugal. Can you tell us more about how this works?
unique: The Somar Project is designed with elasticity and provides content in English and Portuguese through compact Godot localization functions. Based on OpenXR, the project benefits from a unified framework that simplifies publication via multiple devices, allowing us to target both museums and classrooms across Portugal. In museums and institutional places, the Meta Quest version of the XR experience provides a high overcrowding with detailed images, allowing visitors to explore the application in a captivating educational environment.
Meanwhile, the phonexr version, the improved accessibility, is intended for use in the classroom, where students can experience the same basic content through Google’s Google phone holders.
By running Monado Openxr Runado Open-Platform Open-Platform on these phones, this version is designed to be easier and direct, making children diving in XR for the first time, all while learning to memorize in an interactive way. The double publishing strategy guarantees that the SOMAR project reach various fans, from the general public to young generations, which enhances environmental awareness across different environments.
Will the experience be available to play by the general public and if so, so where can they find it?
unique: Yes – Somar’s experience is now available to everyone to explore it! 
Dive into an open source XR project and discover the effect of underwater noise pollution on marine life. You can download it and try it for free on the official Somar page ITCH.IO.
What are your main considerations in choosing Godot as the XR platform to create this experience?
unique: One of the main considerations for choosing a godot as a game engine for this project is to find an open source engine that can provide flexibility, expansion and a strong support community. Godot has emerged for its powerful 3D capabilities, ease of use and the ability to operate on multiple platforms.
Godot’s open source nature felt an ideal match for Monado’s experience and our collaboration with a non -profit organization as part of 1 % of COLLABORA for the planet’s initiative, enhancing our commitment to both innovation and social influence. In addition, Godot’s increased reputation within XR and game societies gave us the continuous OpenXR development through a project funded by KHRONOS, confidence in its future resistance capabilities, ensuring that the Somar project may develop and expand over time.
What is the most enjoyable part of the use of Godot?
Daniel: I have been using Godot a few years ago, and the most enjoyable part of it is the ability to repeat quickly. During its development, the project witnessed many reviews, but the implementation of these changes was clear and generally clear.
What is the most difficult issue to overcome?
Daniel: There is a balance between creating a more realistic or immersive experience with having to maintain the performance of performance on mobile devices, regardless of research.
Have you used any tool groups/accessories consisting of this to develop this experience and what is the motive behind choosing this or building your solution?
Daniel: Not real! The project is not characterized by a movement, and user inputs are limited, so creating a dedicated solution was not a problem. Moreover, keeping the project was as simple as one of my goals as possible, whether to prevent errors and keep the code clean and easy to understand.
What would you like to develop within the support of Godot XR that would make the construction of this project easier?
Daniel: There was one error or unexpected behavior I found during development, but nothing could not be worked on. For this project, I think Godot was the right choice and made things as easy as possible.
I understand that the project is currently targeting the Meta Quest headphones. What are the motives of this choice?
unique: The Somar project was chosen due to its strong popularity, excellent performance and ease of use. As an independent device, Quest 3 offers high -quality images and overwhelming experiences without the need for a computer or external sensors, making it perfect for both the museum’s places and broader access. Its presence in the XR market guarantees compatibility with future updates, allowing us to reach a wide audience while providing an attractive and attractive experience.
How was the experience of using Godot with Meta Quest?
Daniel: amazing! Meta Quest Link used most of the development to test things quickly, but from time to time I published the project directly in searching for performance. Fun truth: The project is used at the time of the Khronos OpenXR operating, and it has worked in a flawless manner for the first time.
I also understand that the project is also able to use Monado OpenXR. Can you tell me a little more about the motive and goals of this port?
unique: The motive behind targeting Monado OpenXR operation time was to ensure access and broader compatibility through various platforms, especially for low -cost VR systems. The open nature of the source in Monado is in line with our goal of creating a flexible and effective solution that does not depend on special ecosystems. For this project, Collabora has devoted engineering resources to develop a new Monado Cardboard, which enables the experience to operate Android phones with VR headphones of cardboard, which makes overwhelming content within reach a broader audience, including children and students. This port enhances our commitment to opening the standards, allowing future improvements and maintaining long -term sustainability of the project. You can find the code for this driver on freeedesktop.org gitlab. It will be implemented soon.
Farid, specifically for you, can you give us a summary of what Monado is and your perspective in a combination of Godot with Monado?
unique: Monado is an open source OpenXR time, designed to provide basic building blocks for XR and developers seller. By offering compatibility with major platforms like Linux, Windows and Android, Monado works as a multi -use basis to create and publish XR applications. It combines Monado and Godot, an open source game engine, creates a strong synergy. The flexibility of Godot, along with the support of Monado OpenXR, provides the simplicity of the godot development environment and the massive consensus of Monado operating time.
Are there any plans to bring this project to other VR headphones?
unique: Yes, we are currently testing the Somar application on other platforms and devices. Since Monado is based on OpenXR, it has been designed to be very adaptable and must be able to run on many other platforms and devices with minimal effort. However, as an open source project, the real power lies in society. While we continue to extend support for more headphones, we encourage developers and lovers to contribute to the project and help expand its reach further. Monado’s open nature makes it easy for anyone to participate in new platforms and present them to new platforms, creating a collaborative and growing environmental system.
What’s the next for you, anything interesting on the horizon?
Daniel: certainly. I am currently working on my next game: a great checkpoint, which will be available in both VR and desktop/flat. It should come out later this year, so watch!
Finally, is there any advice that you want to share, especially with someone who is considering using the Godot for the next XR project?
unique: definitely! One of the most exciting things about the use of Godot for XR projects is the amazing community that surrounds it. Godot has a passionate and supportive collection of developers, artists and creators, all of which can be accessed through platforms like Discord Godot. If you have just started with XR in Godot, I am highly recommended to join Discord first.
Daniel: Just try it. Read official documents, place two cubes as hands and try how easy to start! And if you stumble, there is always someone from society ready to help. Really well Godot Scales, and works with both simple and complex projects, and the best of all, being open source means that you can extend it to suit your needs.
COLLABORA is a global consultation specialized in providing open programs to the commercial world. Whether this is Kernel Linux, graphics, multimedia, machine learning, or XR, Collabora’s experience extends in all major areas of open source software development. By harnessing the potential of open -based projects, and reusing the current ingredients, Collabora helps its customers reduce the time to market and focus on creating the productivity of the product. To find out more, please visit Collabora.com.
Decasis Studio is an independent development studio run by Daniel Castillanus.
Somar is a non -profit association founded in 2020, dedicated to preserving dolphins and whales in Garv and the wider marine life. Focusing on ocean protection, Somar works with a variety of initiatives aimed at protecting the rich biological diversity in the region. The organization is driven by its commitment to raising awareness about the negative effects of human activities, such as underwater noise pollution, on marine animals. By combining scientific research, environmental education and innovative technologies, Somar seeks to enhance sustainable practices and inspire teamwork to preserve the natural marine ecosystems of coming devices for future generations.
Written by: Bastian Olig
As published here
Photography by Matt Hardy on Unsplash
