zupa

main navigation

home - accesskey 1
projects - accesskey 5

Human Factory

CLIENT: CARET, University of Cambridge
YEAR: 2004
ROLE: Producer, Design, Programming, Concept Development, 3D Modelling
FEATURES: Virtools, Html

http://humanfactory.caret.cam.ac.uk/

Human factory was commissioned by the Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies (CARET) at Cambridge University with the aim of inspiring young people to pursue higher education in a field relating to Human Biology or Medicine.

There were two strands to the project: a 3D interactive activity and an accompanying website containing resources for both young people and teachers alike.

The activity made use of the latest 3D technology to create an immersive, interactive environment. Users are taken on an exploratory journey through the human digestive system, encountering visualisations of biological processes at various scales. Interaction with the environment reveals further features and information. Assistance comes in the form of Mr Sweetcorn who acts as an informative companion throughout the digestive process.

We demonstrated that the merger of 3D games technologies with science education could provide an innovative resource, bringing Human Biology to life in a new way. User testing with school children certainly bore this out and participants were fighting over the Mr Sweetcorn badges by the end of the sessions!

CREDITS: 3D Modelling and fellow Concept Developer - Jorge Gil