Summary
Kākuhi is a virtual guide that explains the various tools to the player.
Punahou School is committed to continue to develop their wayfinding program. Their waʻa kaulua, named Kamaola, is used to teach students how to sail using modern Hawaiian wayfinding techniques. To supplement their program and be a potential tool for future outreach, Punahou has funded the continued development of Kilo Hōkū VR.
Kilo Hōkū VR was originally developed by Patrick Karjala, Anna Sikkink, Dean Lodes, and Kari Noe for the HTC Vive. The project started as a class project at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, but has since continued to develop the project under the business name Wayfinding Interactive. More information about the first version of the project can be found here & can be downloaded through itch.io, here.
A demo has been created for the Oculus Quest 2 for Punahou use that was showcased to current navigation students and alumni. A full port of Kilo Hōkū on the Oculus Quest w/ new features is currently in development.
Design
Day/Night cycle & activating visual tools
One of the first skills a navigator in training needs to learn is to recognize and understand that patterns of celestial objects in the night sky. Through modern Hawaiian wayfinding techniques, students will have to learn how both particular stars and constellations move across the sky in relation to the Hawaiian star compass. Kilo Hōkū VR allows students to train in virtual reality when conditions are not right to do so in reality (for example bad weather or light pollution).
360 video was taken by Patrick onboard the Hikianalia
Constellation pointer displays both Hawaiian and Greek names
The particular contributions the studio made to this project were script writing, programming, 3D assets creation (not including the Hōkūleʻa model), scene design, and timeline sequence editing.
The Hōkūleʻa name and image are property of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, and used with permission for educational purposes.
The Hōkūleʻa model was developed by 3D artist Mike Pai; creation of the model was funded by Bishop Museumʻs US Department of Education Native Hawaiian Education program grant S362A11069, “All Together Now: A Model Partnership for Improving Native Hawaiian Middle School Education,” in partnership with the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the College of Education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and is used with permission for educational purposes.
Project Type
Date
Collaborators
Patrick Karjala
Anna Sikkink
Polynesian Voyaging Society
Puanhou School