Virtual Reality Simulation for Mine Awareness and the Demining Process.
Demining Academy VR aims to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and reality, providing a high-stakes environment with zero physical risk. This project was created to transition users from passive observers to active participants, helping them master 1:1 scale ordnance identification and real-world protocols.
The Reality: Ukraine is currently one of the most mine-contaminated countries on Earth, with millions of hectares designated as "red zones" littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO).
The Challenge: Traditional training methods (lectures, brochures) lack the physical tension and spatial awareness required to survive in a real minefield.
The Solution: SAFESTEP VR provides a safe sandbox to move users from just "knowing" to truly "feeling" the situation. We aim to help form habits where a mistake in the digital world creates a life-saving instinct in the real one.
The simulation features 3 gamified levels designed to progressively train the user:
A safe environment to inspect 1:1 models of mines and master the tool belt controls without the risk of detonation.
Focuses on identifying visible mines. Users learn to:
- Spot surface-level threats.
- Perform remote destruction protocols from behind cover.
Advanced training for hidden threats. Users practice:
- Finding mines hidden under the soil.
- Disarming mechanics using the digging tool.
- Full-Body Character: Immersive first-person VR presence.
- Interactive Tool Belt: Functional demining tools.
- Demining Mechanics: Realistic digging and disarming interactions.
- Spatial Audio: Background sounds and special effects to heighten tension.
- Interactive UI: Wrist-based or spatial user menus for seamless navigation.
This project was built using Unity with the Universal Render Pipeline (URP) to ensure performance optimization for VR.
- VR Optimization:
- Implemented specialized Render Pipelines to handle the double-rendering requirement of VR.
- Used alternative environment building and procedural grass generation to maintain dense vegetation without heavy performance costs.
- Visual Stability:
- Converted assets to URP to fix "pink shader" glitches.
- Manually recalibrated textures for VR compatibility.
- The "Digging" Mechanic:
- Engineered a solution to prevent the shovel from clipping through the terrain.
- Balanced movement tracking to ensure the shovel interacts realistically with soil and landmines without poor physics glitches.
Project Management: Managed using ClickUp (Kanban Board & AI Assistant).
Assets & Tutorials:
- Unity Asset Store
- Sketchfab
- Valem Tutorials
- GameDev Blueprint
Audio:
- Freesound (Background sounds & SFX)
- Add more gamified levels.
- Create a full narrative storyline throughout the game.
- Implement realistic defusing logic/mini-games.
- Add a complete suite of fully interactive professional demining tools.
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/TheDeiw/Demining-Academy.git
- Open Unity Hub.
- Add the project folder.
- Open the project (Ensure you have the correct Unity VR modules installed).
- Connect your VR headset and hit Play.