We were commissioned by AGCO South Africa to develop a high-end Virtual Reality experience for them. They wanted to showcase Farm in a Box to potential investors in Germany and give them a clear overview of what Farm in a Box is all about.
Our responsibility was to develop the virtual reality application. The deadlines for this project was hectic and we had to develop the full virtual reality experience in less than 3 Weeks. We were also tasked to provide the Virtual Reality activation experience in Germany for the duration of the biggest agricultural show in Europe. This involved import and export of the Virtual Reality Equipment from South Africa to Germany and back. We also had to source people to assist with the Virtual Reality activation in Germany.
“One of the hardest things to do when selling virtual reality to potential clients is to try and sell it in a 2D Environment. If you are inside the Virtual Reality experience it looks and feels real and no 2D Images can portray the experience.
Therefore we encourage you to make an appointment and come to our offices to experience it for yourself!”Gerald Ferreira – Virtual Reality Application Developer
How we developed the Virtual Reality Application
Due to time constraints and the logistics involved we could not go to Zambia to source our own images for the experience. AGCO supplied us with images that they took at one of the experimental Farm in a Box sites in Zambia. We had to recreate the environment from the photographs to look similar to the existing farm in Zambia.
Below is some images that we got from them, and 2D Renders from the application that we developed.
Actual image of the Farm in a Box farm in Zambia.
Farm in a Box in the Virtual Reality Application.
Actual image of the Massey Ferguson Tractor
3D Virtual Reality Model Massey FergusonWe designed and created all the 3D Models and the Environment for this Virtual Reality Application from scratch. To be true to the actual farm we modeled the models from photographs. This included the 3D Model of the Massey Ferguson tractor which were also modeled from images.
Virtual Reality Application at the Event
Below is a Short Video clip from the virtual reality activation in Germany.
The Virtual Reality Game Play Experience.
The concept of the game was to make it interesting for people to experience Farm in a Box. Below is some comments and images of the virtual reality game play.
Cinematic Virtual Reality Experience
The Virtual Reality application was built to be used at the Grune Woche International Agriculture show in Germany. This is one of the biggest Agricultural shows in Europe.
The client wanted to Teleport visitors from the exhibition in Germany to the experimental Farm in a Box farm in Zambia. One of the objectives was to take a person from the winter of Germany to sunny Zambia.
To make the experience more interesting we added a helicopter to drop land the container in front of the person trying out the Virtual Reality experience.
It was quite a daunting experience to watch the helicopter drop the container right in front of the player! – adding some excitement.
Context Information to the Player in Virtual Reality
While the Helicopter moved closer to the player and preparing to drop land the Farm in the Box container a voice over explained what Farm in a Box is all about.
This was done Cinematic so that the player could still move. The player was in a 3D Environment and his body fully tracked preventing Nausea and Vertigo that some people experience in 3DOF virtual reality experiences. 6DOF virtual reality basically eliminate people from feeling Nausea in Virtual Reality and is a huge improvement on 3DOF Virtual Reality experiences.
Explaining what comes with the Product in Virtual Reality
Once the helicopter completed the drop off the container doors opened and a voice over explained what comes with Farm in a Box.
First the Massey Ferguson tractor came out of the box, and drove past the player. Showing him the type of tractor that comes standard with farm in a box. Next a planter, plow and trailer also came from the side of the container moving past the player.
With the voice over explaining the essential equipment that comes with Farm in a Box and which a Farmer needs to become sustainable.
Player interacts with the Virtual Reality Experience
After the Cinematic introduction to Farm in a Box, the player had to grab a ball in front of him. The Ball was used as a navigation method inside the Virtual Reality experience and also to create order inside the Virtual Reality experience to guide the player from one point to the other inside the experience. This allowed for the systematic exploration of the product.
When the client grabbed the ball, they were teleported inside the container.
Inside the Virtual Reality Container
Once inside the container. Players learned about the additional elements that comes with the Farm in a Box. This educated people on all the things that comes standard with farm in a box in a fun and exciting way.
When farming in a rural space, spare parts for Tractors is often not freely available. As part of the product investors / farmers get spare parts which should keep their tractors in prime condition and allowed for sustainable farming. The owner of a Farm in a Box product can also offer tractor services to farmers in the area and get additional income from the product.
Support Office as part of the Product
To encourage self-sustainable farming the company provides support and training services to farmers. Inside the container is a small office area from where the farmer can operate his business professionally.
In this section of the experience people could learn about the support services as well as the Telemetry application that comes with the product.
Virtual Reality Freedom to Explore
While the player is inside the container. The plants on the farm starts to grow and the experience shows an example of sustainable farming.
Once the clients completed the mandatory steps inside this Virtual Reality experience. They could explore the farm and equipment for themselves at their own pace. They could walk through the entire farm, go look at the Tractor, Trailer, Plow and Planter at their own pace and by their own account. They could go into the Maize field, see the maize up close and personal, or go to the Sunflowers and explore the fields.
For us this was one of our most exiting projects at the time. The Virtual Reality experience achieved its goal by taking clients from Germany to Zambia and give them good inside about Farm in a Box and how it can benefit farming in Africa!
South African Based Virtual Reality Application Development Company
We are passionate about the Virtual Reality industry. We are pioneers in the Virtual Reality industry and love to develop Virtual Reality games and applications. If you are looking for a South African based virtual reality development company, talk to us!
We develop Virtual Reality applications for the Oculus Go, Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard, Windows Mixed Reality headsets and High-End Virtual Reality devices like the HTC VIVE.
Visit our page specifically on the Virtual Reality Services that we offer for more information on Custom Developed High-End Virtual Reality Applications.