Envisioning Corals: Scientific Validation

User Experience testing and first validation

Our multidisciplinary team had already developed and tested a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of Envisioning Corals. We realized the application through the Unity3D engine and made it available for wired headsets. During the design phase, we strongly relied on both gamification and embodied cognition theories to create an enjoyable and effective environment.

Then, we tested our solution during a dissemination event in Italy. We collected 179 voluntary responses from participants of different ages (18-89 y.o.). The main measures, assessed through self-reported scales, included User Experience levels, qualitative feedback, and level of embodiment during the experience. Preliminary results showed that the overall User Experience has been perceived as straightforward and beautifully designed. Participants also shared the importance of being educated about such problems. The embodiment strategy has been highly appreciated, with some room for improvement and thoughtful suggestions delivered by users. We also received helpful feedback on the application’s design, and we are currently working on them to improve the experience. Furthermore, we received many requests to share our environment with schools to help deliver sustainability lessons. We believe that a significant impact of our application is precisely in this direction, as a complementary tool in educational contexts that want to share climate change knowledge. For this reason, we are considering the best suitable way to make Envisioning Corals available in such contexts.