Partner: Eletrobras
Industry: Energy and Technology
Solution: anitya Immersive Platform

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Overview

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Eletrobras, a leader in the energy sector, sought to elevate public awareness of energy-efficient technologies through an innovative digital experience. The use case focused on Espaço NZEB, a concept house located at Rio de Janeiro's Federal University. The house is designed to demonstrate near-zero energy consumption through architectural and technological solutions.

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Partnering with anitya, Eletrobras wanted to create a virtual reality (VR) experience to showcase at the Web Summit Rio 2023. The goal was to engage attendees in an interactive tour of the house, explaining the energy-saving technologies integrated into the design and encouraging people to visit the physical space. The challenge was to not only make the experience informative but also immersive and accessible within the event's high-traffic environment.

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Challenge

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The core challenge of this use case was creating a high-quality, immersive VR experience that would effectively convey complex architectural and technological ideas within a short timeframe. Espaço NZEB is a 300 square meter near-zero energy building, with architectural details and systems that require precise representation in a digital format.

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Additionally, the use case needed to overcome several technical hurdles:

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• Model Optimization: The original architectural 3D model contained over 4 million polygons, making it too heavy for real-time VR use. This needed to be significantly optimized without sacrificing quality.
• Engagement in VR: Attendees at Web Summit Rio needed to quickly grasp the technologies behind the house while navigating through a seamless, interactive experience. An intuitive VR interface, along with features like timers, object interactions, and informational displays, was essential for creating an effective educational experience.
• Gamification and Education: Eletrobras wanted the VR experience to go beyond a passive tour. They aimed to integrate gamified elements like an energy and lamp counter to engage users in learning how energy-saving technologies could be applied in real-world scenarios.

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Solution

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anitya met these challenges by delivering a highly optimized and interactive virtual experience. The VR tour of Espaço NZEB was developed and deployed within two weeks, designed specifically for the Meta Quest 2 headsets used at the Web Summit Rio.

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Key features of the use case included:

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• Digital Twin: A detailed virtual replica of Espaço NZEB was created, providing users with an accurate representation of the concept house.
• Model Optimization: The original 3D model, consisting of 4 million polygons, was optimized down to 200,000 polygons, ensuring smooth performance without compromising visual quality. This was critical for maintaining a high level of realism while ensuring the experience ran efficiently on VR hardware.
• Interactive Elements: Users could interact with various objects within the house, such as lamps and appliances, triggering informational panels that explained the technologies behind each item. This hands-on approach made the experience engaging and educational.
• Energy Counter & Gamification: A gamified element was integrated, allowing users to collect lamps and track the energy they "saved" throughout the experience. Additionally, house appliances had action triggers that displayed how many cycles were possible using the energy saved during the VR tour.
• Multi-Environment Navigation: Portals within the virtual house allowed users to seamlessly move between different environments, enhancing the exploratory aspect of the experience.
• Media Integration: The experience included videos and audio explanations to deepen users' understanding of the architectural and technological decisions behind the house.

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Results

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The VR experience of Espaço NZEB was a standout feature of the Eletrobras booth at Web Summit Rio 2023, drawing significant attention and participation.

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Key outcomes included:

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• High Engagement: Among the 30,000 attendees at Web Summit Rio, Eletrobras' VR tour of Espaço NZEB drew significant interest, with many participants providing enthusiastic feedback. The immersive experience was praised for its engaging and educational approach, offering a compelling glimpse into energy-efficient technologies.
• Enhanced Public Awareness: The immersive nature of the experience, combined with the educational elements, helped attendees better understand the benefits of energy-efficient living. It also sparked curiosity about visiting the physical Espaço NZEB house in Rio de Janeiro.
• Efficient Delivery: Despite the tight two-week development window, anitya’s low-code base and optimized rendering times enabled the creation of a fully gamified and immersive experience. These features allowed the team to quickly develop the architectural and technological elements of the concept house, ensuring a smooth, polished experience without any technical issues.

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Conclusion

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The collaboration between Eletrobras and anitya highlights the potential of virtual reality in delivering gamified educational content that effectively engages the public with complex ideas. By providing an interactive, optimized, and gamified experience of Espaço NZEB, anitya successfully helped Eletrobras showcase energy-efficient living solutions in a way that was both accessible and impactful. The integration of gaming elements, such as the energy and lamp counters, combined with interactive learning features, made the educational experience not only informative but also engaging and fun for users.

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This use case underscores how anitya enables high-quality, immersive, and gamified educational experiences in a short timeframe. It offers a practical, scalable solution for industries looking to inspire and educate their audiences through dynamic digital environments that foster active learning and engagement.

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Watch some testimonials from the attendees here!

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