IE501914 - Immersive Technologies | NTNU M.Sc. ICT-Simulation & Visualization | Semester 3
A VR application that lets lighting designers experience how artificial street light pollution affects the echolocation and commuting behavior of endangered lesser horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros).
Lesser horseshoe bats (5-9 grams, 19-25 cm) are among the smallest bats in Europe. They rely entirely on echolocation to navigate and hunt — and they rarely fly above 5 meters, making them uniquely vulnerable to street light pollution.
Artificial lighting:
- Disrupts their echolocation, making it harder to find food
- Breaks natural day-night cycles affecting feeding and mating
- Forces behavioral changes that can endanger entire populations
This project was inspired by research published in Current Biology (Ref 1) studying how R. hipposideros commuting patterns are affected by artificial light.
A VR experience built in Unity 3D and deployed on Meta Quest 2 that recreates a real Norwegian lakeside environment where users can:
- Observe bats commuting through their natural habitat
- Watch behavioral changes as bats enter and exit street light zones
- Teleport around the scene using VR controllers
- Experience the environment from both a bat's perspective and a lighting designer's perspective
- Add/remove light poles to understand how lighting decisions impact wildlife
Inspired by Ratvikvatnet, a freshwater lake in Ålesund, Norway — an active NORDARK project research site.
A digital replica of the lakeside environment featuring:
- Terrain with textured ground and water
- Street lights with spotlight cones and 3D colliders
- Trees and vegetation
- Moving bats with flight animations
A bat model was created from scratch in Unity with two attached animations:
Every instantiated bat has a camera for FPS and TPS tracking:
Bats are spawned at configurable spawn points. The number of bats can be changed at runtime.
A Behaviourchange.cs script detects when a bat enters a street light's trigger zone:
The FlyingBat.cs script controls flight behavior with two sets of coroutines:
- Normal behavior:
changemovespeedN()andchangerotationN()— random, calm movement - Light-affected behavior:
changemovespeedA()andchangerotationA()— erratic, aggressive movement
Oculus Integration package v15_0 was connected with Meta Quest 2. A teleportation technique was implemented using the right controller "A" button — a raycast determines the destination and repositions the user.
The core design philosophy: let humans experience wildlife impact firsthand.
- Users can observe bat behavior from the animal's perspective
- Lighting designers can test configurations before deploying real infrastructure
- The experience bridges the gap between human development and environmental awareness
| Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Unity 3D | Game engine for VR environment |
| C# | Scripting language for game logic |
| Meta Quest 2 | VR headset for immersive experience |
| Oculus Integration v15_0 | VR SDK for Unity |
| Blender | 3D modeling |
| Adobe Photoshop | Texture creation |
Assets/
├── Animation/ # Bat flight animations
├── Material/ # Materials (bat, grass, road, tree, water)
├── Materials/ # Additional materials
├── Oculus/ # Oculus Integration SDK
├── PROMETEO - Car Controller/ # Vehicle controller (reference)
├── Prefabs/ # Prefab assets
├── RTP Vol.1/ # Terrain rendering package
├── Resources/ # Runtime-loadable resources
├── Scenes/ # Unity scenes
├── Script/ # Pathfollow.cs, Trigger.cs
├── StreetLightsPack/ # Street light assets
├── Texture/ # Textures (ground, lake, etc.)
├── XR/ # XR configuration
├── BatsInstantiate.cs # Bat spawning logic
├── Behaviourchange.cs # Light zone detection
├── Camercontroller.cs # Camera control
├── FlyingBat.cs # Bat flight behavior
├── MasterController.cs # Main scene controller
├── Objectinstantiator.cs # Object spawning
├── Pickuplight.cs # Light interaction
├── Teleporter.cs # VR teleportation
├── Bat.controller # Animator controller
└── bat.anim # Bat animation
Packages/
├── manifest.json # Unity package dependencies
└── packages-lock.json # Lock file
ProjectSettings/ # Unity project configuration
- Unity 2021.3+ (LTS recommended)
- Meta Quest 2 headset
- Oculus app installed on your phone and PC
- Clone this repository:
git clone https://github.com/ZeshanMubashir/Immersive-Technologies.git
- Open the project folder in Unity Hub
- Let Unity import all packages and assets
- Connect your Meta Quest 2 via USB or Wi-Fi
- Open the main scene from
Assets/Scenes/ - Click Play to test in the headset
- Right Controller "A" Button — Teleport to pointed location
- Joystick — Move around the scene
- Look around — Observe bat behavior from different angles
- 3D Modeling — Immersive environment with terrain, water, and vegetation
- Texture Mapping — Realistic ground and lake surfaces
- Animation — Bat flight with behavioral variation
- Interactive Features — Runtime light pole placement and bat count adjustment
- Unity 3D setup for VR device integration
- Creating a realistic natural environment
- Designing user-friendly UI for immersive experience
- Modeling bat behavioral changes accurately based on research
- Multi-species study — Simulate different bat species under various street light types (LED, fluorescent, metal halide, induction)
- Behavioral comparison — Compare feeding, mating, and commuting changes across species
- Weather effects — Add temperature, humidity, and wind variables
- Lighting designer tool — Plan urban lighting with wildlife impact awareness