Molokai Virtual Reality

Last year, I was invited by Humanities Professor and Honors Program Director Vernadette Gonzalez to assist Masters Candidate in Computer Science, Kari Noe, in developing a virtual reality digitization of her upcoming book, Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Hawai’i. This anthology, coming in October of this year, is a collection of over 40 stories voicing the history and notable events of Hawai’i from a Native Hawaiian (Kanaka Maoli) perspective. An example of a story featured within the book is the construction of Moloka’i’s largest sustainable fish pond (loko i’a), Keawanui fishpond. This is particularly important to Native Hawaiian history and culture because the loko i’a was an important resource for Native Hawaiians and to have one in working condition today shows a revival of Kanaka Maoli ways of life.

The goal of this project was to develop a virtual reality visualization of Moloka’i and the fish pond. We used the Unity Engine and an industry standard VR headset, HTC Vive, which we borrowed from the Laboratory of Advanced Visualization and Applications (LAVA). With grants we recieved from UH Manoa and Native Hawaiian Student Services, we visited Keawanui multiple times throughout the year, capturing 360 degree videos of the area. In addition, we created our own assets to put in our virtual reality environment. I was in charge of developing and implementing assets of Molokai’s geographic features such as the rain, wind, and moon – all of which are essential features in Native Hawaiian culture.

I presented this project at several conferences such as:

• Ching, J., Noe, K. (2018, Nov.), Digitizing Detours: Developing a Virtual Reality Visualization of Native Hawaiian Place Knowledge. 30-minute presentation at the Lahui Hawai’i Research Center Student Conference, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Hawai’i.
• Ching, J. (2019, Oct.), Developing a Virtual Reality Visualization of Native Hawaiian Place Knowledge. 2-hour poster presentation at the American Indian Science and Engineering Society National Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Ching, J., Noe, K. (2019, Nov.), Digitizing Detours: Developing a Virtual Reality Visualization of Native Hawaiian Place Knowledge. 3-hour live demo at the American Studies Association National Conference, Honolulu, Hawai’i.
• Ching, J. (2019, Dec.), Developing a Virtual Reality Visualization of Native Hawaiian Place Knowledge. Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Conference, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Hawai’i.