I’ve been MIA for a while but decided to start blogging again because It helps with keeping me on track with projects. A lot has happened since my last post but the run down in short is this.
After working in Austin, TX for about 1–2 years in data from Start ups to the government, I moved back to San Jose, CA to work at Google for two years as a Data Analyst. The journey was great and I got to do amazing things and learn from so many wonderful people.
But after working in the data field for about 5 years, I decided to pivot into XR (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality) development. I finished another boot camp at XRTERRA with my good friend Michael Campos, whose blog you can find here. Why the pivot? While I still love working in data It didn’t satisfy my desire to create, aside from the occasional Dev Op hat I would were when starting an AWS server. So I dabbled in the Unity Engine and created some simple throw away projects and joined a few Game Jams, then around the start of 2021 I got more serious and started the XRTERRA boot camp. Since graduating I’ve been working on my next big project. Which I shall explain below. . .
Finding a solution or a problem?
So I had this gnawing thought in my head and it stems from my time moving from California to Texas then back to California. When I first moved around 2016, California was experiencing record drought and fires but while in Texas they had the opposite issue of floods and hurricanes. By the time I moved back to Cali after experiencing crazy downpour and winds I had to now deal with smoke and flames. The climate is pretty shit right now.
Anyways, I saw this video about hydroponic farming during a 4 AM Youtube binge and now I want to dedicate my life and skill set to sustainable agriculture using Data and XR.
The Search
So now I’m prototyping, here is a poor roadmap.
I’m using Unity to prototype but I’m also exploring some open source options like SteroKit.
And to illustrate where I’m currently at in this road map is a picture of Schrodinger’s cat, because I’m all over the place and I’m both dead and alive metaphorically speaking.
Realistically, I’m in the middle of this all. I’m currently trying to build an affordable AR headset while at the same time prototyping the data input and output. The metrics I want to track include soil quality, water use, humidity, light distribution. There are two DIY headsets that are in the works, Project North Star (https://discord.gg/H9tBGGEX6p) and Triton Project. I got my hands on a Triton Project build and it’s coming along.
Concluding this first post of many to come, please feel free to join the links above if you are interested in XR. You can find me here or on my Instagram where I post XR related updates and 3D designs.
