KozyKit

KozyKit: Transforming Spaces, Healing Hearts

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Inspiration

The recent wildfires deeply moved our small team based in Massachusetts and Los Angeles, inspiring us to unite our talents to support this resilient community. We wanted to do more than witness the devastation—we aimed to create something that could provide displaced children with comfort, connection, and hope.

KozyKit was born from this shared commitment to transforming hardship into healing. Guided by the stories and needs of those impacted, we built a platform to help children reimagine their spaces and find solace through creativity and play. It is our privilege to contribute to a community with such extraordinary strength.

User

Our primary user base is elementary school-aged children, but we’ve kept in mind that this app can be shared with their parents/guardians and teachers to understand better how their children create and process their thoughts and emotions.

What it does

  1. Thematic Assets/Personalized Roomscapes: Upload images of cherished possessions and create immersive environments like enchanted forests or undersea adventures.
  2. Therapeutic Journaling: An AI-powered journaling tool helps children process emotions and build resilience.
  3. Collaborative Play: Multiplayer features allow kids to share toys, decorate spaces, and explore their friends' roomscapes together.

How we built it

  1. Built using Bubble.io, a no-code platform for rapid UI/UX prototyping and development. Provided a streamlined platform for building authentication, data/file storage, navigation, styled/themed templates and other features into a unified application. Plugin marketplace enabled rich file upload and 3D model-viewing capabilities in a low-code style integrated workflow environment.
  2. CSM.ai Integration: Used to transform 2D images (uploaded by users) into 3D models. The application waits for 3D models to be processed and then allows users to display them in their environment.
  3. Leveraging the embedded model-viewer control children can place their recreated objects in virtual roomscapes (skyboxes) or view them in their real-world environment through AR-capable devices, allowing users to adjust, move, and resize objects within immersive environments, mimicking a "digital dollhouse."
  4. Integrated a chatbot widget (custom-designed HTML and JavaScript interface) for interactive therapeutic conversations. The bot uses OpenAI's Chat Completions API (GPT-4) to deliver empathetic responses aligned with mental health best practices.
  5. AI-assisted coding and prototyping tools (ChatGPT, Bolt.new, Claude.ai, websim.ai) helped to streamline idea generation and compatibility of web-based AR/XR experiences (e.g. AR.js, A-Frame, 8th Wall, NeedleEngine/Unity, BabylonJS)

Challenges we ran into

  1. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Coordinating across different time zones and working styles presented challenges in maintaining synergy and effective communication within the team.
  2. Time Constraints: Starting the hackathon several hours after other groups amplified the pressure to deliver within an already limited timeline.
  3. Balancing Ideation and Execution: Identifying and prioritizing key features required significant deliberation, as we navigated research needs alongside the constraints of rapid development.
  4. Technical Complexities: Striking a balance between creating immersive design elements and ensuring accessibility for younger users was a recurring challenge.
  5. Empathetic Design: Ensuring all features were thoughtfully crafted to support children coping with trauma demanded continuous sensitivity and attention to detail.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  1. Therapist AI tool: many children placed in temporary housing do not have access to psychologists and are also surrounded by other victims of the wildfires who may struggle to find the right words to comfort the children and give them an encouraging/growth-minded perspective. Our tool serves as a helping hand in children unpacking their experiences
  2. Building Intentionally for LA Community: we had the pleasure of speaking with LA-based teachers, childhood psychologists, and volunteers working closely with people impacted by the wildfires. We were dedicated to capturing their vision and incorporating features with the best substantive impact on children facing displacement, isolation, and confusion.

What we learned

  1. WebXR Limitations on iOS: Gained insight into the platform-specific constraints of WebXR, particularly on iOS devices, and their implications for immersive design.
  2. Designing for Younger Audiences: Developed a deeper understanding of creating intentional, user-friendly experiences for children while considering the involvement of parents and guardians.
  3. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Learned strategies to navigate the complexities of bicoastal teamwork, including managing time zones and differing work styles.
  4. Image-to-3D Conversion: Discovered and explored APIs capable of transforming 2D images into 3D objects, expanding possibilities for personalized content.
  5. Evaluating WebXR Solutions: Analyzed the trade-offs between various WebXR platforms, including 8th Wall, Membit, and Unity, to identify the most effective tools for our goals.

What's next for KozyKit

  1. Interactive check-ins with Kit (fox avatar): Users will be able to ask Kit if their friends are online, or can talk to her directly instead of journaling. Kit will be able to respond verbally and engage users in conversation, improving copresence/UX.
  2. Expanded Themes: Introducing new imaginative worlds for even more creative exploration.
  3. User-generated assets: Users can draw or color in portraits to hang in their rooms from a canvas/coloring pages
  4. Enhanced Connectivity: Building features to foster larger group interactions and community connections, including MR games that friends can play when visiting.
  5. Storytelling Integration: Adding interactive storytelling elements to deepen engagement and play. Accessibility Improvements: Ensuring KozyKit is inclusive and easy to use for all children.

Contributors

Project Manager: Destiny Guzman Creative Technologist: Joy Guey Lead Developer: Leo (Pixel Hustler) UI/UX Designer: Swetha Konduru Developer: Greg DeCarlo

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