Learning Sustainable Locust Control Methods in Virtual Reality

Hahn, Nathan; Fuchs, Beatrice; Fortna, Max; Cobb, Elijah; Iqbal, Muhammad Zahid

doi:10.36227/techrxiv.19093160.v2

Learning_Sustainable_Locust_Control_Methods_in_Virtual_Reality (4).pdf (6.86 MB)

Learning Sustainable Locust Control Methods in Virtual Reality

preprint

posted on 2022-02-10, 05:00 authored by Nathan Hahn, Beatrice Fuchs, Max Fortna, Elijah Cobb, Muhammad Zahid IqbalMuhammad Zahid Iqbal

Invasion of locust swarms has affected the crops in many countries in Africa and Asia which is a major threat to food security. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), locusts have the ability to fly over 130 km a day and stay in the air for a long time. There are different approaches adopted in the different parts of the world to monitor and control the locust swarms to save the crops. It has been proved in various studies that technology can help in agriculture through drones, real-time data monitoring or teaching the farmers with latest tools.

Following the UN sustainability goals for food security, this research has presented a virtual reality based educational game to teach sustainable locust management strategies. Hand tracking technology in the Oculus Quest enables users to learn the ways that farmers deal with pests without using pesticides. The methods shown are not only profitable for the farmers but also free of any harm for crops in terms of food security. This game can help to motivate the adoption of these sustainable locust control strategies in broader interventions for environmental recovery.