The Integration of OpenCV and Unity for the Development of Interactive Educational Game

Abstract

In recent years, online and interactive educational games have become increasingly popular as a tool to improve and accelerate the learning experience for students. Computer vision libraries in python such as OpenCV provide a wide range of tools for image processing, object detection, and face recognition that can be used to create interactive and engaging games. This paper explores the use of OpenCV in Unity 3D for the development of interactive online educational games. Specifically, we discuss how OpenCV can be used to create interactive games that respond to user actions in real-time, such as tracking the movement of a user’s hand or face to control in-game actions. It focuses on an unconventional approach to interactive game development using OpenCV combined with a computer network based protocol namely User Datagram Protocol (UDP) as communication channel to transfer real-time data to Unity Game Engine from Python Server. Though being the conventional approach for object and face tracking based games Augmented Reality (AR) requires specialized hardware and high camera quality for accurate tracking of object position and orientation. Given the lack of technical infrastructure and computational resources in majority government schools under the Indian academic education system this approach is not feasible for large scale implementation. This research paper aims to contribute to the development of innovative and effective approaches for interactive and online educational games suitable for large scale implementation in the form of a Vlab (Virtual Lab).