IndiaHCI Interactive Demo 2025
Spatial Augmented Reality, Interactive ML experience, User Testing & Research, Edutainment
Role: Lead Designer + Developer in a team of 4 people
Tools: TouchDesigner, Python, MediaPipe, Wekinator (ML model), Kantan Mapper
Duration: Jun 2025 - Aug 2025
WashPlay is an interactive projection mapping installation that transforms the everyday act of hand washing into an immersive visual spectacle. Aimed at children aged 8–13, the installation addresses a key gap in hygiene education: while children are often taught about germs and bacteria, they rarely see the direct impact of healthy habits like proper hand washing.
By combining real-time hand tracking with creative germ-busting animations, WashPlay shows live projections of germs on their hands being washed away as they use soap and water.
Using this tactile approach, children are not just told hygiene is important — they see it, feel it, and remember it.
A custom model was trained using Wekinator, to recognise WHO's 12 essential steps of hand washing, tracking each child's progress when cleaning their hands. The presence of germs corresponded with the level of accuracy in following all steps.
The system uses a camera and projector sending real-time input and output via TouchDesigner.
Test Visuals
Hand washing is one of the easiest and most effective hygiene practices to prevent disease and sickness. Inducing proper hand wash habits from a young age can go a long way, setting up a healthy foundation for life.
Conducting primary user research at a local school (interviews, field observation) revealed the fact that children had a disconnect between the knowledge of proper hand washing and its practical implementation. Our leading insights were:
Cleanliness is often taken for granted; there is a need to emphasise how hygiene practices work to keep us healthy.
A primary deterrent to using washroom facilities is their lack of cleanliness (e.g., wet or smelly toilets).
Children have a preference for mundane tasks to be completed quickly.
The concept of WashPlay came after extensive discussion and ideation.
This interactive projection mapping experience would be implemented within an existing tap system being used in daily life. Unlike AR/VR which can create a gap between the real and virtual worlds, here, projection mapping enhances the existing physical space. This is crucial for an experience grounded in a real-world sensory setting like a washroom, sink in a kitchen, etc.
The installation would not require complex user onboarding to complete the experience. Germ projections simply act as an aide in the general hand washing process, reinforcing hygiene-aware habits every time an interaction happens.
The playful interaction is directly tied to the physical act of washing, preventing the fascination with technology from distracting from the core educational goal.
Qualitative Study Planning
