DOME: Where Dreams and Reality Collide
Kevin Bryan
I. The Beginning of Something Novel
My journey at the University of Melbourne began with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. During my first semester in the Master's program, I enrolled in a course called Designing Novel Interaction (DNI). I had a specific idea of what "novel" meant—something great, useful, and perfectly in line with industry best practices. I was confident I was signing up for a standard UI/UX class. Little did I know, I was about to embark on a journey that would redefine my understanding of design, innovation, and myself.
The first major assignment hit me like a ton of bricks: we were tasked with creating a working prototype of something truly novel. In this context, "novel" meant something new, unprecedented, and completely out-of-the-box. As a non-native speaker, the realization of this nuanced definition was a shock. I had just arrived, knew no one, and was still adapting to a new culture and academic environment. Suddenly, I felt lost, overwhelmed, and completely doomed.
II. Finding My Team
As humans do, I sought out familiar faces. I was lucky to connect with Najih Azkalhaq, a fellow Indonesian, and together, we formed a team with Vijit Pugalia and Jing Li. That's when I learned that DNI was so much more than just Figma prototypes or front-end coding. Our project required us to build a hardware prototype, using tools like Arduino and Unity to simulate our concepts.
III. The Birth of DOME
The semester-long project began with a daunting ideation phase. The topic was "sci-fi," and the "fi" for fictional left us terrified. How could we bring something fictional into reality? It seemed absurd. We explored many ideas—a VR AI girlfriend, a talking AI plant—but they lacked the true novelty our assignment demanded. We were stuck, trapped in an ideation abyss.
But from that struggle, a moment of inspiration emerged. I had a eureka moment: what if we could simulate a future where humanity lives inside a dome on Mars? What if this dome could control its own weather and simulate Earth's day-night cycle? I brought the idea to the team, and everyone loved it. This concept, so wild and yet so focused, was the breakthrough we desperately needed. We pitched DOME to our lecturers and tutors, and from there, we were off.
IV. The Technical Challenge
As human environments become increasingly hostile—whether due to climate change on Earth or the harsh conditions of other planets—the need for controlled, life-sustaining habitats has never been greater. The DOME (Digital Operation for Modular Ecosystems) project explores how technology can recreate Earth's familiar rhythms in artificial environments. Inside each DOME, users can adjust time, weather, and seasons, restoring a sense of normalcy and comfort.
Supporting this is an AI-powered assistant—a practical interface that responds to voice commands, manages environmental settings, and helps users navigate their personalized habitat with ease. By combining immersive environmental control with intelligent assistance, DOME raises critical questions: How does living in an artificial Earth-like space affect our connection to nature? Can digital ecosystems, guided by AI, provide emotional comfort, routine, and social continuity when the world outside becomes unfamiliar?
V. The Exhibition and Recognition
After a lot of hard work, we finally showcased our final prototype at the Cybernetics Exhibition as part of Melbourne Design Week. Open to the public, curators, academics, and fellow students, the event was our chance to show the world what we had built. We were thrilled when DOME won the Community Choice award and was recognized as a top nominee in other categories.
Even more exciting, our project was selected by Dr. Richard Gillespie to be showcased at the FEIT (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology) Cultural Showcase. Looking back, the journey has come full circle. From being lost and scared of not being able to create anything, our dedication and countless hours of work took us to a place of success and recognition I never could have imagined.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our lecturers, Mel Huang Buntine and Adelaide Genay, for their invaluable guidance and support throughout this project. We'd also like to extend our thanks to Jian Zhang, Muhammad Bilal, Anthony Chacon, and Jiayi Wu for their fantastic technical assistance, and to all the team and faculty members in the Creator Space at Unimelb for providing us with a place to work and build.