The Periodical

Summary

The Periodical is an interactive virtual experience designed to help users explore various menstrual products. Using the passthrough and hand-tracking features of the Meta Quest 3, participants can engage with a virtual box containing five products: a menstrual cup, disc, pad, liner, and tampon. Pressing the gold button reveals detailed information about each product, including usage instructions, removal techniques, cost, coverage length, and environmental impact.

Purpose

According to a 2014 UNESCO report, 1 in 10 menstruating youth miss school due to a lack of access to menstrual products and education. Menstrual hygiene should be a right, not a privilege, and menstruation should never prevent anyone from participating fully in education, work, sports, or life. The Periodical provides a safe, stigma-free space to learn about menstrual hygiene options. Many people feel shame or discomfort asking questions about menstruation, so The Periodical offers a comprehensive, judgment-free overview of the five most common menstrual products on the market.

Design

I developed The Periodical for the Meta Quest 3 to take advantage of its passthrough and hand-tracking capabilities. I chose an augmented reality experience over a fully virtual one to allow users to explore menstrual products in the context of their own homes and safe spaces. My design was inspired by a personal memory: sitting on the bathroom floor after getting my first period, tampon in hand, asking myself, “What is this thing?”. I wanted The Periodical to recreate that moment—where users can pick up and examine menstrual products while also receiving clear, supportive information.

The information panels go beyond standard menstrual education by addressing key considerations for each product: usage instructions, removal techniques, cost, coverage length, and environmental impact. This comprehensive approach helps users answer personal questions like, “Can I use this product while playing sports?”, “How expensive is this option?”, and “Are there reusable alternatives that produce less waste?”

Process

I modeled all five menstrual products (tampon, menstrual cup, menstrual disc, pad, and liner) in Blender and imported them into Unity. Seeing my handmade models in the headset for the first time was incredibly rewarding! I used the Meta SDKs for XR to implement hand tracking, object interaction, and passthrough features, with Building Blocks simplifying the setup.

I added physics and gravity to the products, allowing realistic interactions. Pressing the gold button reveals the information panels, and a name tag on the desk displays the product the user is holding or last held. To prevent users from losing objects, I implemented a respawn feature that returns a product to the box if it falls off the table.

Next Steps

I'm incredibly proud of The Periodical and would love to share it with a wider audience. It would be exciting to see school nurses and health educators use this experience in classrooms with access to headsets. To further improve the project, I would add a start scene, enhanced UI elements for quitting the app, sound effect controls, and a reset button to return the desk to its original state.