Category Archives: Virtual Reality

Expanded digital twin portfolio accelerates workforce upskilling to improve operator response time while reducing risk

Emerson (NYSE: EMR) today announced Mimic Field 3D, an immersive training experience designed to help new and incoming workers gain a deep understanding of how changes in the field impact industrial plant processes. This virtual reality-based (VR) solution gives personnel simulated hands-on experience to prepare for any plant event, helping them make better decisions regarding operating changes and practice proper procedures before entering potentially hazardous plant areas.

In the coming decade, experts estimate there will be more than 2.5 million skilled jobs that go unfilled in the United States. Theres a clear need for organizations to seek innovative technology solutions to address this talent shortage quickly through innovative augmented reality and VR solutions like Mimic Field 3D. In fact, a recent survey found that 66% of companies plan to adopt these technologies by 2022.

Field operators typically train on physical equipment, which adds risks and costs, particularly during some of the plants most critical phasesstartups, shutdowns, turnarounds and outages. Many organizations are seeking technology solutions to rapidly upskill new workers for high performance in the shortest amount of time.

"Emersons digital twin portfolio is changing how we prepare the future workforce. Our industry will become increasingly reliant on VR tools like these to address the growing skills gap and improve training effectiveness," said Jim Nyquist, group president of systems and solutions at Emerson. "This advanced technology enhances training by offering a hands-on experience, which ultimately improves the safety of workers."

This effort supports Emersons larger digital transformation initiative that provides software, data analytics, automation technologies, smart sensor and consulting services to help customers achieve Top Quartile performancemeeting performance metrics within the top 25 percent of peer companies. As part of Emersons Plantweb digital ecosystem, Mimic Field 3D empowers new workers to acquire knowledge and experience at a faster pace as they learn from each immersive experience, enhancing safety and overall operational performance.

For more information on Mimic Field 3D, please visit emerson.com/MimicField3D.

About Emerson

Emerson (NYSE: EMR), headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global technology and engineering company providing innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial and residential markets. Our Automation Solutions business helps process, hybrid and discrete manufacturers maximize production, protect personnel and the environment while optimizing their energy and operating costs. Our Commercial & Residential Solutions business helps ensure human comfort and health, protect food quality and safety, advance energy efficiency and create sustainable infrastructure. For more information visit Emerson.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200206005042/en/

Contacts

Denise Clarke512-587-5879denise.clarke@fleishman.com

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Emersons New Virtual Reality Simulation Improves Workforce Safety and Speeds Training - Yahoo Finance

A car wreck in 1983 paralyzed Navy veteran Mike Erbe from the waist down, but he fought to stay positive, stay active. He finished his engineering degree. He got his pilots license.

Its getting harder though as he gets older, especially while staring at four hospital walls. A urinary tract infection that became life-threatening landed Erbe, 72, of Alton, in the St. Louis VA Medical Center last fall, where he has since been trying to recover.

But lately, hes been fly fishing, downhill skiing and floating around in a spacecraft, which is helping a lot.

During Erbes recent visit to what patients call the vet cave at the Jefferson Barracks facility a hangout with adaptive games and exercise equipment recreational therapist Matt Luitjohan straps large goggles over his eyes.

Are you going to fly with the Blue Angels today? asks Luitjohan, who specifically works with spinal cord injury patients.

Yeah, lets do that, Erbe answered eagerly.

Last summer, the St. Louis VA began integrating virtual reality into therapy for patients with paralysis. Much more than a cool diversion or entertainment, its a useful tool in helping patients cope and encouraging them to lead active lives.

When wearing the goggles, users see a simulated, three-dimensional world. The latest technology includes wireless hand-held joysticks that allow users to manipulate and explore their virtual surroundings. They can move through a small space with perceived barriers such as a wall or edge.

You can look down and see your feet. Its like you are standing on a pier fishing. Everything looks right. When you move, it feels like you are walking down the pier, Erbe said. You really feel like, oh my god, Im going too fast or Im going too far.

Patients can box, learn tai chi, shoot a bow and arrow, and even feel like they are reeling in a big fish.

We can have a veteran in a funk, where their life has drastically changed, and show them that just because things are different, doesnt mean you cant do this or do that. Its still possible, Luitjohan said. It just takes adaptations.

New therapeutic programs designed for virtual reality not only can help with pain management and behavioral therapy, but also have the capability of measuring things such as reaction time, range of motion and cognitive function to determine whether patients are progressing.

One maker of the applications, XRHealth, was founded about four years ago in Israel. The St. Louis VA is one of 50 hospitals in the two countries and the only veterans hospital using the companys technology to improve health in a variety of ways, says CEO Eran Orr.

At the end of day, we believe this technology can help patients improve their well-being and improve health outcomes, Orr said. We believe we should treat this technology as a medical device, not just another gaming or patient-experience tool.

LIFE WASNT OVER

Ohhh, dude. Hes about 20-feet off the runway, burning down the runway. Oh no. Hard turn, Erbe said as he virtually flies in with the U.S. Navys aerobatic demonstration squadron, feeling the gravitational G-force. They must be taking about 7 or 8 Gs. Ohhh, man.

Next to Erbe, Dale Setzer, 70, is going skydiving. Luitjohan has an iPad that allows him to see what they both are seeing. There goes your plane, he told Setzer, hope your chute works.

Setzer retired in August. A month later, he crashed his motorcycle during a road trip through the Appalachian Mountains. He was paralyzed from the chest down.

Using virtual reality has played a role in his recovery, said Setzer, a Kansas City-area resident who served in the Army as a combat engineer and jungle warfare instructor from 1969 to 1972. They convinced me life wasnt over, and I have a lot of things I can do, I just had to work on it and take it one day at a time.

Luitjohan and fellow recreational therapist Charley Wright have been interested in incorporating virtual reality into their therapy for the past few years. It became feasible when the equipment became wireless and more affordable (the headsets range from $300 to $500) and the video quality and selection grew.

The St. Louis VA has six virtual reality headsets and space measured on the floor of the vet cave for their motorized wheelchairs to move.

With improvements in 360-degree cameras and a free online collection of virtual videos on YouTube, patients can experience almost anything ziplining, kayaking, driving a race car, touring a museum or meditating on a beach.

Some veterans can be in the hospital recovering from issues such as major pressure sores for as long as a year, the therapists said.

It can be boring lying there in bed with only a TV and laptop or people coming to visit to play board games or cards, Luitjohan said. Thirty minutes to go somewhere completely different, away from there, is a big change for them.

LIKE A TOOL BOX

Luitjohan and Wright have taken use of the technology further by strapping their own 360-degree cameras to paralyzed athletes participating in adaptive sports like surfing and rock wall climbing, and creating their own virtual videos.

Each year, the therapists take patients to participate in adaptive activities at the Veteran Winter Sports Clinic in Aspen, Colorado. They also take a trip to the Georgia Aquarium to scuba dive with whale sharks and beluga whales. Some, Wright said, are scared to go.

My hope is that when we show them the videos, theyll actually want to sign up and go do it, he said. That is the full circle of rehab.

Since many VA patients come from long distances, Luitjohan said, plans are in the works to use the technology to create a virtual replica of patients homes before they leave the hospital so they can practice navigating the space to see if adjustments are needed.

The therapists also see benefits in socialization applications, where users can interact with each others avatars from a hospital room or home. They share a bond from being in the military, Luitjohan said. Having a social piece where they are able to join and gather with other vets is helpful.

The use of virtual reality in health care is rapidly evolving and growing, especially as it becomes more affordable.

Some companies have created programs that help caregivers see what its like to live with sight or hearing disorders, or even Alzheimers by making surroundings confusing. Its being used to manage pain during physical therapy, teach medical students, test for concussions, teach social skills to people with autism and practice surgeries.

Studies have found positive outcomes in using virtual reality in conditions such as addictions, anxiety disorders, phobias, stroke rehabilitation and pain management. Larger, more rigorous studies are needed, however, to standardize its use in medicine.

Virtual reality is like a tool box, Orr said, and its up for the clinician to decide what tool to use form that tool box.

WALKING IN IRELAND

Aimee Jamison, 50, of Bronston, Kentucky, was in the St. Louis VA from July to December last year after falling from a ladder and shattering her vertebrae. Jamison was paralyzed from the waist down, except for some strength that remained in the front of her legs.

Jamison used virtual reality during her physical therapy.

Using a harness, she is able to move her legs on a treadmill. After having tried virtual reality in recreational therapy, she asked her physical therapists, Can you set me up so I can feel what its like walking in Ireland? Ive always wanted to go and never been.

Before her accident, Jamison was a runner, a swimmer and had just opened a quilt-making business. My world was turned upside down, said the former counter-intelligence special agent. She feared no longer being active.

The technology helps her feel like shes driven a boat through obstacle courses, sunk a basketball and touched the ocean from a surf board.

It makes you want to be able to do that, Jamison said. It creates a mental environment that makes you feel like you can do it.

Shes now learning to scuba dive. On a recent trip back to the St. Louis VA to test robotic legs, she took 373 steps.

Im no longer Wonder Woman, Jamison said. Im the Bionic Woman.

Wright said he hopes the therapy encourages more of the vets he cares for to live fully.

Whatever this opens up for them, helps, Wright said. It might open up doors to things they never even thought they would do even when they were able-bodied.

Erbe said hes guilty, just like a lot of people, of getting into a rut and living lifes daily routine as if theres no other option. The virtual reality makes him see whats possible.

It makes me think when I get out of here, I will do those things, Erbe said. Its very good for your morale, your well-being. This is building a fire, for sure, like stoking the coals.

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Virtual reality therapy is taking paralyzed veterans to new places - yoursun.com

GREAT FALLS - Honor student, athlete and business owner you might think we are describing one person but all of these describe 14-year-old Chase Morgan.

Chaseofficially opened the doors to his new business Chase Your Dreams VR.

The idea of opening up and running a business at any age is intimidating but that didnt stop Chase from wanting to realize his dream, saying the biggest reason this dream became reality was the support from his parents.

Theyve always believed in me in anything I did even before the business idea was even stated I mean theyve believed in me withTaekwondo, sports, academics anything in that general idea of being involved and always believing in me a lot of encouragement and dedication and perseverance and thats what brought it all together, said Chase Morgan, Owner Operator, Chase Your Dreams VR

This business is the first of its kind in Great Falls and in a way is helping put Great Falls on the map for virtual reality experiences since the only other options in Montana are in Bozeman and Billings.

Some popular VR options available are a zombie shooting game and even Beat Saber.

A link to Chase Your Dreams Vr can be found here.

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A new business has opened up in town turning dreams into virtual reality - KHQ Right Now

Created by Warsaw-based Jakub Kreft, Unicorn VR utilizes virtual reality technology to create a safe space for the user which allows them to hone their social skills. Kalbar/TFN

An innovative start-up has scooped top prize at the Polish Development Funds School of Pioneers awards after debuting a line of virtual reality headsets designed to help children with autism.

Created by Warsaw-based, 25-year-old Jakub Kreft, Unicorn VR utilizes virtual reality technology to create a safe space for the user which allows them to develop their social and personal skills.

The idea behind the company was first formed during a dinner chat with his parents, both of whom are involved with a school for autistic children.Kalbar/TFN

The idea behind the company was first born during a casual family dinner conversation; with his mother serving as head teacher at a school for autistic children, and his father employed at the same school as a therapist, the family found themselves pondering ideas that could harness Jakubs VR expertise.

What came next was Unicorn VR, a program specifically designed to help children cope with the sensory overload problems that afflict those suffering from autism.

Guided by a virtual friend, a unicorn named Niki, the program helps focus children on tasks using head movements.Kalbar/TFN

Guided by a virtual friend, a unicorn named Niki, the program helps focus children on tasks using head movements; inside this virtual safe space, children are able to develop their social and communication skills as well as their coping mechanisms in a manner that compliments their traditional therapy. Through this, children are empowered and encouraged to develop at their own pace.

Having previously worked designing VR tours for construction firms, Krefts latest project has provided much cause for excitement.

Although only currently available on the Polish market, Kreft is already cautiously eyeing foreign opportunities.Kalbar/TFN

Initially well start with schools that receive funding for therapy technologies such as this, as well as private practises that help children on the autistic spectrum, says Kreft. The flexibility of this technology also means that it can be used at home, thereby allowing parents to easily monitor their childs progress.

This, though, promises to just be the beginning with Kreft already cautiously eyeing foreign markets.

Although were starting with Poland, he says, we dont just want to stick to one place. The program can be translated into different languages and tailored to specific countries or cultures and, in future, wed also like to develop the program further so it can aid in diagnosis. Were also hoping to undergo clinical trials so as to become accepted by national health services.

The program can be translated into different languages and tailored to specific countries or cultures, says Kreft, and, in future, wed also like to develop the program further so it can aid in diagnosis.Kalbar/TFN

However, Unicorn VR are not the only Polish firm that is pioneering new technologies in relation to those effected by autism. Another company, Dr. Omnibus, have also found success creating computer games for autistic children.

They are great, says Kreft, and I hope that we can follow in their path to success. But theres also other firms in Poland as well, for instance RemmedVR and VR Tier One, and both provide something of a blueprint when it comes to using VR for therapeutic purposes.

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Award-winning start-up harnesses Virtual Reality technology to help kids overcome autism - The First News

The U.S. Army is responsible to provide routine and realistic training for Soldiers while mitigating risk. With emerging technology of the virtual world, this is becoming a reality.

Currently, VR is used by the military in all three major fields ground, air and navy forces for flight and battlefield simulations, medical training, vehicle simulation, and virtual boot camps.

The New Jersey National Guard has released some photos that show how Soldiers 1-114th Infantry Regiment (Air Assault) train with a heavy weapons simulator at the Observer Coach/Trainer Operations Group Regional Battle Simulation Training Center on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J..

This virtual system is a computer training console with a simulated machine gun mounted on a stand. The gunner has to use a complex, but efficient system of switches and controls to maneuver the weapon, sight in using the head mounted display, and send massive amounts of cyber-rounds down range with precision.

Through a head mounted display and microphone, the soldier can see 360 degrees of the battlefield and speak commands.

The computer recognizes key words and acts accordingly; bringing up visual displays, changing to night vision or thermal sight or even stopping the vehicle, to name a few. The computer also takes into consideration the possibility of multiple enemy targets from the side and rear of the vehicle.

Also, the computer remembers where the soldier left off and will adjust the tutorials based on the amount of time since the last class in order to keep the soldier up to date and efficient. Targets moving across the screen can be anything from enemy troops, trucks and armored vehicles to helicopters.

Civilians are also brought into the scenario to help soldiers distinguish between enemy targets and civilians in order to make the right decisions while firing.

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Virtual Reality goes to work, helping train U.S. Army Soldiers - defence-blog.com

While the realm of virtual reality certainly holds many amazing promises, the ability to reconnect with loved ones that have unfortunately left us too early is one such feature that sounds like a positive, but is it really?

Its an incredibly daunting thing, virtual reality. The digital trickery pulled on the human brain can often lead to some really uncomfortable and disturbing places, and Im not talking about motion sickness. The Uncanny Valley that separates reality from fiction is a space few people have played around in, largely because it makes most of us feel so uncomfortable, but that hasnt stopped some people from taking virtual reality a little too far.

Im talking about a Korean TV special, entitled Meeting You, in which a mother was reunited with her deceased daughter. The documentary, which focused on a family dealing with the sudden loss of their seven-year-old daughter, went to a strange place when it ended with a prolonged sequence which saw the childs mother interacting with her daughter as a VR simulation.

The simulation was a brief few minutes but featured a recreation of the girl with motion capture and audio samples to boot. The mother was even given touch-sensitive gloves and a full on greenscreen set to move around in.

I cant exactly say how the experience went for the people involved but I have to wonder if the whole thing was entirely positive. What makes it more dubious is the fact that what could have been a very intimate moment and what was definitely a very painful moment was broadcast for public consumption.

Whatever the case may be, seeing a deceased loved one and interacting with them through virtual reality sounds like some strange dystopian invention youd read about in a Phillip K. Dick novel. I suppose it was inevitable that VR would take us to dark places such as this, its just bizarre that it happened so soon.

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Mother reunited with her deceased daughter through virtual reality - Stuff Magazines

[Editors note: 9 Augmented Reality Stocks to Buy was previously published in November 2019. It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.]

Augmented reality is quietly growing quickly. According to a report released last year, AR was worth $350 million in 2018, and its value is expected to surge at a compound annual growth rate of around 150% from 2019-2024.

Among the areas in which AR is expected to be used in the near-future are social media, mobile devices, virtual conference calls, and automotive devices.

Heres a run-down of nine names investors will want to keep an eye on as the harbingers of the (fruitful and rapidly approaching) AR era.

Source: zixia / Shutterstock.com

Although the project was actively pursued byAlphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) afterward, the first go-around for Google Glass was pretty much a flop.

The idea of projecting information onto glassed a user/wearer is looking through, however, never really went away. It just has far more applications as an industrial or commercial tool than it does for a consumer.

Enter Vuzix (NASDAQ:VUZI). You may know it as the company that developed an apparatus that helps blind people get around better. But products like its M300 and Blade smart glasses were built for enterprise.

The company has quietly made a compelling case for using them as a means of getting more done in the workplace at a reasonable price for a corporation.

Source: Michael Vi / Shutterstock.com

Yes, its best known as a telecom and semiconductor play and not often lumped in with a list of AR stocks. But, Qualcomm(NASDAQ:QCOM) is very well-positioned to capitalize on the mainstreaming of augmented reality.

Its gone relatively unrealized (or at least unappreciated), but AR requires the delivery of massive amounts of data, and it requires plenty of computing power to deliver that information in real-time.

AR glasses and goggles also burn through batteries relatively quickly.

Qualcomm as addressing all three needs, announcing in 2018 that it would be developing a chipset specifically for AR and VR applications. This turn-key solution will make it easier for other developers to bring new glasses to the marketplace.

Source: Peshkova / Shutterstock.com

If the name Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) rings a bell, theres a reason. Its a stock that was thrust into the spotlight in the latter part of 2017 when Apple CEO Tim Cook began talking up augmented realitys prospects.

Though he didnt explicitly say at the time how (or even if) Apple would aim at the AR market, nor did he mention Lumentum by name, the potentially-bullish connection makes a lot of sense.

Lumentum makes the kind of 3D sensor lasers that can turn a smartphone into something of a radar an important piece of the augmented reality movement.

Source: View Apart / Shutterstock.com

Speaking of Apple(NASDAQ:AAPL), it, too, is a name to keep in mind if you believe augmented reality is a serious opportunity.

Yes, its smartphones are powerful computers that seem to become more powerful with each iteration. Thats not why the company is such an interesting AR prospect though. Rather, Apple is reportedly developing its own augmented reality headset, a la Google Glass.

The device likely wouldnt launch until 2023, according to Jesus Dias of Toms Guide. But the market rewards potential about as much as it does real results, so its something that could begin to positively impact the stocks soon and continue as the presumed launch date nears.

Source: Shutterstock

Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ:IMMR) has earned a spot on a list of noteworthy AR stocks to watch with its TouchSense(r) Force technology that makes displays screens a tactile, haptic experience.

Its been particularly impressive in the VR gaming world, but the possibilities are just now starting to be realized in full.

Source: Shutterstock

Axon Enterprise Inc (NASDAQ:AAXN) isnt an augmented reality play yet. But, it appears it soon will be. In 2018, the maker of TASERs and body-worn cameras suggested AR and VR would be its next frontier.

Its not entirely clear what this might mean.

But, given the nature of its target markets law enforcement and military personnel its reasonably safe to assume the company is mulling ways to better protect and equip people that wear a uniform and a gun to work.

A marketable product is still years away, but like any other company, the market is likely to reward progress en route to results.

Source: gguy / Shutterstock.com

Dont get the wrong idea. Productivity software, the cloud and operating systems are still the companys break and butter, and will be for a long, long time.

Microsoft(NASDAQ:MSFT) is wading into augmented reality waters, though, quickly enough that it just might make a modest impact on the stocks value.

How so? The HoloLens. Its arguably the most market-ready, and marketable, AR/VR headset available today, even if interest has been tepid thus far.

In May 2018, the software giant demonstrated two practical apps that make good use of the hardware: Layou, and Remote Assist. Layout allows for structural designing beyond mere blueprints, while Remote Assist shares what you see with people who arent on-site.

It may be just the aha app that convinces companies they cant live without the HoloLens.

Source: Shutterstock

For the record, MicroVision (NASDAQ:MVIS) and Microsoft are two different companies. The aforementioned Microsoft is the maker of the HoloLens, which may be on the verge of becoming a must-have.

MicroVisions role in the augmented reality movement, however, it a little bit different. Its the maker of laser (and the supporting technologies) that can project images and data into glass.

The most practical and tangible use of its PicoP(r) technology is the projection of the information normally found on a cars dashboard up to the windshield, allowing a driver to keep his or her eyes on the road.

Its the same basic concept being used by Google Glass, Microsofts HoloLens and the like melding the benefits of a transparent material with valuable information overlaid.

Source: Hairem / Shutterstock.com

Last but not least, it may be a tad obvious, but add Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) to your list of AR stocks to keep tabs on.

Nvidia has already proven itself capable of handling the big visual data loads associated with virtual reality; making augmented reality even better is proving relatively easy by comparison.

One area its making that happen is on the automotive front. Like MicroVision, Nvidia is working on improving the driving experience by melding AR with artificial intelligence.

Thats only a taste of whats to come, though. While other companies are still perfecting their first-generation augmented reality hardware, Nvidia is already thinking about the next generation of AR technologies.

Two improvements on Nvidias radar are varifocal displays, which improve the clarity of an object for a user, and the integration of tactile/haptic information with visually-augmented reality.

As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can follow him on Twitter, at @jbrumley.

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9 Augmented Reality Stocks to Buy - Investorplace.com

In an assignment for his electrical technology lab at Ontarios Mohawk College, second-year diploma student Mohamed Awaiskhan Pathan made a big mistake. While working on the instrumentation and controls of a complicated water pressure systemthe kind used in oil reneries and water treatment plantshe turned the wrong valve.

Water flooded onto the floor, causing what would have been a costly mess. No clean-up was required, however, because Pathans experience was simulated. He was wearing an augmented reality headset that digitally conveyed the sights, sounds and dangers of a seemingly real-life situation.

I was shocked that the water came out, says Pathan, who graduates this fall. It feels like it is happening in front of your eyes.

Mohawk is among several colleges experimenting with augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and adaptive learning technology to enrich the teaching and learning experience, deliver programs at a distance from the classroom or cater to individual student needs.

READ:The Auntie who helps Indigenous students adjust to college life

The effort, potentially groundbreaking, is still in its infancy.

We are at the experimental and pilot stage, says David Porter, chief executive ofcer of eCampusOntario, a provincially funded, not-for-prot centre that works with post-secondary institutions to explore technology-enabled education. People are trying to understand the best applications of technology that benet students, the curriculum and the faculty.

Among those in the forefront is Mohawk, where skilled-trade instructors have tested Microsofts HoloLens as an assistive device for in-classroom and online learning. Wearing a headset, students enter a virtual, three-dimensional environment lled with rich digital content (like the simulated water pressure system) without losing contact with their surroundings. This is augmented reality, similar to the wildly popular game of a few years ago, Pokemon Go.

By contrast, virtual reality fully engrosses students in an activity that shuts the world out. Instead of there being a very real piece of equipment in front of you, with imaginary equipment or results springing up through your glasses or headset, everything the student sees is a simulationkind of like a movie.

As Toronto game developer Alex Bethke puts it: VR is about putting you into the computers world, whereas AR is about putting the computer into our world.

In a Mohawk classroom, welding instructor Claudio Mastroianni looks on as pipetter apprentice Spencer Ritchie dons a portable headset and wields a slim digital wand to weld two pieces of metal in virtual reality. Every aspect of his performance is recorded on a nearby computer screen. Mastroianni stands a few steps away to listen for the virtual sparks that, as in a real, well-performed welding task, sound like sizzling bacon.

I can watch and listen to the [virtual welding] arc, he says. I can see his [Ritchies] travel speed, work angle and weld angle are good.

For Ritchie, the virtual welding experience builds his condence. He likens his simulated assignment to a video game. Thats why I nd it so fun, to be honest, he says. I can do it anywhere there is an outlet plug and I can get instant feedback [from the computer read-out].

Mohawks VR welding tool has been in use for several years, but the college only tested AR in the classroom last fall. Instructors conducted a two-week pilot of the HoloLens in the instrumentation and controls course, to the delight of Pathan and other students.

This was the best experience because I got to know about the machines rst [in a virtual format], he says. I could see all the big machinery in front of my eyes and that gave me a lot of knowledge.

The college now expects to roll out HoloLens devices in various skilled-trade courses starting in September 2019.

Angelo Cosco, an associate dean at Mohawks Marshall School of Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship, is enthusiastic about ARs potential. This is a major disruption to the way technology [education] is going to be taught from now to the future.

One benet, he says, is that students can practise real-world skills in a simulated environment without injuring themselves. It is so real and lifelike, with faults built into the system, that if students were to improperly follow the sequence, they would see the consequences, he says. As Pathan learned the hard way, says Cosco, students get an understanding of what happens when you arent following proper procedure.

He sees the new devices as game changers in the delivery of apprenticeship training, currently under review in Ontario.

In 2010 (the latest available data), just under half of newly registered apprentices in Canada (rates vary by occupation) completed their Red Seal certication in six years, slower than the expected four-year timetable, according to Statistics Canada. One-third of would-be apprentices dropped out within six years of starting their education, which combines in-class instruction and on-the-job training. Moreover, between 2013 and 2017, StatsCan reported the number of Red Seal recipients nationally dropped 20.6 per cent, to 36,960 qualied apprentices.

READ:Raising a pint to history

At Mohawk, a major provider of in-school apprenticeship training, some specialty programs like instrumentation and controls technician suffer from low enrolment. For nancial or family reasons, interested students living far from Mohawks campus in Stoney Creek, Ont., may not want to relocate for eight weeks to complete one phase of in-class studies for Red Seal certication.

However, with learning modules delivered through AR, Cosco says students could complete their lab sessionswith online access to the course instructorwithout leaving home. He also says the devices could deliver content to students during the on-the-job phase of their apprenticeship if essential material for their training was not provided by the employer.

Increased delivery flexibility, says Cosco, could expand the overall pool of qualied apprentices.

Our dream is to have these [new technologies] available across the province at ministry ofces, where students would be able to go and sign out this equipment, he says, enabling students to complete the work portion of their apprenticeship without disruption. For us to be able to send that brick and mortar lab facility via virtual reality or augmented reality to where students are now overcomes a barrier [to apprenticeship completion], he says.

For some employers, the technology-rich experiences for students add to their employability as graduates. The benets to us are in terms of a candidate coming to us more experienced and more condent...and only increases their speed to competence for us, says Monique Biancucci, vice-president of people and culture at steel giant ArcelorMittal Dofasco. Through their immersive learning opportunities, she says, students come to us even more prepared and enabled to hit the ground running.

Meanwhile, in northern British Columbia, VR devices this year broke down barriers for Indigenous youth interested in working for railway and transportation companies in or near their home communities.

In January 2019, instructors at the British Columbia Institute of Technology delivered an introductory course in railway skills to small cohorts of Indigenous students living near Prince George. In the past, students would have had to enrol at one of the polytechnics southern campuses or, with no railway trades credentials, apply directly to an employer.

We can bring the railway world to them in virtual reality, says Vince Jones, a 40-year veteran of the rail industry who now teaches at BCITs Annacis Island campus, which delivers transportation programs. We can bring rail cars and entire trains into the virtual reality world for students to interact with.

READ:Falconry, glass-blowing, and other unusual trades

In one course segment, students wear VR headsets to simulate a major crisis: a train derailment with cars leaking poisonous chlorine gas. They can walk into this situation, assess in virtual reality and decide how to act, says Jones. If they make a mistake, dying in virtual reality is only temporary. They can reload the simulation and go back and try a different angle without hurting themselves.

Jones travelled to Prince George to deliver the course to on-reserve students who now only have to spend two weeks at Annacis Island to complete the credential. So far, almost all of the Indigenous graduates of the program have been hired by rail industry employers, says Jones, at starting salaries of $50,000 and up. We provide you with the training, you gain the credentials, and when you show up for an interview with the railway employer, you already have your certication, says Jones. Employers, he adds, are very interested, because it is very difcult to nd anybody with any railway knowledge at all.

He says the new devices, less clunky and more portable than previous versions, are the real game changers for teaching and learning. Students, he says, like the game-like quality of devices that allow that sense of fun interaction instead of a boring lecture, sparking their motivation to learn. The software, with sound features and three-dimensional models, makes possible what cant be done in real life, says Jones. Students can [virtually] shrink themselves to the size of an ant and crawl inside a machine.

Advocates say the new technology needs to be judged on its contribution to teaching and learning.

We always have to be careful as educators that we dont jump on the new shiny thing, says BCITs James Rout, associate vice-president of education support and innovation. It has to be pedagogy driving our choices about technology.

For his doctoral research, Rout is investigating the impact of Holocopter, a software application developed by BCIT and other post-secondary institutions that uses AR to enhance a students conceptual understanding of flight dynamicsone topic in the colleges aerospace maintenance engineer program.

Rout investigated the learning experience for students who had access to a physical helicopter rotor in a hangar on campus compared to those who studied the rotor in an AR environment.

He found no major academic differences between the two groups, though students valued their exposure to the virtual rotor. It allowed them to see the air flow of the rotor; it allowed them to see the rotor spinning and see the direction of the aircraft as they changed the cyclical and collective controls. Those are things that are not possible with the physical rotor.

As hardware costs decline, Rout urges post-secondary institutions to invest in training for classroom instructors, curriculum designers and technology specialists to collaborate on developing course material with augmented, virtual and mixed-reality features. These are things that often are an afterthought and need to be a rst thought, he says. The idea is that we support the instructor beyond just building the tools.

BCITs Polytechnic Research Institution for Simulation and Multimedia, for example, brought together classroom teachers, instructional designers and others to develop the railway skills course in VR. For health care students, the centre developed an AR module using a 3-D version of a patient.

READ:College of New Caledonia features 12,500-hectare research forest

Around Canada, college ofcials are assessing other emerging technologies, such as adaptive learning, which relies on articial intelligence. Adaptive learning bucks the notion that everyone learns the same content and achieves the desired learning outcomes in the same xed period of time. Instead, adaptive learning uses e-learning modules, based on tracking data and algorithms designed for each individual student, to help students review material when they miss a class or to test their competency in a particular skill.

I dont believe that learning pace is a particularly good indicator for cognitive intelligence or aptitude, says Ulrich Christensen, a pioneer in developing adaptive learning platforms and data-driven content, and chief executive of Denmark-based Area9 Lyceum. But that is how our entire [education] system is based todayon standard blocks of time, or you have to get through a standardized test in a certain amount of time to show us how smart you are.

His company sells adaptive learning technology platforms to colleges and other post-secondary institutions looking to develop content for individual learners. To build the education system of 2030 we need breakthroughs like this so we can get enough teacher time to do the things that will prepare us for beating the robots, he says.

Among those intrigued by the potential of adaptive learning is David Francis, dean of trades and technology at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ont., where he expects to run pilot projects with professors and instructional designers in the coming academic year. The goal, he says, is to tailor learning supports to individual students.

There is an opportunity to help those students who otherwise might not be successful to gain a toehold on success, he says.

The other opportunity is for people to come out with the very top level of skills they could possibly have if we are efcient in our learning methodologies. Either way, he says, the goal is to help our students learn more quickly.

Back at Mohawk, Cosco and his college ofcials are poised to embed AR and other devices in a variety of trades programs, starting this fall. But he knows that plenty of workand analysislies ahead. Everyone is new at this game.

This article appears in print in the Macleans 2020 Canadian Colleges Guidebookwith the headline, Reality check: Colleges up their tech game. Subscribe to the monthly print magazinehere.

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Augmented and virtual reality are helping colleges up their tech game - Maclean's

As these disasters become more frequent, firefighters are turning to new technology to help tackle them. Some fire departments in Australia and the United States have started using virtual reality (VR) to train firefighters.Australia-based FLAIM Systems has built a VR training simulator for firefighters. Wearing a headset, trainees are immersed in real-life scenarios that can be too dangerous to reproduce in the real world.

"The whole point of VR is that we can put people in a traditionally dangerous situation, let people make decisions, and let people make mistakes," James Mullins, founder and CEO of FLAIM Systems, told CNN Business.

The VR technology produces realistic renders of smoke, fire, water and fire-extinguishing foam in several different scenarios, such as a house fire, an aircraft fire or wildfire.

Trainees wear a heat suit that replicates the likely temperature in each scenario, controlled by software that determines the proximity and orientation to the fire and how that would affect the individual.

"We can heat a firefighter up to 100 degrees Celsius or so, roughly," says Mullin, but only for short timeframes. He adds that they can also replicate the force felt from the hose, and simultaneously measure the heart and respiration rate of the trainee.

The company was launched in 2017 by Deakin University in Victoria, Australia, where Mullins is an associate professor. In the two years since then, it has grown from a two-man team to 18 people and now distributes to firefighting training providers in 16 countries worldwide including Australia, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium and the United States.

Last year, Australia's Country Fire Authority (CFA) piloted the training system, and though it has yet to be approved for wider use, Greg Paterson, CFA's deputy chief officer, told CNN Business that it could be valuable in remote areas of the country.

It could be particularly useful in a bushfire context, he adds. "The ability to provide exposure to dangerous bushfire conditions allows volunteers to immerse themselves in realistic scenarios they would not normally be exposed to during training," says Paterson.

California trials

In October 2019, the Cosumnes Fire Department in California, teamed up with VR developers RiVR and Pico Interactive, to create its own training system for 20 new recruits. The trial was successful, and the department will continue to use VR in its training program.

"It allows them to experience first hand the unique challenges with communication, limited visibility and come face to face with the flames in fire situations that they most certainly will encounter during their firefighting career," said fire department captain Julie Rider.

An experienced firefighter herself, Rider said that she was impressed by how lifelike the VR scenario was.

"I could feel my heart rate climb as I looked around the room, seeing where the fire started, watching the rapid rate of fire spread," she said. "It was amazing to experience the inherent risk, extreme danger and fire intensity without feeling any of the dangerous effects from the fire."

Environmental impact

Using VR technology also reduces the environmental impact of firefighter training. Traditional training releases smoke and pollutants into the atmosphere from burning substances, affecting the surrounding air quality.

"Our technology enables people to train without discharging foam into the environment, without creating smoke, or using water," said Mullins.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the temperature that FLAIM's firefighting suits can be heated to.

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No smoke, no water, no waste. VR could train the next generation of firefighters - CNN

SAN JOSE, CA - JANUARY 19: Fans experience the Clear the Ice Zamboni VR experience at the NHL ... [+] Centennial Truck Tour at SAP Center at San Jose on January 19, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Don Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

The trucking industry in the United States has been in arecession since 2019. Despite the fact that companies like Amazon and e-commerce companies are stressing an already weakened trucking industry, the industry needs to replace close to 90,000 drivers in this decade to keep up with demand.

A2019 studyfrom Brandon Hall Group showed theres an increase in using VR as a training tool in high-consequence industries where operator or driver mistakes can cause significant property damage and fatalities.

Companies in the survey said VR tools were a top learning priority for the next 24 months.

UPS started putting drivers in virtual reality (VR) simulators in 2017 as part of basic safety training. Other trucking companies are turning to VR simulation companies to create immersive learning opportunities for drivers.

We see that in the motor freight industry, saidJohn Kearney, CEO, Advanced Training Systems LLC. Kearney. Trucking companies, driving schools, and the general public are increasingly aware that simulation trainingthat is to say, virtual realityhelps produce drivers who are better prepared to deal with any situation they might encounter.

Historically, we used to have books and video. Now we have VR where we can physically operate equipment and gain the additional insight needed for comprehensive learning, added Kearney. VR solves a classic training dilemma: how do you safely prepare trainees to deal with dangerous or extraordinary situations?

Kearney says that if a truck driver had traditional training in a classroom with a book and ride-along methodology and then experiences an accident, theres no proof he or she was trained in a particular skill and road hazard.

With digital simulation, there is a record of the training and a record of the responses the simulation, said Kearney. For example, we cant have someone run out in front of a real truck, but can in VR; we cant experience ice and skidding in actual truck but can in VR so for trucking companies and driving schools thats a plus for documentation and chain of custody training and could even have an impact on liability.

Kearney says he hopes that VR training will help bring new candidates to the trucking profession and create better prepared, safer drivers.

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Training A New Generation Of Truck Drivers With Virtual Reality - Forbes