Your business or school can speed up the XR revolution
I spend the majority of my professional life bringing XR experiences to life alongside incredible business leaders.
Naturally, I’m always looking forward to what’s on the horizon: this tech is changing rapidly, bringing more possibilities into focus all the time.
But sometimes I like looking backward, too. Lately I’ve been considering what would have been different about my educational journey if XR tech was a part of it.
I received bachelors and masters degrees in electrical engineering, and also became a volunteer first responder as both EMT and firefighter while in college.
I enjoyed my engineering courses, but I’ll be honest: understanding the physics and electromagnetic equations felt nearly impossible at times. Equations about invisible things at the atomic level is no simple task.
There were two ways for me to experiment with and try to learn these equations. First, there were 2D online cartoons of electrons that I could move around an image of a transformer and read the Voltage output. It was as boring as it sounds.
Second, I could use a “breadboard” (experimental printed circuit boards) and plug in various circuit parts to see how they worked. It was very expensive due to all the parts I broke. And well, it could have been a lot more expensive…. let’s just say that the university was lucky I was a firefighter as well! 🔥
While these educational methods got the job done, XR technology would have completely changed my college experience.
Let’s imagine my dynamics class was utilizing XR tech. All 12 or so of us would put on our XR headsets in lab class, and in front of us, we’d all see a plane configurator. We’re given 1000 tokens customize the size, shape, material, or power of different elements:
- Engine
- Wings
- Tail
- Engine housing
We break into small teams, collaborating in real time, and race each other. The first race is a straight shot, a direct line from point A to point B. After the race everyone is able to compare why they lost and why the one person won, with all the stats we could possibly ask for.
Then a second race includes turns and twists, and we see how many planes change position, and how the performance stats shift.
How much fun did all of these students just have? How much could they have learned during this experience? Walking students through the specific laws of aerodynamics in this immersive way will help them retain the information in a whole new way.
Let’s keep going, but with some of the monotonous tasks that we all had to endure.
Understanding the layout of a printed circuit board (pcb) is absolutely essential. But when it’s time to solder pieces on, it’s just busywork. I’ve already designed the board, so why not put on my Mixed Reality headset that understands where the board is, and have it show you which parts are ground and positive so you can solder pieces and remain unplugged.
XR tech would make educational experiences more fun, for sure. But most importantly, it would make them more effective.
Let’s talk about some of my medical training.
I spent a lot of my time in class talking to a very lifeless mannequin. My instructors did great with what they had, but I wish I would have had HoloScenarios! If I could have used Mixed Reality training like what we’ve created at GigXR, I would have learned much faster. And it would have been more engaging and fun! Being an EMT was incredibly fun, hard and rewarding. I was on my toes all the time.
I remember my first pediatric patient in the back of the ambulance that I was in charge of. No mannequin could have prepared me for a real life situation like that one. The intensity of a real situation just can’t be simulated with lifeless tools. But XR would have brought our training to life! Give the kid some oxygen, chit chat with him, hand him a stuffed animal and keep him awake. I could have gotten out those “first time” nerves out of my system with a hyper realistic training scenario.
Excuse me for a moment while I stand up on my soapbox for a moment…
Why is this not happening right now at every school?!
Some schools are leading the world with XR tech, but so many faculty are still far too reluctant to try. I’ve heard all the excuses…
- Expensive headsets
- Expensive applications
- Takes too long to learn how to use this tech
- The students won’t like it
- There isn’t the right content to teach my students
All I’ll say is… it’s a lot more expensive to lose students to your competitors with great XR tech than it is to pay for some headsets…
*Stepping down from my soapbox*
In reality, there is one excuse that I’ll admit is not fully off-base: “The content that I need to teach my students isn’t available yet.”
That’s exactly what my team at GigXR is trying to change in the medical training field! And I know of multiple companies that are doing the same for other industries.
And you can speed it up.
We need more companies to catch the vision for this tech and come to companies like ours and say, “Is this possible?” Because most likely, the answer is yes!
As soon as we built the first medical HoloScenarios, we saw demand for cardio, neurology, and surgical modules! And we’re bringing them to life right now!
Three questions for you:
- How are you training employees or teaching your students right now?
- How do you wish you could train or teach them with hyper-realistic XR tech?
- What are you waiting for?
Do you need further guidance on how to navigate this for your business specifically? DM me on LinkedIn and we can chat!
