vr training – Page 7 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

February 28, 2018

Volkswagen Group to Train 10,000 Employees in VR This Year

Volkswagen Group and VR studio Innoactive revealed the global, multi-brand automotive company is planning to train 10,000 employees this year alone using virtual reality.

Volkswagen Group first deployed its Volkswagen Digital Reality Hub Group last year, a VR platform designed to help the company’s employees collaborate across the Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA and Volkswagen brands. Now, the company says they’re going a little deeper down the virtual rabbit hole in its new initiative to train 10,000 employees in production and logistics using more than 30 VR training simulations created in partnership with Innoactive.

The company showed off one such example of a VR training simulation at MWC 2018 which places the user in an industrial workspace using an HTC Vive Pro. The simulation was built using the Innoactive Hub SDK and optimized for Vive Pro.

Volkswagen Group says it’s “empower[ing] employees to use VR to transfer knowledge and improve workflows by making VR headsets available for order throughout the Group.”

In addition, Innoactive announced a new VR/AR enterprise software called Innoactive Workspaces at MWC 2018, a VR solution allowing users to plan, simulate and train in industrial workspaces. Innoactive Workspaces is slated to release later this year.

The post Volkswagen Group to Train 10,000 Employees in VR This Year appeared first on Road to VR.

February 14, 2018

Osso VR: Revolutionäres VR-Training für Chirurgen

Dank der fortschreitenden Technologisierung ermöglichen sich neue Ausbildungsmethoden für diverse Arbeitsbereiche, die unter normalen Bedingungen nur schwierig in der Realität umsetzbar sind. Eines dieser problematischen Lernfelder umfasst die Chirurgie, denn derzeit sind die Übungsmöglichkeiten vor dem Einsatz am echten Menschen schwindend gering. Das Unternehmen Osso VR setzt mit ihrem VR-Training für Chirurgen an genau diesem Punkt an, um ein virtuelles Lernen zur Vorbereitung auf den Ernstfall zu ermöglichen.

Osso VR – Preisgekröntes virtuelles Chirurgentraining revolutioniert Ausbildungsmethoden

Osso VR ermöglicht ein immersives VR-Training für Chirurgen, das realistische Handgriffe und Operationsprozesse sowie umfassende Erklärungen für einzelne Schritte beinhaltet. Damit die simulierten Operationen am virtuellen Patienten auch auf die Realität übertragbar sind, sorgten die Entwickler für größtmöglichen Realismus und fordern akkurates Arbeiten zur Fehlervermeidung.

Damit bietet das VR-Unternehmen eine revolutionäre Lernmethode für den Gesundheitsbereich. Bisher konnten Chirurgen die nötigen Arbeitsmethoden nur theoretisch erlernen, bevor sie zum ersten Mal am echten Menschen operierten. Deshalb hat das VR-Training das Potenzial, die Fehlerquote bei Operationen massiv zu senken.

Osso-VR-Chirurgie-VR-Training

Zum Nachweis der Effektivität des virtuellen Lernens führten die Verantwortlichen eine Studie durch, die zwei Kontrollgruppen umfasste: Die erste Gruppe bereitete sich auf eine Operation an einem Testkörper mit herkömmlichen Ausbildungsmethoden und Übungsbüchern vor. Die zweite Gruppe erhielt zur Vorbereitung lediglich das VR-Training. Beide Gruppen wurden letztlich von einem im Dunkeln gehaltenen Jurymitglied bewertet. Das Ergebnis spricht für sich, denn die zweite Gruppe, welche sich mit Osso VR vorbereitete, lieferte signifikant bessere Ergebnisse mit einer maßgeblich geringeren Fehlerquote im Vergleich zur Kontrollgruppe.

Osso-VR-Chirurgie-VR-Training

Neben dem effektiven Lernen bietet das VR-Training auch ökologische Vorteile, denn durch das Üben in einer virtuellen Umgebung werden die Ausbildungskosten massiv gesenkt, da keine teuren Nachbildungen oder Equipment zu Übungszwecken nötig sind.

Für ihre VR-Erfahrung gewann Osso VR bereits Ende letzten Jahres die EdSim Challenge, durchgeführt vom amerikanischen Department of Education. Unter fast 250 Teilnehmern setzte sich Osso VR durch und erhielt dasPreisgeld über 430.000 US-Dollar. Das virtuelle Chirurgentraining wird bereits vielerorts verwendet und ist mit allen gängigen PC-VR-Brillen kompatibel.

(Quellen: Upload VR | Osso VR | Video: Osso VR Youtube)

Der Beitrag Osso VR: Revolutionäres VR-Training für Chirurgen zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

January 25, 2018

VR-Training zur Vorbereitung auf die Olympischen Winterspiele 2018

Das VR-Training positive Effekte auf die Leistung der Anwender haben kann, wissen bereits diverse Ausbildungsbereiche. So nutzt beispielsweise das Krankenhaus in Los Angeles ein virtuelles Chirurgen-Training und auch in sicherheitsgefährdenden Berufen kommt die Technologie zum Einsatz. Ab sofort setzen auch die amerikanischen Athleten der Olympischen Winterspiele 2018 auf VR-Training. Zur Vorbereitung wurde eine Partnerschaft mit dem Unternehmen STRIVR gegründet, welches für die Entwicklung virtueller Trainingserfahrungen bekannt ist.

Amerikanische Olympiateilnehmer nutzen VR zur Vorbereitung

Dank einer Partnerschaft zwischen STRIVR und der Performance Division of US Ski & Snowboard nutzen die amerikanischen Athleten ab sofort ein virtuelles Training zur Vorbereitung auf die Olympischen Winterspiele 2018 in Pyeongchang in Südkorea.

Normalerweise dürfen die Teilnehmer der Winterspiele die Strecken nur für maximal zwei Tage inspizieren, um einen unfairen Wettbewerbsvorteil durch Training zu vermeiden. Allerdings ist es den Teams erlaubt, Videos der Abfahrtsstrecke zu erstellen, damit sich die Sportler mental vorbereiten können. Bisher nutzten die Verantwortlichen 2D-Videos, doch das amerikanische Ski- und Snowboard-Team setzt bei ihren Vorbereitungen dieses Jahr auf eine fortschrittlichere Maßnahme.

Danny Belch, der Chief Strategy Officer von STRIVR erklärt das folgendermaßen: „Während dieser Zeit können die Athleten und Trainer die Strecke durchlaufen und Videos aufnehmen. Die Analytiker der Teams nutzen die Zeit, um Berechnungen zu tätigen. Für das US Ski & Snowboard Team kam unser Unternehmen, um 360-Grad-Videos in einer Auflösung von 4K mit 90 FPS aufzunehmen.

Mit diesen 360-Grad-Aufnahmen sind die amerikanischen Athleten in der Lage, die Abfahrtsstrecken in der VR zu trainieren und sich dadurch auf den Wettkampf vorzubereiten. Es ist somit nicht nur möglich, sich mental vorzubereiten, sondern auch Körperbewegungen sind bis zu einem gewissen Maße trainierbar. Im Gegensatz zur Konkurrenz ist unserem Team also ein längeres und auch effektiveres Training für die Winterspiele möglich.

Ob die amerikanischen Athleten dadurch einen unfairen Wettbewerbsvorteil erhalten, ist eine gute Frage. Die Möglichkeiten der Technologie zur Vorbereitung zu nutzen, sollte jedoch sinnvoll sein. Schließlich könnte es auch die Verletzungsgefahr der Athleten vermindern.

Wir sind gespannt auf die Leistung des US Ski- und Snowboard-Teams bei den Olympischen Winterspielen 2018 und auf den Einfluss der VR-Technologie auf die Performance der Leistungssportler. Wir drücken trotzdem unserem Team die Daumen.

(Quellen: Upload VR | STRIVR)

Der Beitrag VR-Training zur Vorbereitung auf die Olympischen Winterspiele 2018 zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

January 24, 2018

U.S. Olympic Athletes Are Using Virtual Reality to Train for Events

U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association, the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding, announced a partnership with Menlo Park-based STRIVR Labs to use VR to help prepare for and recover from World Cup and Olympic events.

According to the association, both 360 video and VR are being used “in multiple ways in competition, from inspections of the race course, helping athletes learn the lines they will race through, to helping athletes rehabilitate from injuries.”

Troy Taylor, High Performance Director at U.S. Ski & Snowboard says that due to limited time on the course, athletes that use VR have a distinct edge on the competition.

“The clear advantage of VR is that it is a great way to help athletes get more used to and learn specific courses, which is an obvious performance benefit,” says Taylor. “The implementation of VR is also part of a larger strategy of US Ski & Snowboard’s High Performance department to embrace the leading edge of technology and innovations to equip our athletes with the latest tools to aid their performance.”

U.S. Ski Team athlete Laurenne Ross, image courtesy U.S. Ski & Snowboard

“The feedback we have from our athletes suggests that the biggest benefit of using VR is building confidence,” Taylor explains. “They feel they know the courses they will race on better, so when they come to ski on it during a race they enter the start gate with an increased confidence level. That is a big part of competition, having the confidence to attack parts of the course where you can find time, so that’s a clear benefit.”

STRIVR, which has provided similar VR training regimes for teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL, has given what U.S. Ski & Snowboard describes as “mental access” to each course their athletes compete on, providing a clearer internal map for the positions of gates, terrain, the way the turns appear—the sort of things that make athletes more confident.

The post U.S. Olympic Athletes Are Using Virtual Reality to Train for Events appeared first on Road to VR.

January 13, 2018

Virtual Reality to Assist Development of Forklift Operators

Virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) is taking over the world, slowly dominating industries with attractive promises of modernising, streamlining and generally making work flows in a variety of industries more productive than ever. Next we have the Raymond Corporation taking on the technology to assist in the development of new and existing forklift operators.

The new VR Simulator allows users to enter a simulated warehouse environment and ultilise an exisitng, real forklift truck to sit in and interact with as they navigate the virtual warehouse. Simply, it’s a way to avoid risky first lessons with inexperienced forklift drivers who may accidentally crash into shelving or damage stock.

We’ve previously seen multi-user VR medical training at the recent CES 2018, Las Vegas.

The best part is that the forklift doesn’t have to be decommissioned in order to be used as a simulator; once the sPort is disconnected in can be put straight back into regular operation.

Using VR to train new users in a variety of tasks is no new thing, but more industries taking on and modernising their methods with VR is a wonderful thing.

The simulator comes pre-loaded with a varriety of forklift lesson modules for manoeuvres, movement and pick ups. Each lesson will increase in complexity until the user is, hopefully, a fully capable forklift driver.

The simulator even provides feedback on what could be improved upon through in-game statistics and reports for each user.

“Raymond consistently strives to enable customers to be as productive and efficient as possible. By providing an enhanced simulator experience that allows the user to operate within a fully immersive virtual experience, the operator can have an extra layer of confidence before entering the actual warehouse floor,” said Dave Norton, vice president of corporate quality and customer care at Raymond. “With the Raymond Virtual Reality Simulator, our goal is to educate operators in a stable environment and provide a baseline to evaluate them in the future.”

Of course this also allows the company to screen potential future forklift drivers whom claim to have experience, as well as sharpen the skills of their existing workforce.

It sounds almost like gamification of training and learning, and that can only be a good thing which is sure to get workers a bit more enthusiastic about learning.

For all of the latest simulators and news, make sure to keep reading VRFocus.

January 4, 2018

Oculus Rift: Tribe VR DJ School bildet virtuell zum echten DJ aus

Die ökonomischen Vorteile von Ausbildungen und Trainings in VR zeigen bereits diverse Projekte. Dazu zählen das amerikanische Krankenhaus in L. A., welches für virtuelle Notfallversorgung trainiert, und ein Training für sicherheitsgefährdende Berufe. Warum also nicht auch seine Künste am Mischbrett virtuell üben, um zum echten DJ zu werden? Mit der App Tribe VR DJ School von DJ Kyroman und der Musikschule Myramind für Oculus Rift soll dies zukünftig möglich werden.

Tribe VR DJ School – Werdet zum echten DJ dank Training mit der Oculus Rift

Nach Vinyl Reality aus Berlin für die HTC Vive steht nun die nächste DJ-App bereit – dieses Mal offiziell für die Oculus Rift. In Tribe VR DJ School für Oculus Rift könnt ihr an virtuellen Mischpulten euer Wissen über Musik- und Beatproduktion verbessern. Die VR-App setzt auf virtuelle Nachbildungen von echtem Equipment, um eine möglichst reale Immersion zu erzeugen. Dadurch versprechen die Verantwortlichen einen echten Zuwachs der nötigen Fähigkeiten, die auch in der realen Welt anwendbar sind.

Aktuell stehen den Nutzern in der virtuellen Umgebung ein Mischpult sowie zwei unterschiedliche DJ-Decks basierend auf realen Modellen von Pioneer zur Verfügung. Ein virtueller Lehrer zeigt euch die Grundlagen des Mischens und den Umgang mit den Geräten. Aktuell befindet sich die App jedoch noch im Early Access, bisher steht lediglich eine Lehrstunde bereit.

Tribe-VR-Oculus-Rift-Oculus-Store

Neben der Anleitung ist zusätzlich ein Modus integriert, der das freie Ausprobieren mit verschiedenen Tracks ermöglicht. Die Musikstücke sind in der App vorgegeben, sodass man bisher anders als bei Vinyl Reality keine eigene Musikauswahl einfügen kann.

Zukünftig versprechen die Entwickler die Integration weiterer Lehrstunden sowie die Einführung eines Performance-Modus, der eure Fähigkeiten nach einigen Unterrichtsstunden testet. Zudem kann man mit der Erweiterung der Track-Liste rechnen.

Die Musikapp stammt aus einem gemeinsamen Projekt des Entwicklerstudios Tribe VR, dem DJ Kyroman sowie der Musikschule Myramind und setzt den Fokus auf immersives Lernen durch VR.

Tribe VR DJ School ist im Early Access für Oculus Rift im Oculus Store für 4,99 Euro erhältlich.

(Quellen: Road to VR | Tribe VR | Video: Tribe VR Youtube)

Der Beitrag Oculus Rift: Tribe VR DJ School bildet virtuell zum echten DJ aus zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

December 22, 2017

KFC Releases Its Wacky VR Chicken-Frying Escape Room for Oculus Rift

When we first saw KFC created a bizarre BioShock-esque VR training experience, we weren’t sure if it was the company’s next attempt at creating a brand engagement advert, or if KFC really intended on using the wacky chicken-frying escape room to train its employees. While the company says they’re actually using the KFC The Hard Way to train employees, they’ve also released the experience for free on the Oculus Store for Rift—making it a little less clear of the company’s overall intentions.

The objective: escape the clutches of the Colonel by learning how to fry chicken ‘the hard way’. The ultimate outcome: do exactly as the Colonel says and you’ll live to see that sweet $8.35-per-hour paycheck. It’s a quick (and free) experience, taking less than 10 minutes to complete, so I popped in for a look-see.

As an escape room, it fails miserably. The Colonel tells you how to do pretty much everything within a few seconds of incorrectly fumbling a piece of chicken, and there isn’t much to explore beyond the defined tasks ahead. As a less terrible way to teach employees the basic steps to preparing and cooking fried chicken, well, it seems to get the job done however.

Visuals are fairly impressive, although object interaction and hand presence could definitely be better. I found myself swiping at things just in reach, my hand passing through them to no avail. When I did grab onto something, it would automatically snap to a the desired hand position. This, combined with the lack of hand articulation possible with Touch controllers makes it a less immersive experience than I’d hoped going in. It’s certainly more entertaining than watching an employee training video in the back office, but that goes for almost any hands-on activity though.

laser beams stop you from tossing chicken on the floor, image courtesy KFC

Despite what KFC says, it’s clear its franchises won’t be installing a gaming PC and VR headset to actually train employees using KFC The Hard Way. It simply isn’t comprehensive enough, nor does it include anything more than a few tasks to teach you how to fry chicken. If you’ve ever worked at a fast food restaurant, you know just how many codified step-by-step tasks there really are, and this doesn’t scratch the surface of everything required to run a clean and safe restaurant.

Check out my full play-through below:

The post KFC Releases Its Wacky VR Chicken-Frying Escape Room for Oculus Rift appeared first on Road to VR.

August 24, 2017

KFC Says Its Wacky VR Chicken Frying Experience Will Really Be Used for Employee Training

KFC has revealed a curious trailer for The Hard Way: A Virtual Reality Training Experience, an ‘escape room’ game designed for VR. While it may seem like a rather smart marketing campaign at first glance, the world-famous fast food company apparently has real plans for incorporating the VR experience into its employee training program.

VR training applications for the service and food industry have genuine potential, as seen in Google’s interactive learning tests, and Honeygrow’s training app for new employees. In the case of The Hard Way: A Virtual Training Experience however, the production value is unusually high, with gameplay that is heavy on presentation and light on actual training. Nevertheless, the sequence does introduce the basics of preparing chicken for KFC in a highly entertaining way, and could serve as a fun part of the employee initiation process.

With an atmosphere of light steampunk horror, including a somewhat disturbing version of The Colonel asking you to kindly fry some chicken, The Hard Way appeared to be an elaborate marketing campaign, but PC Gamer received an official response suggesting that the project is indeed going to be introduced to new employees in the future.

“KFC will use the VR simulation to supplement its robust, multi-step employee training program, called Chicken Mastery Certification, which provides detailed eLearning and hands-on training for cooks in each of KFC’s kitchens,” reads the press release from Yum! Brands. “KFC will provide yet another platform for training by bringing the VR simulation technology to its regional general manager training classes, quarterly franchise meetings, and employee onboarding.”

The post KFC Says Its Wacky VR Chicken Frying Experience Will Really Be Used for Employee Training appeared first on Road to VR.

August 20, 2017

UPS Utilises VR To Train Delivery Drivers

Computer simulation has been used in training of people such as learner drivers, airline pilots for many years. The advent of virtual reality (VR) adds an extra layer of realism to those simulations that allow for an experience much closer to real-world situations. UPS, one of the world’s biggest delivery companies, is using that technology to train its delivery drivers.

There are over 100,000 UPS vehicles on the roads throughout the world, many of which are on extremely crowded roads. As such, UPS have placed a heavy emphasis on safety, along with the need for prompt delivery. As such, UPS will soon be launching a program to install HTC Vive headsets in its training facilities around the U.S. to provide its drivers with immersive training in an environment as close to the real world as possible.

The VR training program was designed by the UPS IT department to recreate various scenarios that delivery drivers may come into contact with, to allow them to recognise and avoid various hazards and problems they may come into contact with.

UPS VR Training 1

According to Juan Perez, UPS chief information and engineering officer: “Virtual Reality offers a big technological leap in the realm of driver safety training. VR creates a hyper-realistic streetscape that will dazzle even the youngest of our drivers whose previous exposure to the technology was through video games.”

A video showing the VR training in use can be viewed below.

Many companies and organisation are turning to VR to assist with training and education, with VR being used to teach paramedics, soldiers and even astronauts.

VRFocus will continue to bring you news on VR in training and education.

August 10, 2017

NFL Refs Using STRIVR’s VR Training Platform to Prepare for New Season

The NFL continues to maintain its strong relationship with VR technology, now employing the STRIVIR platform to train some officials. According to a report by SportTechie, the virtual reality training company has been working with the NFL’s Officiating Development Programs for the past nine months, presenting game scenarios in a VR headset from a referee’s perspective to supplement the limited opportunities for real-world practice.

According to the report, Strivr began working in earnest on a VR training program for the NFL offseason after the Super Bowl in February, providing officials with “life-like situations that put them into a game scenario so that they can react to plays much as they would on the field.”

The Strivr platform provides 360-degree capture of a game scenario, offering a convincing first-person perspective from an appropriate position on the field—an immersive upgrade over the standard video footage previously used by the Officiating Development Programs for training.

Perhaps the best way for an official to gain experience in a real-world NFL scenario is during the preseason (which recently began), a series of exhibition games which take place before the regular season kicks off in September, but such opportunities are very limited, and don’t offer the endless repeatability of VR training.

Improvements to replay technology in sports is a double-edged sword for referees; while the regularly-used ‘replay review’ system helps officials to make certain tough calls, the multiple-angle, slow-motion footage often works against the referee in many other situations, highlighting any mistakes during high-pressure moments. Having unlimited access to equivalent scenarios any time of year in VR could surely have a positive impact on officiating consistency.

“Refs are under a huge microscope and with replay, if they get something wrong, it’s seen,” Strivr CEO Derek Belch said in an interview with SportTechie. “This is how we take officiating to the next level and addressing some of the same issues players have.”

Strivr’s training platform was already well-established in the NFL from a player’s perspective, thanks to existing partnerships with seven NFL teams, providing off-field training in VR. The company claims that their technology speeds up reaction times, and helps to improve performance and decision-making. The company has enjoyed success in VR training in several sports, and scored a $5 million Series A investment last year that allowed them to expand their performance training into many corporate sectors.

The post NFL Refs Using STRIVR’s VR Training Platform to Prepare for New Season appeared first on Road to VR.