How STEM learning is Expanding With Mixed Reality

The STEM learning curriculum is quickly becoming a form of education that is being implemented by increasingly more learning institutions. The STEM acronym stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. These four broad courses of study are integrated to create one cohesive learning system that pre-exposes students to situations and challenges they will face in the real world, now and into the future.

Mixed reality is a form of computer technology that blends the digital world with the physical world, creating a type of alternate reality. This reality, however, is a genuine one that can be manipulated and worked in. Examples of these are augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) games and applications that you might have used already, but that is becoming more mainstream.

The Integration of STEM and Mixed Reality

Partially or fully immersive experiences that can be generated by AR and VR technologies allow students to learn about complex phenomena like electromagnetic waves or complex laws of motion. Students can delve deeply into subjects that were once complicated to teach and learn by experiencing aspects of it themselves.

It’s now possible to study the different parts of a human cell by actually touring it, in applications like MoleculE VR. VR Math and others like it are making learning mathematical concepts fun and engaging. Students can examine and learn from 3D graphs, vectors, and geometry in a close-up and personal way with these kinds of applications. It’s the integration of VR and AR technologies with the STEM curriculum archetype that makes this all possible.

Impacts on Education and Industry

Virtual reality and augmented reality applications have been used for a few decades already by professionals in the medical, science, and engineering fields. Improving their skills and advancing their careers might have necessitated using these types of applications. As technology advances and becomes more complicated, there will be more of a demand for VR/AR aided learning.

Universities all over the United States and the world are implementing this kind of learning paradigm into their curriculums. It’s the low-priced options for new VR and AR technologies that are making it possible for more learning institutions to incorporate them into their curriculums. Immersing students in math, technology, engineering, and science today can help the world prepare for tomorrow’s challenges. 

This article was originally published at RickGarson.net

What Mixed Reality Means for Enterprises

Mixed reality is predicted to have a significant impact on businesses in manufacturing. This new technology is blending the world around us with the virtual world by utilizing a headset. The most notable difference right now between the older augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) is that augmented reality is viewed through a flat-screen device, such as a smartphone or tablet. Mixed reality uses headsets such as the Microsoft HoloLens and Google Glass to see virtual information and virtual reality.

So how will mixed reality technology impact businesses, especially manufacturing in the future? One expert predicts that we would have business meetings conducted through a virtual reality world using mixed reality. Such a practice could reduce the need for traveling to meet with business partners. If this practice becomes widespread, it could impact the hotel and transportation industry. This idea is still a long shot and may never happen, though.

Another prediction made by an expert is that mixed reality could impact education, especially hands-on education. Mixed reality can provide information on how to assemble and repair a product right in front of our eyes using a headset. Will this mean that we will no longer have to train technicians to fix and assemble things? Once again, employees will still have to be trained to be familiar with parts and terminology. This does not mean that mixed reality cannot enhance education or provide us with new ways of learning.

By far, the most prominent implementation and use of mixed reality have been in the manufacturing sector. Companies such as Renault Trucks and Thyssen Krupp are giving their employees mixed reality headsets. The headsets let employees see in the form of mixed reality what steps they need to take to assemble or check a product.

Before mixed reality, assembly and quality control employees at Renault would have to resort to using paper instructions. The use of a handset is much more convenient and efficient. BAE Systems, a manufacturer of defense and aerospace equipment, says that its has reduced assembly times by over 50% since it gave employees mixed reality headsets.

Consulting company Deloitte says that up to 10% of Fortune 500 companies are testing or already using mixed reality technology to some extent. A business study conducted by Forester Research states that tens of millions of American workers could be using mixed reality glasses within a decade. The forecast is clear that mixed reality is set to slowly creep into the workforce and increase productivity in the workplace.

This article was originally published at RickGarson.org

The Future of Storytelling Using Interactive Mixed Reality

Storytelling continues to evolve, including the ways the world shares its tales. Oral stories, books, and film are traditional examples, but video games have become a big part of storytelling and have been doing well over the past three decades. It's no longer merely plumbers throwing fireballs or yellow circles eating dots. Now, more than ever, gaming as an art form is blossoming into a way to tell stories and deliver great experiences.

Versions of mixed reality have continuously come in and out of the gaming world, but the current landscape of Vive and Oculus Rift headsets is making a lasting impression. Here are two ways that MR is changing the future of storytelling, gaming, and other entertainment.

Visual novels (VNs) are essentially stories that are read and sometimes played just like a game. Using gaming consoles such as the Playstation or Xbox, you press buttons on the controller to retrieve text. On computers, pressing enter or spacebar has the same effect. Mario Brothers, Halo, Madden, FIFA, and Tetris are all well-known and global franchises. In Japan, an entire format has flourished around this medium, but its fandom isn't as popular yet in the West.

VNs aren't just text on a game cartridge or file. They often have other gameplay elements baked in, such as a basic Roleplaying Game (RPG), shooting game, puzzle game, or almost any other genre added to the text-reading format. Some of the best modern VNs are voiced as well and often include groundbreaking music that is sampled from other countries. This combination of narrated text, sound design, and artwork all come together to create a new form of modular storytelling, which means that any amount of words can be added to any story without the need for matching background images or animated cut scenes. Another benefit of the VN style is that it creates a possibility of alternate endings--and alternate paths even before the ending. Branching paths are a natural way to create a Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA)-style game.

Hybrid reality (HR) is a method of overlaying digital images on top of a real-world display. Like a Head Up Display (HUD), it simply adds transparent, barely intrusive images to your viewpoint while allowing you to still see what's ahead of you. In storytelling, this can allow artists and developers to bring their tales into the real world. Holograms can be made more realistic by sending images of storytellers or digital graphics directly to headsets worn by people in libraries or their own living rooms.

When telling stories about the past, overlaying images and videos of artistic renditions can bring history alive. Museums use this technology to enhance masterpieces. In addition, visitors to fields that were once rivers or lakes, or parks that were once grand forests, can now be taken back in time through MR headsets.

This article was originally published on rickGarson.com.

How the US Army is Using Mixed Reality to Innovate Tank Training

Mixed reality is now a reality in the U.S. Army. SCOPE, the Synthetic Collective Operational Prototyping Environment, is the Army’s newest training protocol for its armored cavalry units. Developed at the Institute for Creative Technologies at USC and in conjunction with the Army Training Ground at Aberdeen and tank trainers at Fort Benning, SCOPE uses mixed reality to train its future tank commanders. In the past, trainees used role-playing as a training medium, but SCOPE will use AI to accomplish the tasks of tank gunner and loader.

The trainees are placed into a simulated, 3D battlefield environment with the objective of improving their skills, either during a training exercise or out on the battlefield. Tank commanders must learn to quickly consolidate and process input from both mission command and incoming enemies, then make whichever decision will best protect the lives of their crew.

TALK-ON, an early version of SCOPE, has already completed three rounds of testing at Fort Benning, and researchers are optimistic about their positive results. TALK-ON uses cognitive training and communications, but SCOPE will use a sophisticated sensor tracking system to train its commanders.

The project has taken almost two years to develop and is a combined effort of researchers and programmers, many of whom have military experience. This unique approach to tank training uses sensors to track the position of a person’s body and uses a headset to track eye movement so that specific areas can be targeted for additional training. Simulated repetitions enable tank commanders to become more comfortable with their tasks and more proficient at their jobs so they can save time and lives. 

Initially, three commanders will engage in simulated training that will test their performance levels in combat. Eventually, four commanders will participate, which will be representative of a full platoon of tanks. Training will be conducted at Fort Benning and commanders will use a 3D control box and a replicated joystick that will interface with their helmets. 

Each mission will consist of a briefing and various simulated exercises. The data amassed by SCOPE will provide a more comprehensive training regimen for future tank commanders by interpreting the way trainees translate incoming information into a decision. This will enable the Army to maximize the efficiency of its training methods by understanding the motivations behind the commanders’ decisions. Eventually, AI will be used to simulate crew responses as well.

The Army plans to start formal testing of SCOPE in the fiscal year 2020.

This article was originally published on rickGarson.org.