Will we see a gold rush in the publishing industry as major players move to invest in Immersive Technologies?

Mark Christian’s job title is rather unique for his industry –Global Director of Immersive Learning – but when I met him at Pearson’s central London office he seemed somewhat bewildered by that: “I’ve actually challenged my competitors to show me where my peer is in their companies, but I don’t see them yet,” he tells me.

Immersive technologies are set to play a key role in modernizing our education, allowing legacy systems to finally move away from models that date back to the 1800s into something more suited for the digital age.

Immersive technologies are set to play a key role in modernizing our education, allowing legacy systems to finally move away from models that date back to the 1800s
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Given the considerable hype that has been building up around Virtual and Augmented Reality, you might expect more publishers to have dedicated resources to these technologies, whereas the reality is that much of what we’ve seen so far has been limited to variations of Augmented Reality books. While that type of content does fall under Christian’s remit, however, he is rather cautious about their long-term future.

“As this technology becomes more ubiquitous, a little pop-up thing in a text book is going to be very uninteresting to a student in five years time,” he says. “They might increase engagement and profits by a measure, but I think we need to focus on solving real problems in education, and to do that you need to look ahead.”

Japhet Asher, Digital Director at Carlton Books agrees that Publishing is still a relatively conservative business, but warns against dismissing AR books as mere gimmicks. His company has sold close to four million such books in over thirty countries, and he argues that as stories continue to evolve consumers will always want to engage with them.

“If used well it’s a way to tell new stories and deliver fresh experiences. We’ll keep reinventing the book – we’re not looking to replace it. While much of the current focus with AR is on Apple’s ARKit and its triggerless AR, we are very keen to explore deeper with AR triggered by the page. We think this allows us to deliver the best of digital, while preserving what’s brilliant about the oldest content delivery system of all.”

it makes strategic sense that Pearson has partnered with Microsoft to develop content for the HoloLens
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Yet Christian compares the current moment in immersive technology to where the mobile market was ten years ago: “How many companies (and I include Pearson in that) just missed that? They would look at their phones and wonder ‘who would want their textbook in one of these? Who’s going to read the news on this?’ And a lot of companies are still playing catch-up retro-fitting their platforms around that, still wrapping their heads around designing for mobile. Are you kidding me? That ship has sailed! If you are looking at the future, it’s right here. A HoloLens is staring you in the eye.”

So it makes strategic sense that Pearson has partnered with Microsoft to develop content for the HoloLens, and last month at Bett they announced that it would be expanding this to providing school modules in its Windows Mixed Reality headsets later this year. The first five applications – in the form of licenced bundles – are already being sold to schools all over the world for the 2018-19 back to school season.

These applications enable collaborative, teacher-led experiences where we network the HoloLens together so students see the same thing in the same place
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One of the Pearson applications I demoed showed was called Holopatient. This is a training tool for nursing students which allows them to interact with holographic patients and experience common medical scenarios they might not otherwise be exposed to. “Lots of people go into anaphylactic shock,” explains Christian, but would a student nurse on a ward get to see a patient going into anaphylactic shock? Not necessarily.”

These applications enable collaborative, teacher-led experiences where we network the HoloLens together so students see the same thing in the same place, and teachers can create content and lead their class through it in the way that makes the most sense.

The idea is to use Mixed Reality to support schools, learners and teachers in doing things in cheaper, better, and more scalable way
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The idea, says Christian, is to support schools, learners and teachers in doing things in cheaper, better, and more scalable way. Buying a few HoloLens devices – even at $3000 apiece – becomes good value when compared to traditional actor-led setups.

 

“Although there is no reason why this couldn’t sit alongside any of our products – or any number of our competitor’s products for that matter – this is not not e-learning, it’s not courseware. This is a piece of SIM software,” Christian explains.

Which is not to say Pearson are not doing e-learning too; the company has rolled out one of the largest repositories of interactive 360 educational video, with over 70 experiences so far. “This is where it sits within a Pearson product. It’s courseware that you can interact with either on a PC, or stick it on a Google cardboard and in there you’d have hotspots where you can find out more about certain elements, or control where you go within the experience. To be able to take a history student and say we’re going to put you in the middle of the battle of Gettysburg, that’s powerful. It gives you a distinct advantage over a content provider offering more traditional multimedia content such as animations or video.”

Christian is in fact betting on this 360 content to yield significant ROI within a relatively short time. Although he wouldn’t share exact figures, he says Pearson’s market research has been hugely encouraging in that regard: “I think people are going to be amazed by the results. It’s going to be huge.”

We’re a publisher, and so traditionally what do publishers do? They take other people’s IP, publish and distribute it widely. I think in the digital era many publishers have forgotten that. We can be a platform, be a route to market, be a salesforce. What we’re doing with our portfolio is a mix of all that so we’re partnering with the right companies and bringing them in, but we’re building our own stuff where it makes sense too.”

There is some indication that other publishers are starting to take notice of the huge potential of Mixed Reality for their business
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There is some indication that other publishers are starting to take notice of this huge potential as well. One example is Axel Springer Digital Ventures recently announcing that they would be investing an undisclosed amount in Magic Leap. The secretive Florida-based Mixed Reality company – which has so far raised nearly $2 billion from Google, Alibaba, Warner Bros, Qualcomm and others – has released very few details about its Magic Leap One device, which is expected to ship to developers at some point in 2018.

“Axel Springer will, with investments in companies like Magic Leap, actively participate in innovative technologies,” their press statement read. Yet people like Christian are somewhat sceptical of the buy-in approach: “ Until you start doing stuff and building and bringing it to market, you’re not in the game,” he says, adding that although it’s early days for the technology, it is the ones that get into it early who will benefit the most. “By the time the content becomes mainstream, that ship will have sailed and the publishers who haven’t done that, they’ll notice it. And it’s all going to happen very quickly.”

This disrupt-or-be-disrupted scenario is something that I experienced back 2013 when working for Mendeley. The London start-up was acquired by the world’s largest scientific publisher, Elsevier, who were keen to incorporate the company’s innovative product and ethos into its own strategy. Mendeley’s Co-founder Jan Reichert, who eventually left the company to start a new venture – Kopernio, an AI-powered platform enabling researchers to access scholarly articles more efficiently – says there is an on-going trend in academic and scientific publishing to invest in technologies such as AI and Machine learning, and it also makes sense that immersive technologies will eventually follow a similar path.

 

“Within a couple of years you’ll probably start seeing deals made for around the 100 million mark, and publishers will probably be the natural purchasers for that,” adds Christian. “I think publishers will play a really important role here if they want to, and the ones that don’t will be really disappointed.”

Lots of publishers are talking about immersive technology (AR, VR, mixed reality etc) – but which ones are actually investing in it, and why? https://t.co/6x6ffdbAvG pic.twitter.com/U6vdVEZ840

— FutureBook (@TheFutureBook) March 5, 2018

This article was originally published on The Bookseller’s FutureBook

Tech Trends’  Virtual Reality Consultancy services offers support for companies looking to get a foothold in the growing Mixed Reality spectrum and enhance their brand strategy with immersive technologies. 

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter

The post Are Publishers Ready to go Virtual? appeared first on Tech Trends.

How medical visualization tools enhance learning by reducing the cognitive load on our brains.

Immersive learning technologies are proliferating fast and also growing in popularity, being used not only for entertainment but also in a variety of professional applications.

immersive learning tools provide superior capabilities because they reduce the cognitive load on the learner, and more accurately represent these systems as they truly are
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Some of the most exciting applications of immersive technology have come in the form of training applications, and the medical sector has been fast to embrace this innovation, recognizing their great potential to improve the quality and quantity of training epochs, reduce training costs and to enhance patient satisfaction. A win-win-win.

Immersive learning technologies are proliferating fast and growing in popularity
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Broadly speaking, these technologies come in two forms: Augmented Reality (AR) – in which digital information is overlaid onto the learner’s field of view – and Virtual Reality (VR) in which the learner is immersed in a completely new environment.

Some of the most exciting applications of immersive technology have come in the form of training applications
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In a previous post I discussed the implications of xR for broad-based medical training. In this article, I will focus on the problems surrounding medical visualization. Namely, how do learners best understand and mentally represent complex systems like the brain or the human body? I offer a psychological and brain science perspective and argue that immersive learning tools provide superior capabilities because they reduce the cognitive load on the learner, and more accurately represent these systems as they truly are. If done correctly, this will significantly enhance learning.

Let’s look at the challenges medical students face when learning about the anatomy and physiology of the human body. The human body is a 3-dimensional structure that functions as a dynamic system. The ultimate goal of all medical visualization training is to facilitate the formation of a 3D dynamic mental representation of the human body in the learner’s brain that perfectly mimics the actual form. The best way to achieve this goal is to present the learner with a 3D dynamic visualization tool that perfectly mimics the human form. Unfortunately, most traditional medical visualization tools are textbooks or slide shows that are filled with 2D static images. Thus, the learner must convert a series of 2D static images into a 3D dynamic mental representation in the brain that accurately reflects the human form.

Constructing a 3D dynamic representation from a series of 2D static images requires a huge amount of cognitive effort
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From a cognitive science perspective, constructing a 3D dynamic representation from a series of 2D static images requires a huge amount of cognitive effort. First, you have to hold a mental representation of a series of 2D static images in your short-term (working) memory. Second, you have to hold these 2D static mental representations in your working memory and combine them on the fly to construct an accurate 3D static representation. Finally, you have to infer and impart the dynamic nature of the human form onto this 3D static representation.

Traditional medical training requires an enormous amount of cognitive capacity - working memory - and cognitive energy - executive attention - taxing them in such a way makes mistakes much more likely
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The cognitive science research is clear that each of the steps above requires an enormous amount of cognitive capacity (in the form of working memory) as well as cognitive energy (in the form of executive attention). Any time working memory load and executive attentional demands are taxed in such a way, you are more likely to make an error and generate an inferior mental representation. Or simply fail to understand and absorb crucial information.

Well-constructed immersive learning tools such as the Microsoft HoloLens bypass this fundamental problem by generating a highly accurate 3D dynamic representation of this 3D dynamic human form
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Well-constructed immersive learning tools such as the Microsoft HoloLens bypass this fundamental problem by generating a highly accurate 3D dynamic representation of this 3D dynamic human form, displaying it directly and accurately within the product and presenting it ready for the learner to study.

Surgeons at Imperial College London are using Mixed Reality technology to spot key blood vessels, bones and muscles prior to surgery
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This training is intuitive because it reduces the extensive working memory and executive attention demands associated with traditional medical visualization training that we outlined above. By removing the need to construct a 3D dynamic mental representation from a series of 2D static images, the working memory and executive attention load on the learner has been slashed. Equally – if not more importantly – the dynamic 3D mental representation in the learner is given a boost by the visual learning and representation systems in the brain that has evolved for just this type of learning. This system builds a 3D mental representation of objects from the dynamic flow of information on the retina.

This training is intuitive because it reduces the extensive working memory and executive attention demands associated with traditional medical visualization training
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A number of offerings of this sort exist. One that is representative is a recent application of the HoloLens mixed reality platform that is being used at the Imperial College London to help surgeons “see inside” patients before they operate. Surgeons are using this technology to spot key blood vessels, bones and muscles prior to surgery. This enhances preparation and increases the success rate of surgery. Dr. Philip Pratt, a Research Fellow in the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London, said HoloLens is allowing surgeons to quickly and accurately understand a patient’s unique anatomy.

“Mixed reality offers a new way to find these blood vessels accurately and quickly by overlaying scan images onto the patient during the operation, explains Dr Pratt. “To perform the best operation, you have to plan it meticulously beforehand. This technology allows us to experience the data that we have collected from patients before their operation in the most realistic and natural way. You look at the leg and essentially see inside of it; you see the bones and the course of the blood vessels.”

This same logic applies to visualizing the brain, a neuron, or even a molecule, so I fully expect immersive visualization training to replace traditional training within the next five years
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The psychological and brain science research outlined above suggests that immersive learning tools have great potential in medical visualization training. This same logic applies to visualizing the brain, a neuron, or even a molecule, so I fully expect immersive visualization training to replace traditional training, and cadaverless training for non-surgeons to be the rule, not the exception, within the next five years.

The technology development often outpaces research, which why collaboration between technology developers like Microsoft and institutions such as Imperial and Case Western are crucial
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That said, efficacy/validation studies should always be conducted to verify that a particular immersive visualization training tool is superior to traditional training approaches, and should be used during the development process to make the product better. Although initial evidence and response from, teachers, learners and various experts in these fields is extremely encouraging, there is still a need for rigorous academic studies that directly and rigorously compare an AR/VR training platform with a traditional training platform on standardized tests of anatomy and physiology, as well as other critical factors known to affect learning, such as non-standard environmental conditions. It is early days, and the technology often advances at such speed that it outpaces such research, which is why collaboration between technology developers such as Microsoft and institutions such as Imperial and Case Western are highly welcome in validating the value and viability of these applications.

For companies looking to get into Immersive technologies such as VR/AR/MR/XR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance and support on how best to incorporate these into your brand strategy.

Todd Maddox is Science, Sports and Training Correspondent at Tech Trends, and the CEO of Cognitive Design and Statistical Consulting. Follow him on Twitter @wtoddmaddox

The post Extending Reality to the Operating Room appeared first on Tech Trends.

The adoption of xR applications will accelerate in 2018 as it provides cheaper and more effective training than traditional approaches.

Extended reality (xR) refers to real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables. In the coming years it’s expected that the adoption of immersive technologies in training will increase considerably, spanning areas from sports training to soft skills education, and one sector which stands to gain significant efficiencies from their adoption is medical training. Below we outline four key areas that can be significantly enhanced with appropriate xR training:

Extended reality (xR) refers to real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables
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Medical Visualization and Representation

The human body is a 3-dimensional structure that functions as a dynamic system. One of the first goals of medical training is to impart a deep understanding of anatomy, physiology and the dynamics of this amazing system. In order to do that, a medical trainee must first map that information out in their mind, forming a visual mental representation of the human body that is 3D, dynamic and perfectly mimics the actual form.

One of the first goals of medical training is to impart a deep understanding of anatomy, physiology and the dynamics of this amazing system
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The most common way to achieve this goal is to have students read textbooks filled with drawings and pictures of the human body. The learner must thus construct their 3D dynamic mental representation using 2D, static descriptions, often supplemented with video or cadaver study. Overall, this puts a significant cognitive load on the brain and is not ideal and does not recruit the regions of the brain that have evolved specifically for constructing visual mental representations. There must be a better way!

xR technologies are now being developed to help medical trainees construct mental representations of the human form that are 3D and dynamic
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In fact, xR technologies are now being developed to help medical trainees construct mental representations of the human form that are 3D and dynamic. One can think of these tools as xR textbooks. [For a more detailed description of the psychological and brain science of xR medical visualization tools, I co-authored an article, currently under review, with Peter Campbell, CEO at xpereal which is available under request.]

Optimized Behavioral Skills Training

A nurse learning how to draw blood or to insert a catheter is learning a set of motor behaviors. A doctor learning how to deliver a baby, or a surgeon learning to remove a brain tumor are also doing so. The degree varies, but in all cases motor skills are critical.

The human brain has evolved two distinct learning systems: One for cognitive skills – which recruits the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal lobes and learns “what” one needs to do to solve a task – and the second for behavioural skills that learn “how” one solves the task.

Behavioral skills are learned gradually and incrementally via dopamine-mediated, error-correction learning in the basal ganglia of the brain and require extensive practice
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So while the checklist of steps to follow to deliver a baby would be learned by the cognitive skills learning system in the brain, the motor behaviors required to complete the steps on the baby delivery checklist would be learned by the behavioral skills learning system in the brain. Behavioral skills are learned gradually and incrementally via dopamine-mediated, error-correction learning in the basal ganglia of the brain and thus require extensive practice.

xR medical training technologies are now being developed that optimally target the behavioral skills training system in the brain
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Yet xR medical training technologies are now being developed that optimally target the behavioral skills training system in the brain. Some of the more advanced platforms include realistic artificial cadavers that even provide the appropriate haptic feedback.

Some of the more advanced platforms include realistic artificial cadavers that even provide the appropriate haptic feedback
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Training for Retention

The goal of all training, including medical training, is to convey information that will be stored in long-term memory and not forgotten. The brain is “hardwired” to forget so this is not a trivial problem to solve. We must “Train for Retention”. Yet real-world medical training is so costly and time-consuming that medical trainees rarely obtain enough of it. An xR training platform solves this problem because the trainee can practice anytime that they want.

The Human brain is hardwired to forget
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In line with the science of optimized training for retention, trainees could receive training in relatively short duration chunks that are spaced over time to allow long-term memory consolidation. Taken together, this reduces forgetting, speeds the transition to long-term “muscle memory”, and ultimately promotes the formation of habits.

Training for Extreme Situations

Another advantage of xR training is that a broad range of situations can be more effectively prepared for, ranging from routine to extreme emergency scenarios. Imagine the EMT who must deliver a baby in the back of the ambulance, without some critical piece of equipment and with a mother whose blood pressure is dangerously low. These are low probability scenarios, but are often life-threatening situations. Medical personnel want to be trained adequately in these scenarios so that they are mentally and physically prepared to handle them, and the broad-based training available with an xR medical training platform can increase generalization and transfer of the trained information, thus increasing preparedness.

xR training can help prepare medical professionals more effectively for situations ranging from routine to extreme emergency scenarios
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Immersive technologies could give learners enough realistic practice to make them job-ready before ever entering a medical facility to see patients
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xR technology therefore offers a time and cost-effective tool for training medical personnel, optimally targeting the behavioral skills learning system incorporating training procedures that optimize retention. Finally, extreme, low probability events can be trained effectively. When implemented correctly, these technologies could give learners enough realistic practice to make them job-ready before ever entering a medical facility to see patients. The days of on-the-job training with live human patients (in ERs and training hospitals) could soon be over.

The days of on-the-job training with live human patients could soon be over
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Tech Trends offers comprehensive Virtual Reality Consultancy services to support businesses looking to adopt immersive technologies into strategy.

Todd Maddox is Science, Sports and Training Correspondent at Tech Trends, and the CEO of Cognitive Design and Statistical Consulting. Follow him on Twitter @wtoddmaddox

The post How Extended Reality Will Accelerate Medical Training appeared first on Tech Trends.