With the Virtual Reality boom we’re seeing more courses popping up to train people hoping to get a job in the industry, but is it worth it? 

Recently, Google, Apple and IBM became the latest companies to join a trend of no longer requiring a university degree from prospective candidates.

This is pretty huge. After all we’re talking companies that receive thousands of CVs every day, and they can afford to be very picky. So it’s not a matter of cutting corners in order to fill vacancies, but a recognition that the way in which we’re acquiring, maintaining and developing our skills has dramatically changed.

There is no greater spark to creativity than rallying a diverse group of intelligent people around an exciting new medium
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Photos by Ana Escobar

Having invested many years of my life in both undergraduate and graduate education, I find myself conflicted about it. I would not have done without the experiences and knowledge that going to university afforded me, but I always worked alongside my studies, so it’s often hard to unpick how the skillsets and knowledge base I have today came to be formed exactly. And that is only going to become even more difficult for future generations as online and virtual learning, self-directed and lifelong, becomes the norm.

Which is why it’s somewhat ironic to see more and more universities offering VR degrees to teach future generations how to build those very same virtual learning environments. One recent one I came across is the MA Virtual Reality from London College of Communication, UAL which claims to be one of the first of its kind in Europe. They’re set to follow up with a BA (Hons) Virtual Reality next year

The features offered include dedicated Virtual Reality classrooms equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and software to enable students to bring their projects to life by filming, sculpting, and animating in VR
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Those professionals might build virtual environments to facilitate creative interactions without the need for anybody to physically attend university
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The features offered include dedicated Virtual Reality classrooms equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and software to enable students to bring their projects to life by filming, sculpting, and animating in VR. And while it could be argued that the cost of buying a Rift or VIVE headset is significantly lower than that of a degree, the added facilities such as motion capture suits, infinity cove green screen, and software licenses does add up to a more attractive-sounding package.

However, the focus of this degree is quite rightly on developing creative and storytelling skills. This is very much what is needed in the realm of VR content production – engaging, emotionally compelling experiences – and this is arguably where the university model still has a very relevant role to play.

The focus of this VR degree is quite rightly on developing creative and storytelling skills
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In my case, for example, I’ve always been quite effective at directing and managing my own learning, but found that during the course of my MA at Warwick University the project work and the relationships I built with my colleagues and tutors helped to spark ideas that I would not have had if my interaction had been limited to absorbing information via books or a computer screen.

There is no greater spark to creativity, it turns out, than bringing a very diverse group of intelligent people together and rallying them around an exciting new medium. If universities can provide that , they might very well graduate some amazing VR professionals in the next few years. The irony is then that those professionals might very well build such amazing virtual environments and experiences as to facilitate that sort of interaction without the need for anybody to physically attend university. Enter the world of Ready Player One.

This article originally appeared in The Next Web

Should you study VR at university? https://t.co/DjYoxkggxh

— TNW Contributors (@TNWcontributors) August 23, 2018

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.

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 LinkedInand follow @alicebonasioon Twitter.

The post Going to Virtual Reality University appeared first on Tech Trends.

Tech Trends takes a look at how technology will play a role in the 2017 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

One of the world’s toughest endurance races is about to kick off in La Gomera, part of the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain. Sponsored by Talisker Whisky more than 30 teams of adventurers from around the globe will try to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to the island of Antigua in the West Indies while not drowning, being eaten by sharks or going raving mad after spending 40-70 days stuck with the same sweaty teammates.

Tech is part of a modern adventurer's toolkit
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And as we’ve seen when we covered the F1-Level technology behind the America’s Cup race, tech can lend a hand in helping modern adventurers achieve their goals – in one piece. And when you are out on the open ocean you will be glad of any help you can get!

At first glance the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge conjures up images of whiskered sailors drifting at sea, rowing in shifts and hungrily eyeing up each other up (not in that way) but in the 21st century technology has made the race safer, the boats faster and more energy-efficient. It also ensures communications with home are more reliable, and that rations are nutritious enough to discourage cannibalism (THAT’s what I meant, get your mind out of the gutter). The whiskers, however, remain the same!

In 2017 technology has its part to play, making the race safer, the boats faster and more energy efficient
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More people have actually travelled into space, or climbed Mount Everest than have rowed the Atlantic
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The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge really is one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet – more people have actually travelled into space, or climbed Mount Everest than have rowed the Atlantic so even with technology on your side you have to be prepared to endure tropical storms, sleep deprivation, cold, sweltering heat, giant squid and the psychological stresses of living and working in such an unpredictable environment.

Boats cannot take any repair, help or food and water during the crossing
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Angus Collins, a two-time race winner, has rowed over 15,000 nautical miles across three oceans
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Angus Collins, two-time race winner and ocean rowing record holder, has rowed over 15,000 nautical miles across three oceans, trekked through the heart of Papua New Guinea, raced a Tuk-Tuk across India, run ultra-marathons around the UK and along the way has picked up a number of world records. Adventure and endurance are his life. He also works at Rannoch Adventure, specialists in ocean rowing and high tech boat builders. Rannoch makes the vast majority of the boats used in the race this year.

“With Rannoch Adventure, we have worked with over 75% of the teams in the past 4 years (including this year). I have trained teams, run logistics and shipping, helped with refurbishing boats, built new boats, weather routing, race tactics etc. We are proud to say that we live for ocean rowing, it’s everything we do and it’s all we do!” Collins says. “The modern boats have been designed by myself and Charlie Pitcher who holds the solo record across the Atlantic, the two of us have been brought up on the water, with Charlie sailing in the Americas cup campaigns. We have taken everything we have learnt from all water sports and put it into ocean rowing. Our aim is to make the lightest, fastest and – most importantly – safest boats in the market, and to date, we have achieved this.”

Carbon Zerow, are aiming to be the first certified carbon neutral expedition to cross the Atlantic Ocean
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When you picture a boatload of men rowing across the ocean it might appear to be a pretty environmentally friendly endeavour. Muscle power over engine power and all that, but 2017 challenge team Carbon Zerow, are aiming to be the first certified carbon neutral expedition to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

When you picture a boatload of men rowing across the ocean it might appear to be an environmentally friendly endeavour
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In a boat loaded with tech, the batteries are vitally important. You need to keep them charged up and ensure that all systems that draw power do so as efficiently as possible, Collins explains.

Without power, the team has to hand steer the boat with no auto-helm, which means less rest for the rowers
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“The hardest part of rowing an ocean is managing power consumption. If a team runs their water maker for half an hour too long, then their batteries will drop dramatically and it can take days to build this power back up. I ensure that each team member has an update on an hourly basis on the power consumption. Without power, the team has to hand steer the boat as opposed to using an auto-helm, which means less rest for the rowers. We have 1 boat that has a new “roaming” solar panel, this means the team has a solar panel (74watts) that isn’t attached to the boat but can be placed in a number of positions to allow maximum sun angle. This solar panel has a built-in regulator so the whole device can be plugged straight into the batteries from the deck.”

Carbon Zerow wants to minimise their environmental impact by reducing their CO2 emissions where they can, and then offset the remaining CO2 emissions, that they can do nothing about, such as the emissions required to produce pieces of equipment and travel emissions from flying and driving. With team members based in the US, Scotland and London the team have partnered with The Carbon Trust and are already tracking their travel and overnight stays as well as opting to take public transport, purchasing used equipment where possible and even ditching red meat, poor men!

I was able to see any changes in the weather before the rest of the fleet which gave me a slight advantage
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The Internet is helping keep travel time down during training by communicating via Skype
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The Internet is helping keep travel time down during training by communicating via Skype but this has meant that they have only all got together to train once this year! Out on the ocean all boats are equipped at the race start, and cannot take any repair, help or food and water during the crossing so it is a very lonely couple of months with no resupply points but INMARSAT satellite technology will be in place to allow the teams to communicate with base.

“It used to be that teams would have an Iridium sat phone to communicate with people back at home,” Collins recalls. “This would be used to download and upload e-mails with weather information as well as daily blogs etc. I used an Inmarsat GBAN explorer 510 in 2016 and was able to download my own weather grib files. This meant I was no longer dependent on someone on land to route me, I was able to see any changes in the weather before the rest of the fleet which gave me a slight advantage. The second advantage to using the GBAN is being able to send videos back home, this helps teams with sponsorship and raising funds/awareness for their desired charities.”

This latest satellite tech will also keep them in touch with loved ones and they can Whatsapp pictures and video updates and speak to friends and family via sat phone too.

I have always been one to see how hard I can physically and mentally push myself
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Yet no matter how much tech you have access to you still have to have the will to endure the physical challenge and the drive to compete. And let’s be honest, watching robots rowing across the Atlantic would not be half as fun as seeing Angus and his teammates test the limits of technology and their bodies.

“Ocean rowing is such a fast-growing sport and each crossing I learn new things from others, so having beaten the race record, I knew it was possible to put new tactics into place with the aim to get the world record. I have always been one to push limits and see how hard I can physically and mentally push myself, and with the world record in sight, I wanted to make sure I was in the boat breaking the record over someone else.”

And thanks to technology, you can also follow their adventures with the Race Tracker on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge Website.

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post Technology Helps Tough Guys Too appeared first on Tech Trends.

Brands are using immersive technologies to enhance user engagement and experience in interesting ways. We’ll drink to that! 

This is the age of experience, where consumers have come to expect more of everything. More engagement, more interaction and more effort from marketers. Traditional marketing methods such as poster campaigns on billboards or buses, TV advertising, embedded website ads and pre-play video clips like you see now on YouTube are decidedly outdated. These techniques only really work on a subliminal level, if that, because the truth is consumers have got very good at ignoring advertising. The game has changed to experience-based marketing, and that’s no bad thing

In the age of experience, consumers have come to expect much more of their favourite brands
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Immersive technologies such as Augmented Reality have the potential to break through those barriers by grabbing a consumer’s attention, engaging them directly and exclusively for minutes at a time, and giving them a rewarding and personalised experience with the brand.

AR has the advantage of being much more intuitive and frictionless than VR, as well as cheaper to produce, so it’s no wonder we’re seeing a lot of brands developing interesting content for it. The other thing that makes AR so attractive is that it’s mobile-based and consumers can easily engage with it on their own device in the palm of their hand, as opposed to having to deal with cables and HMDs, which are still cumbersome and still mostly tied to a particular venue. While VR can still have the effect of feeling isolating and shutting out the outside world, AR experiences are inherently social and shareable.

AR experiences are inherently social and shareable
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The intensely competitive drinks industry is at the forefront of AR marketing with big brands already reaping the benefits of this new technology. Big boys of the beer world Budweiser recently launched a very clever AR campaign. San Francisco-based digital agency Float Hybrid worked with sponsors Bud Light and select NFL teams to incorporate the feature into the NFL team apps. Watch the video below and read our review here.

Big brands already reaping the benefits of Augmented Reality Social Apps
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The Bud Light AR campaign was a triumph on multiple levels
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This Bud Light campaign was a triumph on multiple levels, it was literally frictionless as the AR app was embedded within the NFL’s team apps, which fans often already had downloaded to their devices. It was personal and social, using face-activated tech to put the fan directly into the experience and let them choose their preferred team colours and then share their experience straight to social media with the Budweiser branding embedded. This is a very elegant example of the power of AR to personally engage with your core customers and give them a memorable experience that they want to share.

London bar City Social launched a revolutionary AR cocktail menu this year called Mirage
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Upmarket London bar City Social is another example of the drinks industry successfully leveraging AR. Earlier this year they launched an Augmented Reality Cocktail Menu called Mirage, and last month I finally had a chance to try it out. The experience blew me away, and not just because of the strong – and expertly mixed – spirits on offer.

The Mirage experience blew me away, and not just because of the strong drink
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The Bar Manager Lukas Bulika walked me through the Mirage AR cocktail menu and explained how the AR experiences are activated on your mobile by the special coasters served with the drink of your choice. These coasters augment your tabletop into a range of creative animations that complement the style and ingredients of the specially conceived cocktails. Take a look at the video to see some of the inventive experiences on offer.

A range of creative animations complement the style and ingredients of each cocktail
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I got three cocktails into the menu and wanted to continue trying each different drink and its unique linked experience but at that point was a little too sozzled to be fair! They are rather strong tipples…

Augmenting the whole artisan cocktail experience like this was a huge success. The incredible, sky-high City tower location, stunning views, elegant decor, legendary cocktails and fantastic AR experiences come together to give customers so much more than a tasty drink in a nice bar. It elevates the overall experience and sets a new standard for a thrilling night out, which is what you want when paying for a premium experience, whether it’s a mixology cocktail or a gourmet meal.

Augmenting the whole artisan cocktail experience like this was a huge success
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Lukas was thrilled with the boost in patrons the Mirage menu had provided and plans to evolve and develop the concept going forwards using AR technology to help further define City Social the exclusive venue to go to.

Whisky fans were treated to an exclusive Mixed Reality HoloLens experience
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Macallan’s recent MR & AR campaign around its two 12-year-old whiskies is another excellent example of a big drinks brand getting stuck into the opportunities this bleeding edge tech offers to engage with and educate consumers about its products. Whisky fans were treated to an exclusive Mixed Reality HoloLens experience at Gallery 12, a Single-malt infused, mixed reality art exhibition, launched in New York this October to kick off whisky season.

Gallery 12 used Microsoft’s HoloLens technology to tell the story of The Macallan’s two 12-Year-Old whiskies, Sherry Oak 12 Years Old and Double Cask 12 Years Old, while immersing guests in a visual experience that combined whisky, storytelling, digital content and hologram technology.

Wearing Microsoft HoloLens headsets, visitors traveled through The Macallan’s legendary process to help visitors gain an understanding of the unique wood, natural colour, and flavour of each whisky.

The experience combined whisky, storytelling, digital content and hologram technology
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Alongside the exhibition, they released an AR app specifically designed for the newly released Apple iOS11 ARKit. Download the app and point your iPhone at a bottle of The Macallan 12 to launch an augmented journey narrated by brand ambassador Kieron Elliott.

Peer through virtual windows into forests of European and American Oak, learn about the distinct oak casks, generate swirling light ribbons that reflect the natural colours, and activate the distinctive flavours like cinnamon, fruit and honeycomb for each 12-year-old single-malt whisky expression.

The ARKit app lets users visualise the distinctive flavours in the whisky
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The possibilities to change the way brands market their products are clear but few have yet to fully explore the opportunities mobile AR marketing offers. We are on the brink of a boom in mobile AR marketing and a few key players in the drinks industry are already taking the lead, so it will be interesting to see what happens as more brands join them. It is vital that we realise that AR is not just a marketing tool but it also enhances the experience of the product itself as well as providing a social platform for communicating directly with customers. The possibilities are literally mind-blowing, and the potential rewards for brands are huge, so it wouldn’t be surprising if this ends up being the catalyst for a creative arms race.

Tech Trends offers Virtual Reality Consultancy Services that support businesses looking to adopt VR/AR/MR technologies into their strategy.

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post Cheers to the future of Mixed Reality appeared first on Tech Trends.

As we get ready for yet another Christmas, Tech Trends has been testing the latest cool technology for you. 

Gantri TL2 3D Printed Lamp

We review every design submission according to our six-point criteria. This ensures that all our products reflect the highest level of design thinking and achieve luxury-level design quality. 

To ensure the quality of every product, we engineer, manufacture and test every product in-house. When you shop on Gantri, you’re guaranteed a product that’s thoughtfully designed and expertly made.

New York Standard Watch

Aukey Bluetooth Receiver Wireless Audio Music Adapter

This neat little Aukey BR-C1 wireless Bluetooth music adapter comes with A2DP, Hands-Free Calling and a 3.5mm stereo jack is designed for both home and car audio systems. It is tiny and comes with all the required cables and was a doddle to set up. In my case I wanted a quick and easy way to play music from my phone or laptop straight to my stereo in the living room and this little gadget was just what I needed.

The Aukey Bluetooth receiver looks good, functions well, and is reasonably priced
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I used some higher quality cables than those supplied and pumped up the volume with a little Iron Maiden, some Big Black Delta and then, for decency’s sake, a Bach Cello Concerto. The quality, I found, is really quite good considering the cost. Great price, good looks, easy setup and good sound, this gadget has earned a permanent spot in my Hi-Fi setup!

• Bluetooth receiver allows you to wirelessly stream audio from your Bluetooth enabled devices to your existing wired home stereo systems, speakers, or headphones
• One button easy pairing with iPhones, iPads, Android smartphones, tablets, and computers in seconds and controlling the calls
• Double links: Connect two Bluetooth devices simultaneously; free to enjoy music or answer phone call from either of the two paired devices
• Supports hands-free calling with built-in microphone; 8 hours of talk and play time or up to 720 hours standby time
• Package Contents: AUKEY BR-C1 Bluetooth Receiver, 3.5mm Audio Cable, 3.5mm to RCA Audio Cable, Micro-USB Cable, User Manual, 24-Month Product Replacement Warranty and Friendly Customer Service

RRP: £12.98 reduced from £16.98

Eau Good Duo Water Filter & Infuser Bottle

With an activated stick of Japanese Binchotan charcoal in the bottle, it softens water, adds good minerals such as calcium, removes contaminants, balances PH and absorbs unwanted tastes and odours, including chlorine.

We are so proud of our charcoal filter that we didn’t want to hide it in permanent plastic casing – this means it is very easy to recycle and won’t end up in landfill. After the 6 months of water filtration, one suggestion is to break up the charcoal and put in in your plant pots to remineralise the soil.

WiZ Connected Smart LED Lights

The post November 2017 Tech Trends Product Reviews appeared first on Tech Trends.

Birmingham University pioneered Immersive technologies for well over a decade, and now teaches students the skills they need to work at the cutting edge of VR.

Regular readers of Tech Trends won’t be surprised to find out that VR, AR, MR, XR (this last one stands for Extended Reality, and yes, that’s a thing) and the whole virtual experiences alphabet soup are going to be the future of work, entertainment, computing, the economy, and pretty much everything.

So when we got the invitation to visit The University of Birmingham’s Human Interface Technologies (HIT) lab we jumped a the chance. Not only were we keen to find out what cool stuff they were up to – quite a lot, at it turns out – but also get a sense of how students considering their career options these days can actually gain the qualifications they need to work in VR.

Graduates lucky enough to study here will enjoy amazing opportunities in VR
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Under the charismatic Professor Bob Stone, the HIT team has been at the cutting edge of Virtual Reality and telepresence/ telerobotic technologies since it opened in 2003, but their success is built on nearly thirty years of work in simulation, robotics and Human Factors for applications in aerospace, defence and healthcare.

Those looking to pursue a career in VR often gravitate towards computer-focused HE courses, but these are often quite broad in their scope, so many of the pioneers now working in the industry such as designers and modellers often come to VR and AR through Arts and Media backgrounds such as VFX, which makes sense considering what a highly visual medium this is.

The Human Interface Technologies department at Birmingham University pioneers VR Tech
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Although there are many world-class research centres around the world which focus on immersive technologies – such as the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University, which coincidentally was founded by Professor Jeremy Bailenson in the same year as HIT was born in Birmingham – university courses that teach a focused and practical skillset that enables students to work in VR are quite rare, with some notable exceptions such as Full Sail University which we visited in Orlando earlier this year.

Even more rare are courses which support this learning with industry partnerships and hands-on experience, which is what HIT has been offering its students under the leadership of Professor Bob Stone.

University courses teaching a practical skillset enabling students to work in VR are still rare
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Professor Stone holds a Chair in Interactive Multimedia Systems within the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and has been pioneering the R&D into interactive media and robotic technologies at the University while his systems and technologies have also been used around the world by the likes of BAAE and British Ministry of Defence. Oh, and he is an honorary Cossack, so quite an interesting chap!

Many of their projects are developed in partnership with external companies and organisations
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As Bob talked us through his thirty years of experience working on VR technologies, two things stood out to me: how practical their work is – addressing real-world problems and involving field research – and how many of their projects are developed in active partnership with a range of external companies and organisations. Their track record in successful industry collaborations and community linked research and development projects is very impressive to say the least, I had a hard time picking a few examples to mention here, but these certainly caught my eye:

Subsafe

This is a VR training tool used by the Royal Navy to gain their submarine qualification, an experimental interactive 3D spatial awareness training tool designed to eventually replace legacy systems being used by Royal Navy submarine qualification (SMQ) instructors.

Navigating the decks and compartments in a “first-person” mouse-and-keyboard game style, SMQ trainees had access to all decks forward of the control room, comprising over 30 compartments and 500 different objects – including fire extinguishers, hose units, high-pressure air valves, and emergency breathing system masks.

After a year of experimental trials with the RN’s Submarine School, data revealed that the use of SubSafe in classroom training significantly improved the final “walkthrough” examination scores of trainees onboard an actual submarine.

Subsafe proved so successful, in fact that it sparked a series of spin-off projects commissioned by other future vessel and naval system developers, from submarine abandonment and rescue to early deck layout concepts for future surface combatants.

Virtual Wembury

The HIT Team also worked with medical professionals and patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham to determine whether VR could help patients recover from major surgery

They spent three years developing a detailed recreation of the Devon coastal path known as ‘Virtual Wembury’ which allowed recovering patients to enjoy a cycle ride through those idyllic landscapes right from their hospital beds. Professor Stone was born and bred in that area, so drew on his own experience to recreate the picturesque Devon environment in virtual form.

Feedback from patients has been very positive, and there’s a chance that this will inspire other hospitals around the country to roll out similar initiatives to incorporate virtual reality into their rehabilitation programmes.

Cutlass robot

Many Armed Forces EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) instructors feel that current classroom training does not equip trainees with adequate skills and system awareness to help them appreciate the capabilities and limitations of the vehicles they are about to operate.

The HIT team’s challenge in this case was to develop an affordable solution to train operatives in the Cutlass. This is an extremely advanced bomb disposal remote unite operated with a 9-axis manipulator and six separate joysticks, each controlling a different function and movement of the manipulator, depending on which control mode has been selected.

They did this by not only creating a highly realistic virtual urban street scene and house interior, but also a physical replica of the cutlass console containing accurate physics-based representations and locations of the key components, including the manipulator mode selection areas on a touch screen.

The Mayflower

Bob and his team also worked with groups in Plymouth, Dartmouth, Southampton and Worcester using Augmented Reality (AR) to deliver a range of innovative digital experiences including a detailed graphical recreation of the iconic Mayflower ship.

The 3D model is still a work in progress, but it will eventually include animated passengers, crew and cargo. They are also working on developing a range of believable effects relating to such features as the movement of sails and flags, the ship’s bow wave and wake, and the visual blurring necessary to create credible sense of changes in depth and distance over the route of the virtual ship, which will be superimposed onto the real-world scene, he explains.

Chinook Training Room 

From all the awesome things that Bob showed me, however, my favourite was probably the Chinook helicopter Mixed Reality simulator, which brings together VR with an inflatable enclosure conceived to help to support the future training of the UK Armed Forces’ Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT). In battlefield incidents that require emergency medicine, treatment is often administered in the back of the helicopter.

The system is used to track the user’s hands with infrared markers mounted on lightweight gloves
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Using an Augmented Reality head-mounted display, trainees are able to experience interacting with a body that has both visual and haptic elements. The position of head mounted display is tracked in real time, and in six degrees of freedom, using an OptiTrack V120 optical/infrared motion capture system. This same system is used to track the end user’s hands, using small infrared markers mounted on lightweight gloves.

Yorkshire-based company TraumaFX delivered the Simbodie, an incredibly detailed human male model capable of being configured to represent a wide range of injuries, complete with interchangeable lower leg components representing intact limbs and traumatic amputation, and repositionable bullet wounds and lacerations. A Leicestershire-based company, Imagine Inflatables, constructed a ‘Chinook’ enclosure capable of being inflated and deflated quickly for rapid deployment and portability.

The enclosure provides a constraining environment for simulator users
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Together with replica Minigun and M60 Machine Gun models, and in conjunction with the Simbodie, the enclosure provides a constraining environment for simulator users, creating a believable in-flight scenario. As well as using video to simulate the external view from the helicopter via the windows and rear ramp (captured by flying the HIT Team’s drones over Dartmoor). The scene has been integrated with realistic sound effects taken within an actual Chinook cabin, provided to the team by Boeing Defence UK.

At the core of all this work is the idea of Human Centred Design – or ‘Human Factors’ as it is known. Designing the technology around the user and for the user. Not design for designs sake. Which is why it makes sense that the visit was organized by The Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF) – a body whose goal is to put the human at the heart of good design and engineering.

After all, technology is supposed to improve our performance but I am sure many of you will recognise situations where tech has slowed you down and made life more complicated not less!

At the core of all this work is the idea of Human Centred Design
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University of Birmingham College of Engineering and Physical Sciences students have an incredible opportunity to tap into the expertise of the HIT team and learn about the career possibilities Immersive Technology specific skills might offer them.

This is one of the most impressive and productive VR & AR focused education facilities I've seen
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I have to say that this is certainly one of the most impressive and productive VR & AR focused education facilities I have seen, and makes me wish I could go back in time and revisit some of my own education choices. But graduates lucky enough to study here will certainly enjoy some amazing opportunities to not only learn about VR, but also apply it in a variety of practical scenarios.

To find out how to leverage VR/AR/MR in your enterprise, Tech Trends offers bespoke Virtual Reality Consultancy support

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post Studying for the Virtual Revolution appeared first on Tech Trends.

MOOCs are now mainstream, but online courses need to leverage new technologies if they are to truly democratise access to knowledge 

There’s little doubt that online courses are proving popular with students all over the world. Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) providers such as EdX and Futurelearn have been lauded with democratising higher education and making knowledge more accessible.

Coursera – which to date attracted over $210 million investment – has over 20 million registered learners who access courses from over 140 institutions worldwide, and most major universities – From Harvard to Imperial and Princeton – have jumped on the online learning bandwagon.

Take-up and offer of online courses in the UK has risen dramatically
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Research published by Ashton University and Keypath Education (who have just announced a partnership to deliver Masters degrees in Accounting, Finance and Management) show there has been a dramatic rise in both the offer and take-up of courses from major UK universities in the past year.

“We live in an increasingly global and technology-driven world, where online degrees are quickly becoming a natural option for students and universities alike,” agrees Professor Alex Cameron, Vice Chancellor of Aston University. “We have been able to attract a diverse and impressive student body to our online programmes, students who would otherwise not have been able to study at Aston.”

The growth in online degrees is also being powered by greater digital connectivity in emerging markets such as Nigeria as well as a demand for flexible working and learning in developed economies like the US, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Analysis of the latest data from the Higher Education Statistical Authority (HESA) revealed that since 2011 the numbers of American students studying at UK universities entirely via online degrees has increased by 26%, while Australian and South African numbers have soared a staggering 125% and 135% respectively.

“We are experiencing a global boom in the number of students studying online degrees, but with Brexit on the horizon, it is more important than ever that British institutions are taking the lead on innovation as we are in a very competitive race to attract the world’s best and brightest students to study with British Universities,” says Keypath Education CEO Rajay Naik.

Online learning is big business. While such courses are comparatively more affordable than their traditional campus-based counterparts, fees for Aston’s MBA and MSc programmes start at £11,050 for UK students and £16,050 for international students.

We are experiencing a global boom in the number of people studying online degrees
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With six intakes per year and no physical restrictions as to the number of students that can be admitted, it is easy to see why this is such an attractive booming market, specially in the global climate of increased competitiveness where academic qualifications can still make a huge difference to a person’s long-term earning prospects.

Most online course providers stopped offering free certification years ago, which reflects the real value that is now attached to online qualifications. The unfortunate consequence of this is that there is a rising problem of fake accreditation, where many online courses faced criticism for not offering sufficient identity checks to make sure people receiving course certification are the same ones who actually did the coursework.

Most online course providers stopped offering free certification years ago
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And while it is difficult to see the problem being completely eradicated – the “fake qualifications industry” was already worth over $1bn a decade ago before the popularisation of MOOCs ever became a phenomenon – there are significant moves being made in the industry to effectively address this.

One example is the recently announced partnership between VSF Global and Oxademy to offer online postgraduate and business management courses. VSF are experts in identification and security, being the world’s largest visa application contractor, working for more than 50 governments processing visa applications in 127 countries across the globe.

VSF will apply visa-level identity check standards to their MOOCs
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VSF They are now proposing to bring the rigorous identity check standards routinely required for visa applications to their MOOCs (which will offer MBAs starting at £7000), in addition to requiring the student to be physically present at one of its locations for a final exam before issuing the certificate.

Another trend that will undoubtedly affect the sector is that as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies improve at an ever-faster pace it will enable much better provisions for personalized learning.

A huge problem with online courses – which accounts for their higher drop-out rates where compared to their traditional counterparts – is that the lack of personal interaction with a tutor can lead to a one-size-fits-all approach, which can be demotivating.

This is something VSF-Oxademy courses will offer students in their blended learning courses, leveraging AI to identify each learner’s strengths and weaknesses and generate teaching paths based on the individual learner’s behaviour, personalising the learning to each student through real-time analysis of performance data.

“A unique feature of the VFS-Oxademy programmes is that they can be customised to individual needs of students, irrespective of location or background,” agrees Bernard Martyris, Chief of Human Resources at VFS Global.

Developing software that understands how you learn best and where you need to focus is a main area of investment not only for commercial enterprises, but in the burgeoning “venture philanthropy” sector.

The Gates foundation has given more than $300 million to personalised learning initiatives
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Since 2009, for example, the Gates foundation has given more than $300 million to support research and development on personalised learning, and they recently partnered with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to set aside a $12 million grant to support research and development into new ways of tailoring classroom instruction to individual students.

There’s no doubt that we’ve come a very long way with online learning, and are getting ever closer to fulfilling Isaac Asimov’s great vision – which he set out at a time when most of us could not conceive of having computers in our home, never-mind the Internet.

VFS-Oxademy programmes customise learning to student needs
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The future of learning might look like Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One
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Looking to the not-too-distant future, we can already envisage how Virtual and Mixed Reality technologies will increasingly be incorporated into the online learning strategy of major Universities institutions help to make such distance courses more immersive and engaging, blending the real and virtual world seamlessly and thus vastly increasing our ability to learn.

The future of learning will probably look a lot like Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One world, which will be brought to life for the big screen by Steven Spielberg. Bring on “Ready Player Learn”.

Now that MOOCs are mainstream, where does online learning go next? https://t.co/UZ5CY9TLIQ

— TNW Contributors (@TNWcontributors) July 19, 2017

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.

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 LinkedInand follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Imagining the Future of Online Learning appeared first on Tech Trends.

In this article for The Times Higher Education I visit the San Francisco Headquarters of Linden Lab and talk to the creators of Second Life about how Virtual Environments have already been a feature of education for years, and how the commercialisation of VR will bring it to the masses.

Picture this. You’re walking through a chemistry lab, watching as some students happily experiment with hazardous substances while others interact with 3D projections of the molecules as they react to each other. Over in the next room, a trainee nurse triages a stream of patients based on their various symptoms, while across the hall a group goes through a realistic emergency simulation for an oil drilling platform fire.

It might all sound futuristic, but these are real examples from what is now the granddaddy of the virtual world: Second Life
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SL launched in 2003, and 15 years is a very long time in the technology world. So long, in fact, that people are often surprised to find that it’s still around (or, indeed, that it turns a healthy profit for its developers, Linden Lab).

By the time today’s children grow up and enter university, this kind of Virtual enhanced environment could well be commonplace
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Linden Lab is back in the limelight after announcing plans to develop a fully fledged immersive virtual reality platform, code-named Sansar.

I met Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg in the company’s San Francisco headquarters, and he told me that “if you boil down what human beings do, it’s basically creating spaces and sensory experiences, inviting people to share it, and interacting with them”.

One of those user creations was the chemistry lab described above, designed in Second Life by Texas A&M University as a learning aid for its students. In spite of the technical and graphic limitations of the platform, teachers using the facilities found that their students outperformed those learning solely in the real world.

“You can read about something, you can watch a video; but it’s only when you’re doing it that you truly absorb that knowledge,” Altberg says. “In that lab, I can take the molecules, move them around, sit on them; I can pour this liquid into that liquid and see what happens…Nobody reads the manual.The experience is more powerful than video lectures, he says, because it gives learners the ability to socialise with other people in real time. “If I’m at home watching a feed by myself I’m just consuming that content, but if I’m sharing the experience and feedback with others that becomes something entirely different, and much more powerful.”

His vision for Sansar is to make it accessible for anyone to create and share virtual experiences, something that at the moment is impossible for those without advanced technical skills.

Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, has conducted extensive experiments that show how effective virtual environments can be for optimising the learning experience. He believes that such technology will have a profound effect in education.

“We know, for example, that when a teacher looks at a student, that student has a better chance of actually learning. That makes sense in a one-to-one setting, but in a lecture hall with a hundred students, it is impossible for her to do that. However, when teaching a class in virtual reality, that teacher can employ augmented gaze powers, because the rendering computer in a virtual reality system sends information to all of the students’ systems individually, so the information can be tailored to each person,” he says.

In his experiments, participants never realised that the teacher’s gaze coming from their avatar was not “real”, and as a group, students under that gaze paid closer attention to the teacher’s avatar and retained more information.

By the time today’s children grow up and enter university, this kind of enhanced environment could well be commonplace. For universities just beginning to get their heads around the concept of video lectures and massive open online courses, it might seem like a daunting prospect to build entire virtual worlds and integrate them into their mainstream offering. But if Altberg has his way, universities will be able to not only provide those experiences, but to monetise them, too.

“Take the A&M chemistry lab, for example. They created this amazing, really effective environment and experience in Second Life, but only their students could use it,” he says. “In Sansar, they would be able to put that lab in the marketplace so that another department in another school anywhere in the world can buy it. That school would then have a duplicate of the lab for their own students, which they can customise as appropriate without having to build everything from scratch.”

Sansar launches later this year, so we’ll see how quickly this vision materialises, but Altberg is in no rush. Perhaps unusually in the tech arena, his company is really good at playing the long game. “Second Life’s 13th birthday was in June, so we’re building a platform with the assumption that it will be around for decades.”

Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, has conducted extensive experiments that show how effective virtual environments can be for optimising the learning experience
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Virtual learning really is coming to universities, via @secondlife creator: @alicebonasio https://t.co/sA8lMGgUZK pic.twitter.com/OGlUb37w4o

— TimesHigherEducation (@timeshighered) July 8, 2016

Read the full article on the Times Higher Education website

For companies looking to get into VR/AR/MR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance on how these technologies can enhance and support your brand strategy.

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 and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Virtual Learning is Coming To Universities appeared first on Tech Trends.

Data Scientists are the rock stars of the tech world, and London start-up Pivigo helps them get their mojo 

If you’re in the tech business, pray you’re never tasked with recruiting a Data Scientist. Good ones are rarer than hen’s teeth, and the people lucky enough to have them will fight to the death to keep them. One  foolish company – which shall remain unnamed – that recently made its Data Scientist feel rather unloved. That person casually started exploring options on a Monday, and had his pick of six very attractive job offers by Friday that same week.

Data Scientists are people who not only understand data, but can spot amazing things you can DO with it
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But why, you might ask, are they in such high demand? To put it simply, these are people who not only understand data, but can spot the amazing things you can DO with data, then work with others to turn these insights into products.

Economies are now data-driven, and as we go about our ‘always on,’ constantly connected lives, we’re constantly feeding new data streams into a myriad of different systems. There’s more data out there than ever before, and the sheer volume of it continues to grow exponentially, hence Big Data.

Data Scientists spot trends and stories in these complex goldmines of information, helping companies extract actionable insights from them. They communicate well and work with teams across the company, using their analytical super-powers to help optimize processes and come up with new product and services.

A blend of analyst and artist, a good Data Scientist is what you might call a Renaissance person
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Working in the tech industry, I’ve been lucky to work with many gifted individuals over the years. Some were technical geniuses; others had a knack for creating and marketing successful products. Yet it’s very rare to get someone combining both. Those people are Data Scientists. And we need more of them.

And that’s where Kim Nilsson comes in. She co-founded Pivigo in 2013 with Jason Muller to help tackle this chronic industry shortage, and help gifted individuals acquire the right skills to become Data Scientists.

“The problem is that university degrees are great at teaching you theoretical knowledge such as statistical concepts and logic or programming methods, but horribly bad at teaching you the practical skills that the industry needs. What we offer is a sort of finishing school to those with an academic degree, equipping you with the most up-to-date, commercial skills for instant employability.”

Pivigo works with companies on a sponsorship model that allows them to offer heavily discounted rates for academics looking to acquire those industry skills.

“Academia will always struggle with giving students real experience of working with messy, confusing, and uncoordinated data,” says Nilsson. “We prepare them for working in a commercial environment with deadlines, business priorities, communication problems and the pressure that comes with that.”

“We’re now building a platform – a trusted data science marketplace – where we can connect data scientists with organisations continuously. We already have a lot of experience working with companies, and delivered over 45 data science projects to clients like KPMG, Royal Mail, British Gas and Marks & Spencer.”

So far, over 200 students from 40 nationalities have graduated from the programme, with over 35% of these being female (a very healthy representation rate in STEM). Nilsson wants to democratise data science even further, however. She’s hoping that Pivigo’s newly launched online course will reach a much bigger audience in a market worth around £4bn globally, and growing 25% per annum.

Pivigo’s newly launched online course will reach a much bigger audience in a market worth around £4bn
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In this fast-evolving landscape, private initiatives have the advantage of remaining nimble, unlike universities that have to set their curricula years in advance. Nilsson believes it’s crucial for universities to catch up with those standards and speed up learning cycles by incorporating technology tools such as MOOCs into their structure. “Learning should be continuous, adaptive and flexible, with Nano-degrees that can be updated from one month to the next to cover the most recent developments in a field” She says .

Learning should be adaptive and flexible, with Nano-degrees that can be continuously updated
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“There’s also a need to strengthen the prestige and reputation of vocational training and apprenticeships. We need practical skills in society. These may still be of very high complexity, but they must be directly relevant to what industry wants and needs. And this learning is best done on the job.”

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 and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Changing the World One Byte at the Time appeared first on Tech Trends.