An introduction to training and learning in immersive 3D and VR, and Daden projects in this space. As used at the Nov 18 ImmerseUK event in Birmingham.

1. Training and Learning in Virtual Environments
David Burden
Daden Limited

2. Who Are We?
◼ Specialists in:
◼ Immersive 3D training and learning (software and
hardware based immersion)
◼ Chatbots and conversational Artificial Intelligence
◼ Founded 2004, but 3D and chatbot experience since late
1990s
◼ Award-winning:
◼ US Federal Virtual Worlds Challenge winner 2010
◼ Finalist 2013 Global Unity3D Awards
◼ Times Higher Education Winning Projects 2009 & 2013
◼ Research-inspired – over a dozen R&D funded projects
◼ Based in Birmingham UK

3. Over 50 Immersive Learning Projects
Virtual Campus Apollo 11 - STEM Environmental Studies Disaster Management
Bereavement CareDisaster Management Paramedic Assessment Virtual Laboratory

4. Lessons from Virtual Worlds

5. Why 3D/VR Training?
◼ Save travel time and site costs
◼ Instant reset, high repetition
◼ Fast failure
◼ Wide variety of scenarios/problems
◼ Do things not possible/too dangerous/too
uneconomic in real life
◼ 100% consistent – esp. for reg. & assessment
◼ Asynchronous as well as synchronous
◼ Train or revise 24/7
◼ Less judgemental
◼ See “hidden” elements – e.g. emotional states
vs Physical Training
◼ Higher agency -> higher engagement
◼ Wider/unprompted range of actions
◼ Better understand context
◼ Encoding specificity
◼ Multi-user exercises
◼ Instant amendments c.f. video
◼ Better incorporate social and cross-cultural
skills
◼ Build virtual muscle memory of task/location
vs eLearning

6. 3D/VR in Training and Learning
Onboarder
&
Site
Familiarisation
Business
Continuity
& Emergency
Inter-cultural &
language
Training
Management,
Leadership and
Team Skills
Customer
Relationships
“training what you can’t
teach well in the
classroom
… or which is inefficient,
dangerous or too costly
on site”

7. 3D vs VR
◼ Use any computer/tablet/handheld
◼ 1st or 3rd Person
◼ Minimal nausea issues
◼ Easy text input/output
◼ Link out to web/2D
◼ No Health & Safety issues
◼ Can do very long exercises (~5hrs)
Immersive 3D
(on 2D)
Headset-based
VR
◼ Need a VR Headset (£10-£400-£1k+)
◼ Locked 1st person
◼ Possible nausea and H&S issues
◼ Poor for text (input & output)
◼ More “immersive”/flow
◼ Isolating (good/bad)
◼ Sense of size/space
◼ Need to keep to short exercises (10s of mins?)
◼ Slow manipulation

8. The Trainingscapes System
Non-VR
Explorer
(PC/Mac/iOS/
Android)
VR Explorer
(Cardboard/Oculus)
To/From
VLE/LMS
An assignment
management app to
manage courses and
learner analytics
A cloud-based
platform to share
3D locations
3D editor to let
anyone create and
share lessons,
exercises and
experiences
An Explorer app to let
trainees (and others)
experience the lessons
and exercises
Private intranet or cloud-based
service
Single-user or
multi-user
(hybrid)
© 2018 Daden Limited
◼ Intuitive authoring tool
for 3D/VR exercise
creation
◼ Runs on almost any
PC/Mac
◼ Create 3D and VR
exercises
◼ No scripting or syntax
◼ Drag-and-drop and
WYSIWYG
◼ Share content and
edit/copy rights
◼ Integrated cloud-based
publishing, delivery and
analytics system

9. Virtual Fieldtrips
◼ Initial InnovateUK project with the Open
University and the Field Studies Council
◼ ~25 sq km of The Long Mynd around
Cardingmill Valley digitised
◼ Compared 360 photosphere, immersive 3D
and “true VR” approaches
◼ Enabled students to rehearse and revisit
GCSE river measurement fieldtrip
*Quantified survey results from 18 students, from 27 forms submitted
“It was very detailed, real and
very easy to use”
“You could see where you
were going and you could find
out interesting facts about the
location”
“I loved how realistic it was and all
the sounds made it feel real”

10. STEM Engagement
◼ Built for the World Space Day event at
Worcester
◼ Continual use from 0930 to 1730
◼ Ranked by the organisers as the best
stand at the event (apart from their
own!)
◼ Previous events include the Malvern
Festival of Innovation
“There is zero chance that you
can go to the moon, but it was
really cool to learn about it and
feel it”

11. Midwifery/Nursing Training
◼ Evolving projects for Bournemouth
University Midwifery and Nursing students
◼ Two exercises so far (Urinalysis and
Diabetes) and live with students
◼ Looking at further exercises
"I had such a cool day at work recently – I got to play with
the first of my VR healthcare education environments
using Oculus Rift"
"I absolutely love this! A brilliant way to learn“- student
feedback
"So amazing to see my project becoming a reality – I
hope the students love this way of bridging the gap
between classroom theory and clinical practice"
"That was brilliant loved it! can’t wait to do more. Very
informative" - student feedback
"Delighted that the Oculus Rift dramatically altered the
look and feel of the clinical room, and that the handheld
Haptic feedback controls added to the experience"

12. Virtual Route Learning
◼ Project with Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust
◼ Over 70% of patients reported a reduction in community travel
[due to navigation issues] after brain injury and this had a
major impact on quality of life.
◼ Studying recovery of navigation skills in Acquired Brain Injury
Patients through navigation of a townscape with editable
proximal and distal landmarks
◼ Two doctoral, two MSc and two BSc students/researchers used
in research studies with 20 patients and 40 controls so far
◼ Now being used with an fMRI scanner
“[Daden] very customer centred, checking with us at each stage in the
development that it was exactly what we wanted. None of our very ‘un’
technically phrased questions were ever too much for them “
“The [evaluation] data ...was certainly more than we had expected and the
software is very easy to use for us and the participants in the study

13. Virtual Avebury – Heritage Outreach
◼ AHRC/EPSRC funded project with the National
Trust, BU and Satsymph
◼ Recreate Avebury Circle as it was ~3000 years
ago (minus the village!)
◼ Multi-user experience
◼ Over 700 users at the Avebury NT in 2-3Q18
“the short video I made for the BBC has been put on the
NT Facebook page for Avebury has had 41,000 views so
far! “
“The first thing that hits you once the experience
starts is the sheer size of the site, the immense
number of stones, the depth of the ditches and
the embankments. As you wander around there
are even Neolithic people to observe and you
are somehow drawn to the eighteen foot column
that towers above the stones and the
landscape.”
“This is a really amazing experience. To be
suddenly transported back to 4,000 years
ago with the clutter of modern life removed
from the landscape was very special and in
particular the ability to view the henge from
a height gives a real sense of perspective
and scale that you just don’t get from the
ground.’”

14. Recent Proof-Of-Concepts

15. Next Steps
◼ Building some new demos – e.g. fire
training
◼ Supporting Oculus Go/Quest and other
headsets
◼ Improving analytics and integration (xAPI)
◼ Building a construction training Proof-of-
Concept
◼ Growing our public sector client base
◼ Moving more into the private sector
◼ Finding training content creation/delivery
partners

16. Web: www.daden.co.uk
Email: david.burden@daden.co.uk
Twitter: @dadenlimited and @davidburden