1. Virtual Reality Learning
ATD Boston
March 14th, 2018

2. Custom VR Training projects
AquinasVR
Technology
VR Learning
Products
360 Microsimulations
Custom VR Training projects
Expo Organizer
Monthly Meetup: 500+
WebVR Hackathon (6/23-25)
I do a lot with the tech.
> 20 VR hackathons in CT, SF, NYC
xAPI Meetup
New NYC meetup
Stamford
ACM SIGGRAPH Chairman

3. Agenda What is VR? Market Snapshot Let’s Review some Cases
Let’s Discuss some Ideas
I’m publishing an eBook this week
Sign-up to get a copy

4. Virtual Reality is a type of “immersive technology”
surrounds the viewer with content, creating a completely separate reality.

5. What is Immersive Technology?
Visual, Tactile, Audio techniques that bring the user into content, data and experiences.
Data & Content
Context

6. Three Immersive Technologies: AR vs. VR. Vs MR?

7. Kinds of Immersive Tech
Mixed & Augmented Reality:
Context is simply everyday reality
Data & content are presented via smartphone, tablet or headset
Virtual Reality:
Context is created or re-created, presented within a dedicated headset or special smartphone viewer
Data & content are presented at the same time

8. All the “R’s” Virtual Reality: Augmented Reality: Mixed Reality:
Blocks out everything else
Lots of new gear
Augmented Reality:
Tags something in the world
Puts data & content over that thing in the real world
Mixed Reality:
Maps the room
Puts virtual things into the real world

9. The VR Experience is unlike anything else – because it is complete.
You are fully immersed in the experience, and it feels real in a way other things do not.

10. However, it is early days.

11. A Range of VR Hardware
High End, Tethered to PC
Mobile

12. Presence
VR works because it creates the illusion that you are “there” We call the strength of that illusion “presence” In many ways, Presence happens when you are caught up in a book and lose track of time. Presence is psychological. Immersion is technological

13. Why
Learning in VR?

14. UNIQUE, IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBILITIES

15. Authentic Experiences

16. In 2017 VR Learning Was “Getting There”

17. “Why Virtual Reality Experiences are the future of L&D,” Saffron Interactive
“Virtual reality and augmented reality will gain ground as costs come down” Udemy Learning Index Report 2018
“VR Training Next Generation of Workers,” Forbes
“Farmers Insurance Is Using the Oculus Rift to Train Workers in Virtual Reality,” Fortune
“Learning By Virtual Reality: It's Here And It Works,” Josh Bersin, Linkedin
Finally, a Useful Application for VR: Training Employees, MIT Technology Review

18. In 2018 VR Learning will expand pilots & move to implementation
In 2018 VR Learning will expand pilots & move to implementation. Statista predicts a $216MM market in 2018, $6Bn in 2022

19. Accessibility Vs. Scale
Solving the user experience issue is an ongoing problem:
Lower quality headset & experience if you want to use mobile
Much lower number of people can use it if you use higher quality headsets
VW/Walmart are still only giving a fraction of their workforce a short series of VR experiences. This isn’t enough better than in-person in most cases.

20. Case: Aquinas Microsimulations
Most companies have new manager training. As part of their new manager training, an Aquinas client teaches its supervisors skills like coaching, delegating and influencing others.
These skills are difficult to teach with videos & words. In the past, role-play was used, but it tends to be uncomfortable and also not very effective.
Aquinas provided a mobile VR solution that allows our clients to send immersive 360 video to their learners to make the lessons real, and provide authentic experiences quickly.

21. Non-Verbal Communication vs. Interactivity
StriVR decided to use 360 degree video instead of rendered experiences.
They did this because, in the case of football, they needed to show very small nuances that designers wouldn’t be able to capture.
They continue to do this because up to 95% of communication is nonverbal, and designers cannot capture most of that, either.
No sensors exist that are good enough to capture & represent non-verbals.

22. Case: StriVR & United Rentals
United Rentals trains outside sales reps (OSRs) to rent construction equipment to job sites. However, during training and onboarding it is near impossible to have OSRs learn a consistent approach to job sites.
United Rentals recreated the 5 phases of construction in VR so that new OSRs are able to learn while feeling like they are actually on a site, but without actually being there.
Time spent on learning the phases of construction and the relevant contractors has increased in effectiveness while reducing time spent in that training by 40%.
United Rentals has now rolled this training out to all OSR new hires

23. Interactivity + Haptics
Many use cases for skills use the actual physical controls of the machine to be trained on. This is expensive but often worth it.
The goal with these is to train, and assess, the operator so that they’re ‘certified’ at some level before they touch the expensive and often dangerous equipment.

24. Case: EndeavorVR & Raymond
Forklift Simulator:
Forklifts are common and companies have many operators who need assessment, training, upskilling and refreshers. 
A flexible forklift training program that is used on the actual forklift, without the need for expensive bucks. Raymond markets the VR training to its customers as a value-added service to existing training programs.

25. Spatial Reasoning
A big part of many skills is understanding the space within which the skill is performed.
VR can cheaply create that space and allow workers to train when space is expensive, inaccessible, or not created yet.

26. Case: PeVRformance & DHL
DHL loads many airplanes per day, and unskilled loading operators will often waste space. Airplanes are too expensive to ground just for training, and building a mockup doesn’t allow the distributed workforce to all receive training.
Creation of a two person, roomscale VR experience where operators can practice stacking boxes inside of a virtual plane

27. Some ideas

28. Proteus Effect What happens when you become: Taller = more confident
Beautiful = more social
Minority = more understanding, less biased
Proteus effect is robust – we take on, sometimes for weeks, elements of the identities we inhabit in VR

29. When do we use 360? When Avatars?
Two big distinctions
360 can show nonverbal reactions
Rendered scenes are interactive & fully 3D

30. What if we look at kind of training
Specific:
Tied to a company’s processes, machines, or values
Proprietary
General:
Independent & transferrable across departments and companies
General
Examples:
How to operate a given crane
How to use surgical equipment
Implications:
Roomscale, Interactive
Leverage company’s controls
Examples:
Fire Safety
Mechanical Repair
Implications:
Roomscale
Include Text & “normal” video
Skills:
concepts & sequences that involve discrete physical actions
Examples:
Sales Scripts
GE Workout
Implications:
360 video, Roomscale, Interactive
Voice Control
Examples:
Delegation
Coaching, motivation, public speaking
Implications:
360 video
Include text & ”normal” video
Behaviors:
concepts & sequences that involve approaches over time

31. Big Benefit of VR: You are the protagonist
Everything happens to you
No longer looking in through a window – now you’re in the action
We react differently when we’re involved

32. VR as Next Gen Business Cases
Cases were invented to give business students a taste of the real world.
What about a fully immersive simulation?
What would a VR simulation miss that a paper case would provide?

33. Recognition-primed Decision Making (RPD)
Theory that we don’t weigh options, we recognize a pattern the react to it.
VR means we can learn more patterns of behavior, more deeply, and make better decisions.
What do you think?

34. Global Simulations Working Group
Founded last summer
70+ people around the world
Once/month – call
Run experiments, publish in books/blogs – lead to academic publication
me to join – nothing required, help if you want, just listen if not.

35. VR Learning Primer Just published this Monday, 3/12
me at for a copy
Or go to AquinasVR.com to download!

36. Thank You