Etiqueta: immersivetech

The New «Immersive Learning Experience» Paradigm.

Carlos J. Ochoa FernándezDeja un comentario

Personal highlights from the “Immersive Learning Research Network 2020 Conference” #iLRN2020

Last June, I had the honor of participating in the Immersive Learning Research Network International Virtual Conference held in the VR collaboration platform VirBELA, and through live streams on iLRN’s Youtube channel.

During the 5 days Virtual Event, hundreds of speakers from all continents, conferences, panel discussions, networking meetings, poster sessions, showcases, live demos, and many other social events were organized by an amazing team of professionals and volunteers.

It is evident, that due to the #Covid and its impact worldwide, the spread of virtual events has been exponential, and with it, the opportunity to participate in global events around the world, without having to move from one place to another, suffer the terrible jet-lags and the consequent savings for the pocket. But if there is something that, especially for me, has special relevance, it is the opportunity to share experiences with experts from all over the world, which would otherwise be materially impossible. Having this wide spectrum of professionals in the same setting, event, campus, or networking activity is a unique opportunity that not everyone knows how to take advantage of and organize properly.

The organization of a global event like that is something really complex. But if this is virtual, and you have to coordinate equipment, rooms, people, and technology in real-time and at a distance … this is much more complex and is not available to everyone. This requires planning, resources, teamwork, and good technology partners. And all of this was brilliantly accomplished during Immersive Learning Research Network. So, my first words are of recognition, gratitude, and congratulations to the whole team.

Personally, it was a magnificent experience, and having the opportunity to meet great friends and colleagues was very refreshing and healthy for the mind. There is always that moment, in which you see someone, you approach to greet him … and you realize that you are an avatar, talking to another avatar … but it is you and it is him. That is really mind-blowing and fantastic at the same time. But I’m counting the days when I can really come up in person and give my friend a real hug … congratulations on that. Very good work.

Professionally and academically speaking, I found it very inspiring due to the number of conferences and presentations that I was able to attend and in which I was able to see first-hand, the real use cases of VR in academic institutions, its evolution and ongoing projects , as well as its vision and evolution for the coming years.

At this point, an article that I recently reread about «It will be 2016 the year of the definitive takeoff of VR / AR» comes to mind. And every year it seems that we keep asking ourselves the same question, without being really aware that this technology is implanted in those industries where it provides value, competitive advantages, and cost savings. But it is constantly evolving and there are multiple ways of using it and adapting to the environments of use. The truth is that there is still a long way to go and meetings like this allow us to confront experiences, opinions and evaluate the degree of progress and results of these experiences. But we will talk about this later.

My contribution was concentrated in two main activities: a presentation and the presentation of the «Magical and Mistry Tour around the Cultural Heritage» showcase.

The Magical and Mystery Tour around Cultural Heritage of Cuenca, it is a unique project experience that was born with the vision of being a cultural and transmedia platform, as multicultural support where cultural heritage, history, archeology, society, and music are accommodated. In short, a space full of life and spaces for imagination and the discovery of magical worlds, from the Islamic to Christian times to the present day. Crossroads of cultures that can be traveled today thanks to immersive technologies from a unique perspective.

More than ten years of work, from the beginnings of the first Islamic reconstructions to the integration with current 360º videos, or flights around the city from Google Earth to recognize the vestiges of those ancestors who filled the city of Cuenca with magic. Advanced 3d immersive multimedia technologies are a powerful tool to create value around the Cultural Heritage. The Magical and Mystery Tour around the City of Cuenca project is aimed to integrate Virtual Reality technologies and methodological and scientific approaches for the representation of cultures across history.

And last but not least, I want to express my most sincere gratitude to Anna Xygkou for the permanent support, and the amazing intro to my session, and the amazing team with Jonathon Richter, Heather Dodds, Donna McTaggart, Tiago Peres, Mark J. Lee, and all the friends and more I met there…Lorelle Vanfoseen, Karen Alexander, Lucia Binotti, Tim Jackson, Julie Andersen Smithson, Daniel Dyboski-Bryant, Amanda Fox, Rob Theriault, and Patrick O’Shea from Versatilist Podcast…;+)

Have a nice and safe day.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández ©

Best Practices in VR in Education. Chapter ONE

Throughout this year, I had the opportunity to write the «White Paper» of «Best practices in VR Education» for the prestigious international VR/AR Association, in collaboration with some reference members of the Education Committee and sponsored by ONE Digital Consulting and Vuze Cameras.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández1 Comentario

Throughout this year, I had the opportunity to write the «White Paper» of «Best practices in VR Education» for the prestigious international VR/AR Association, in collaboration with some reference members of the Education Committee and sponsored by ONE Digital Consulting and Vuze Cameras.


A reference document that aims to be support for managers, teachers, students and professionals who in one way or another are within the educational ecosystem. Throughout several chapters I analyze the status and evolution of the implementation of IT in Education, current technological trends and the benefits of Virtual Reality in Education today.


This document is only a small part of the entire work, which took me more than two years of study, analysis and editing. So I am in the revision phase of a second edition, much more complete and detailed, where I enter much more in depth and detail in the chapters of creation of immersive content, ecosystems, project orientation, experiential developments, levels of sensory perception and immersion and VR/AR ecosystems adapted to the different levels of education, as well as implementation methodologies and use cases.


This new version will be published throughout the month of June / July and will be presented exclusively at the Míranos y Únete in Madrid, where hundreds of teachers will take the opportunity to evaluate and participate in different live workshops.


Meanwhile, you can download the previous version in this link.


https://www.thevrara.com/blog2/2018/11/27/the-vrar-association-publishes-best-practices-for-vr-amp-ar-in-education


Any questions to this respect, I am at your disposal at carlos.ochoa@onedigitalconsulting.eu.


Good day and good luck.


Carlos J. Ochoa Fernandez (c)

Future Jobs Opportunities around VR/AR

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández1 Comentario

Versatilist with Carlos Ochoa Fernandez Podcast.

New technologies are an emerging industry creating employment opportunities and entrepreneurial possibilities. Virtual reality and augmented reality represent incredible areas of opportunity. VR failed to live up to the wildest promises when the new VR systems launched in 2015. But the number of job postings for VR and AR have risen 93% since 2015, with 17% of that growth happening in the past year.

According to projections set out by the European Commission, market demands for qualified information and communications technology (ICT) specialists will not be met, seeing a shortfall of up to 500,000 ICT professionals in 2020. Virtual and Augmented Reality solutions are amongst those with some of the highest market demand in the ICT sector.

Education is the driver to sustainability of our economy and functionality of humanity. Every day we seek to learn new information and and the way we take the lessons and apply to our every day lives, is the core of how we explore we grow and we build futures for ourselves.

Through virtual and augmented realities, the technology allows the user to immerse themselves into a virtual experience or location and the immersive lesson is retained at a much quicker time frame with a more impactful lasting memory. VR & Learning, by the National Training Laboratory, advised retention rates for lecture style learning were at 5%, with reading rates at 10%. Meanwhile, the teaching method of VR scored a retention rate of 75%.

Understanding we are moving into a world with exponential growth, there is a necessary requirement to update our education system to support innovative technologies to understand how it will be applied to job creation and support digital support systems and processes.



It is in this context where Patrick O’Shea and myself, both from ILRN (Immersive Learning Research Network) and ICICLE ( X-Reality for Learning and Performance Augmentation, IEEE IC Industry Consortium on Learning Engineering) talk about Immersive Education around Cup of Coffee.

Thanks Patrick, for this amazing conversation.

Join the podcast here

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernádez ©

Impact and ROI of VR/AR in Training

The opportunities that will be available to enterprises when the Fourth Industrial Revolution begins to take shape, like increased productivity and efficiency, improved customer quality service, faster access to data and value information, and massive improvements in enterprise. These are the 4 key success factors for the next years.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández1 Comentario

“We must develop a comprehensive and globally shared view of how technology is affecting our lives and reshaping our economic, social, cultural, and human environments. There has never been a time of greater promise, or greater peril.” — Klaus Schwab

We are just starting 2019, with new hopes, ideas and projectsaround Innovation in Education and Training.

The opportunities that will be available to enterprises when the Fourth Industrial Revolution begins to take shape, like increased productivity and efficiency, improved customer quality service, faster access to data and value information, and massive improvements in enterprise. These are the 4 key success factors for the next years.

Investment increasing competitiveness: A clear majority of companies believe that the digital transformation to Industry 4.0 will increase their competitiveness. Utilise opportunities and reduce risks: Industry 4.0 represents a number of major opportunities for all companies. It will open up new ways for companies to integrate their customers’ needs and preferences into their development and production processes.

Standardisation through Integration IT Tech and Digital Data: There is some confusion with companies trying to innovate as to which standards will be adopted in the next five years. A huge challenge to overcome will be to derive a standardized system that works for all parties and allows for both horizontal and vertical integration, and results in maximum value for both present and future investments.

Workforce and new skills development: Adjusting talent and IT resources. Most of the companies noted that in many areas, they do not have all the staff they need to make the digital transformation to Industry 4.0. The need for efficient and effective workforce training and operation in the industry worldwide has become acute. Thanks to VR/AR, «advanced reality technologies and» digital information, technicians can focus in operation & maintenance task enables them to cut down on time spent on administrative tasks, significantly increasing productivity.

Disruptive Innovation through empowering exponential technologies: A majority of companies agreed that there are several key technologies “AI, IoT, BC, 3D printing, XR or Digital Twins” will accelerate the transformation process. Most companies are only just beginning to use these technologies and there is a risk that they may miss the opportunity, because some competitors have already been implementing it for several years and are developing the next generation of applications.

Simulation-based training, prefaced with traditional training methods on process fundamentals, is the most efficient and fastest way to train new employees and prepare them for their daily work providing huge added value and benefits.

Imagine how data transmitted from a Wind Turbine engine while operates can provide advance notice of potential failures. How use digital twins for engines to monitor their performance and carry out preventive maintenance. How digital twin technology is helping Companies understand and manage the operation of machines operating around the world, and craft next generation wind turbines and engines.

What is the digital twin?: A digital twin, according to Gartner, is a digital representation of a physical object. It includes the model of the physical object, data from the object, a unique one-to-one correspondence to the object, and the ability to monitor the object.

Digital twins have been around since 2002, but only gained momentum in 2017 when they became cost-effective thanks to an increase in the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud technologies, which enable low cost, high storage and compute, high throughput messaging, security, and more.

Now, you can join Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández and ONE Digital Consulting at VR/AR webinar to discuss the ‘Impact and ROI of VR/AR in Training‘ released last January 16, 2019. With David Trainor, Jeff Meador, Marlo Brooke. With 300+  registered attendees for this live session including Q&A.

The VR/AR Association (VRARA) is an international organization designed to foster collaboration between innovative companies and people in the VR and AR ecosystem that accelerates growth, fosters research and education, helps develop industry standards, connects member organizations and promotes the services of member companies

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández