Following significant funding * two state-of-the-art, low carbon Virtual Reality (VR) hubs will soon be available at both Accrington and Rossendale College and Nelson and Colne College!
As well as a mobile VR unit that can be taken direct to local businesses, schools, events and roadshows!
What are they?
- 2 x 6m diameter VR cylinders (at each college campus) to offer a totally immersive experience
- 1 x mobile 3 x 3m VR cube that can be transported to local businesses, schools and events
These exciting new VR facilities have been developed in partnership with employers and skills providers to address the future skills required by industry to tackle the low carbon agenda.
Who is it for?
With wraparound sound and vision, our VR facilities will offer an immersive experience – able to recreate realistic scenarios, training and education both on and off site.
Our College Students – VR will be at the centre of course development and embedded within every curriculum area. Thus, ensuring that digital skills are at the forefront of all educational programmes and that the college is addressing the needs of industry regarding ‘future skills’.
Local Business and Employers – will be able to book the VR hubs and mobile VR unit to deliver:
- remote presentations
- virtual design reviews
- general communication with stakeholders, suppliers and customers
- teaching, training and demonstrations
- risk assessments / building walk-throughs
- dangerous / high risk scenarios for training purposes.
Local Schools – will be able to use the VR hub and the mobile VR unit for curriculum delivery, virtual field trips and special events.
How can you use the VR facilities?
The cylinders and the cube are all equipped with Igloo Enterprise software. Each facility can display anything on the internet into the VR space so there’s a wealth of content available, or you can get stuck in creating your own content. For example:
Igloo Web
- Allows you to access a whole library of existing 360° videos via YouTube
- Your familiar web-based tools like Microsoft 365 can be accessed too – so you can work with the apps you already use, across a vast wraparound canvas
Igloo Capture
- Show any kind of content on the cylinder or cube screens, and tile them with up to 12 channels of different content – so you can build dashboards quickly and easily from scratch
- As well as 360° videos or images, you can show traditional formats or even files such as PDFs, and overlay them a wraparound background
- And you can share screens from devices to the screen, so that anyone can quickly and easily collaborate within the space, whatever they’re working on
Igloo Realtime
- As well as images and videos, work with game engine and visualisation content, built using apps such as Unity and Unreal
- Content designed for virtual reality headsets can be shown inside the VR hubs too – and it can be shared with whole groups at once
- A whole range of apps and software used in industry can be used inside the hubs, including visualisation tools for construction and engineering, simulation tools for training health and safety, and much more.
How can it benefit you?
Reduces your costs – VR avoids expensive real-life training scenarios and expensive trips to faraway locations
Enhances collaboration – VR means your entire teams / groups of students can interact with any scenario
Increases engagement – VR provides a [recreated] authentic experience
Improves safety – VR allows you to carry our activities / training without having to travel
Coming April 2022 …
College staff (at both the Accrington and Nelson campuses) will now be given access to expert advice, support and training to ensure these exciting VR facilities will make a huge difference to what students and employees can learn, do and explore.
Teaching and training will never be the same again … watch this space
Want to see a demonstration? WATCH HERE.
GET IN TOUCH.
If you think you could benefit from and use VR for your business or education facilities, contact: employers@nelsongroup.ac.uk
VR Facilities – at Accrington and Rossendale College will be available to book from mid-April 2022.
VR Facilities – at Nelson and Colne College will be available to book from Summer 2022.
Mobile VR Cube – will be available to book from mid-April 2022. Note: assembly requires approx. 4 hours by a member of the college team.
* The funding for these initiatives has been provided from a government Skills Development Fund designed to support the move to greener technologies.
