New ‘Multi-player’ VR Training Application

Where are we with Virtual Reality?

Virtual Reality (VR) has taken huge leaps forward over the past couple of years towards becoming an easily accessible commercial technology. In order to continue on this upward trend, businesses need convincing that the VR applications available are both cost effective and can evidence dramatic improvement on existing methods of training. Multi-player VR training applications can accelerate training programmes, developing career paths quicker, therefore retaining good employees once training has been completed.

VR software companies are continuously developing new ways to make content creation easier and designing products that are far more appealing to the mass market. Coupled with, hardware developers producing high-end equipment (HTC’s Vive and Facebook’s Oculus) and cutting the prices to stimulate the market. The adoption of VR applications for all businesses has become much more accessible, cost effective and appealing due to identifying business ROI.

However, increasing the number of businesses investing in VR applications is only 50% of the solution. Ensuring these solutions fully engage target audiences, maximise operational efficiency and meet training objectives, all are an absolute necessity to encourage market growth.

For the purposes of this article the focus is on how we can push the boundaries of VR technology, overcoming the common user feedback of how VR can feel isolated. The immersive world is sometimes a lonely place, that segregates us away from others.

Myriad Global Media has developed a more engaging and sociable platform that allows businesses to train all their staff, across various fields (HSE hazard awareness, Engineering maintenance), without them all having to be in one place. Saving time and money but also increasing information retention through new innovative training methods. Get in touch for a LIVE Multi-player VR Training demonstration.

Please download it via LinkedIn Slide Share:
https://www.slideshare.net/MatthewRadbourne/top-10-vrar-headsets-on-the-market

Or email our VR team leader directly
matthew.bousfield@myriadglobalmedia.com

Improving Virtual Reality’s commercial viability

Virtual Reality (VR) has taken huge leaps forward over the past couple of years towards becoming an easily accessible commercial technology.In order to continue on this upward trend, businesses need convincing
that the VR applications available are both cost effective and can evidence dramatic improvement on existing methods of training. VR applications can accelerate training programmes, developing career paths quicker, therefore retaining good employees once training has been completed.

VR software companies are continuously developing new ways to make content creation easier and designing products that are far more appealing to the mass market. Coupled with, hardware developers producing highend
equipment (HTC’s Vive and Facebook’s Oculus) and cutting the prices to stimulate the market. The adoption of VR applications for all businesses has become much more accessible, cost effective and appealing due to
identifying business ROI.

The average cost of replacing an employee is over 50%
250% of their annual salary
67% of people learn on mobile devices.

Current Barriers Delaying Adoption

THE COMMON APPREHENSIONS SURROUNDING VIRTUAL REALITY APPLICATIONS

1Currently, a large percentage of VR applications only enable one person to use specific pieces of equipment at any given time, which is sometimes the best solution and can work very well for niche training programmes. The one big issue being that when applied to a larger volume of personnel, it doesn’t become cost effective as it slows down the training process.

3Products like Google’s Cardboard, Oculus and Samsung’s GearVR now allow standard smart phones to power the headset, allowing large amounts of immersion and interaction for the user via the same application. This alleviates the problem of being anchored to one spot but does create issues of providing one device per person.

2To increase the number of business adopting VR applications, new innovative ways of engaging larger workforces are vital. Developers need to move away from single user experiences / training and embrace the endless reach VR can have. VR appeals to global businesses; therefore, applications need to be global and
multi-player to guarantee benefits within training and operations.

4Currently, businesses are seeing huge benefits in
VR training applications but still face the challenge of putting 50 new starters through training one by one. Yes, it would be effective in the essence of only needing to provide one device and being able to record that each employee has completed the training, however the time to get all the employees through the training would be inefficient.

SO WHAT WE HAVE CREATED?

An online, multi-player, fully interactive VR training application that can be used to connect multiple employees together from all over the world, allowing them to view content simultaneously. This allows one trainer to deliver training to large number of users (up to 10,000 concurrently) from the company’s HQ. The trainer can interact in a virtual space with users (up to 5, where VR devices are available in each location) while others watch the lesson from their mobile devices or web-based training screen. All attendees can interact, ask questions and the host can take hundreds of employees through step-by-step training quickly and efficiently. This is possible by building what is at its core, a serious, multi-device, multiplayer video game.

69% OF L&D PROFESSIONAL SAY THAT TALENT IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IN THEIR ORGANIZATIONS

Where does the technology go next?

MYRIAD GLOBAL MEDIA DEVELOPS BESPOKE MULTI-PLAYER VR APPLICATIONS FOR GLOBAL BUSINESSES

Myriad Global Media has worked closely with our partners to overcome the ‘multi-player’ issue, and that is to use a cloud-based broadcasting system. Allowing a smaller number of users to carry specific VR training together, that then broadcasts a live interactive viewing platform so others in the business can watch and ask questions.

Imagine a classroom, with the teacher at the front demonstrating how
a specific piece of equipment works (for example, a complex jet engine
or an expensive radiology machine) and a thousand virtual students watching, able to ask questions or step up, put a headset on and actively engage in the demo.

All businesses carry out practical training on specific equipment, engines or technical components, which requires a large amount of prior knowledge and can very expensive to implement. Plus, bringing an individual to a site or training area can be costly, especially if the area in question is remote, overseas or even in the middle of the ocean. Therefore, using an online interactive multi-player VR experience could prove to be extremely cost effective and maximise the ROI in these situations.

All training encompasses theory and practical based methods, both complementing each other. With interactive multi-player VR, users can now supplement theory and practical training at the same time. Dedicated training teams can reach audiences across the globe from one location, saving costs and increasing volume. These training experiences would complement traditional teaching with specialist areas that could not traditionally be practically classroom based. Plus, using recent studies on the psychology of VR it would also significantly boost information retention and attract the millennial workforce into otherwise unattractive industries.

1. LEAD (HOST) HEADSET

The lead trainer headset will be immersed within the chosen VR application, taking the interactive training session.

2. CLOUD BASED OPERATING SYSTEM

In order to enable global operations, a cloud-based server (provided by MGM, with endless logins) will host the multi-player platform.

3. GLOBAL PARTICIPANTS (up to 4)

Additional employees will be within the virtual training space, able to interact with the application alongside the Lead Headset, logging in from anywhere around the world./p>