Archive notice: This article was originally published on November 17, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
In the morning, while still in the classroom or lecture hall, school and university students use Visenso’s virtual-reality system to move through a virtual environment in which complex phenomena—particularly from science and engineering—are visualized. Follow-up study at home, or anywhere else, is made easier by video glasses that allow the material taught in class to be “experienced” again.
“Especially in subjects such as physics, chemistry and biology, school and university students often reach the limits of their imagination and therefore have difficulty understanding the material. Many of them must consequently work hard to master the subject matter. Yet the processes and relationships in precisely these areas are incredibly exciting and ideally suited to learning through personal visual impressions,” commented Visenso Managing Director Martin Zimmermann. “Immersion in the material, interaction and the enjoyment of discovering something new will produce significantly greater learning success.”
During classroom instruction, students could, for example, take a journey through the human body and experience blood flowing through the aorta up close in 3D. Invisible processes such as those occurring at atomic scale or in magnetism can also be simulated on a stereo rear-projection screen. In addition to simply observing, students are intended to have the opportunity to interact with the three-dimensional data. This could allow experiments to be performed completely safely even at schools where they would otherwise be reserved for the laboratories of research institutions or major corporations.
With the Cinemizer video glasses from Carl Zeiss, students can experience exciting learning moments again at home or anywhere else. The glasses simulate a display two meters away with a diameter of 115 centimeters—equivalent to a 45-inch screen—and provide genuine immersion in 3D learning content. “The Cinemizer does not reproduce only educational material; it is also suitable for animations, films and videos stored either on current Nokia N-series phones with video output or on video-capable iPod models,” added Dr. Frank-Oliver Karutz, Head of Multimedia Devices at Carl Zeiss. To transfer the learning content, the video glasses were connected to Visenso’s COVISE visualization and virtual-reality software.
Training content could also be burned onto CD or DVD, given to students and viewed in 3D with the Cinemizer on a home DVD player. The complete solution was presented to the general public for the first time at Science Days in Europa-Park in Rust in mid-October. A pilot project is currently under way at Thomas-Strittmatter-Gymnasium in St. Georgen in the Black Forest. Widespread adoption of the virtual classroom could be economically significant because “more young people may once again become enthusiastic about careers in science and engineering and pursue a corresponding educational path,” Martin Zimmermann hopes.
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