Virtual Fields聽is a new cross-platform interactive virtual environment (IVE) engineered at the University of New South Wales and deployed in 360 degree 3D theatre and online. It enables students and teachers to immerse themselves in challenging real-world scenarios, to remotely connect across separate locations and technological platforms, to explore and navigate through diverse data supported by an intelligent assistant, as well as to upload their own data into a shared system without knowledge of coding or the need for a separate commissioned programmer.
Integrated physical and virtual learning experiences in interactive virtual environments, supported by virtual reality technologies, are increasingly used in teaching practices and are now essential to many disciplines. They provide a mode of learning that dynamically immerses students in multi-dimensional experiences that are many times more powerful than those afforded by conventional classroom settings.
The next generation of IVEs, as demonstrated in this project, are built as cross-platform Intelligent Immersive Environments that employ intelligent systems in which user navigation and interaction is guided by machine learning algorithms and gamified navigational and interactive design.