It remains to be seen just how large a part education will play in the VR industry, but there have been interesting developments recently. For example, an entire facility has been fitted out for AR and VR education in Oklahoma. The facility takes advantage of VR’s ability to immerse students in their education, excite them with interactive experiences they control, and also bring a curriculum to students not able to make it into the facility. There are also a collection of specific educational programs in the VR ecosystem and we chatted with the founder of Explain 3D about a new one that aims to bring encyclopedias to life.
Peter Tomasovic, founder of Explain 3D and Explain VR, discussed with us the inspiration behind the Explain platform and future plans.
“We asked ourselves how to create an educational aid that will bring you to space, to the forest, or wherever you want in a second without buying expensive solid educational aids,” he says about the development of Explain 3D.
Explain 3D is a system designed for teachers, parents, and students to learn how cars, plants, and many other things work. Tomasovic and his team wanted to get a wealth of information into many hands, which is why they created applications for tablets, smartphones, and desktop PCs. Once there were a few VR headset options, he decided it was a good time to develop a VR version of the app. As is, Explain VR includes over 50 different simulations and experiences and there are plans to add more over time.
“Our long-term goal is to create educational tool for schools,” he says. “This is not so easy because schools or educational institutions are sometimes very slow in adopting new technologies mostly due to finances, but we believe that VR in education has huge potential.”
Currently, the Explain VR team is looking for partners. They’ve even worked with schools from India and Africa and are considering designing it for their curriculum in the future.
Explain VR is currently available for Samsung Gear for $4.99 but can be download for free on iOS and android. An Oculus Rift version of the application is in development and will hopefully be live in 1-2 months.
