CHALLENGE:
To create a wide variety of virtual immersive learning environments which are fully engaging through sight, sound, smell and touch. A unique system that does not require the use of goggles or headsets, allowing multiple learners or groups to participate in the trainings.
Echo Healthcare’s Immersive Interactive product for learning environments was originally designed for special needs education. Their system design is able to provide children with special needs, like autism for example, the ability to come into an environment that needed to be stimulating or very soothing, depending on the child’s need. Projectors were used to provide interactive virtual images on the walls. Speakers were set up in the immersive learning rooms to give them sound. They also have the ability to pipe in a scent machine to add a particular smell in the environment if needed. They created a very soothing multi-sensory immersive environment with an interactive component where special needs students could touch hot spots on the walls and interact with the system. These students could pull up a quiz that's been outlined in the system and complete that quiz by touching the correct answers on the walls. Echo Healthcare decided to expand and target additional healthcare education training such as nursing programs, EMS programs, allied health programs, or pretty much anyone training on healthcare education. They wanted an immersive learning environment where they could completely control whatever type of environment specific learners needed to be in and make it as realistic as possible.
SOLUTION:
Echo Healthcare developed their Immersive Interactive System, a system which provides the unique ability using their user-friendly proprietary software combined with Optoma ultra short throw projectors that can turn a single room or multiple rooms into thousands of unique settings to run simulation scenarios or deliver didactic content to students or trainees.
Echo Healthcare’s Immersive Interactive System can now create realistic and engaging virtual training environments for any healthcare and non-healthcare specialty. They can customize their system and re-create almost any learning environment. For example, they can simulate being in the back of an ambulance and produce all the sights, sounds, and even smells that you would expect to be present on any ambulance call. Using three walls and ceiling mounted Optoma short throw projectors, they can fill the walls completely with immersive high quality virtual images. Speakers provide sounds and they have a scent machine that can pipe in particular smells to make the environments even more life-like. The system allows you to create a wide variety of virtual learning environments which are fully engaging through sight, sound, smell and touch. Students can now train in a controlled and safe environment that mimics what they would see in a real-life scenario. The system provides a truly immersive virtual environment that does not require the use of goggles or headsets, allowing multiple learners or groups to participate in the trainings. Immersive Interactive’s user-friendly software, Immersive Studio, allows you to easily navigate and change your virtual content with the use of a tablet and you can choose from thousands of pre-loaded backgrounds, scenes and exercises or easily integrate and customize your own content.
RESULTS:
Echo Healthcare has enhanced education and training by creating engaging and interactive virtual environments. The Immersive Interactive system transforms classrooms, simulation spaces and even mobile units into fully immersive spaces that provide a realistic and safe education and training environment for faculties and learners.
Echo Healthcare’s Immersive Interactive is now a global provider of realistic and engaging virtual training environments for all healthcare specialties with over 600 installations across the world. Their customizable virtual training environments allow learners to become prepared and well-equipped to take on high stakes or emergency situations with repetitive and realistic training. The systems can be installed in rooms using three walls or trailers if they wanted to take the trainings mobile. The visual systems can be customized to almost any size or shape of room using Optoma’s ultra-short throw projectors, the number of projectors needed depends on the dimensions of the space. Using these systems that can reproduce completely the sights, sounds, and smells of almost any environment. The touch-enabled walls that Immersive Interactive offers, provide a truly immersive and interactive experience. The students feel like they are training in that exact environment, whether it’s the back of an ambulance, an operating room, a nursing home, or any other scenario. Echo Healthcare is seeing a growing demand for these training environments, not only for healthcare but for primary schools, colleges, and universities where educators are looking for ways to keep students engaged. “Echo Healthcare’s Immersive Interactive is the leading provider of immersive learning spaces globally. We ensure our customers have the most dependable technology within their system to provide learners with the most realistic learning environments, which includes the high-quality projections provided by the Optoma short-throw projectors” says Kevin King, CEO of Echo Healthcare.
Echo healthcare is bringing multisensory learning environments into the modern classroom, enriching every aspect of education for the students. Don’t be surprised to see one soon in a school near you!
