VR/AR
These stories look at how virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are being used in state and local government to train employees like firefighters, EMTs and social workers. Includes coverage of VR and AR use in K-12 and higher education, as well as VR and AR startups building platforms geared toward government.
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After encouraging results with its STEM education platform in middle school classrooms, a Utah-based space tech company has assembled a team of AI and VR specialists to build educational tools.
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The K-12 courseware company Edmentum has added trade-specific online career and technical education courses for middle and high school students from Interplay Learning to its platform.
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At the University of Minnesota, medical school students have been using a virtual reality experience to understand the perspective of a woman dealing with the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s.
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The product release comes as more departments seek out augmented and virtual reality technology to sharpen the skills of first responders. That has led to more money flowing into this growing area of gov tech.
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The school based in Eau Claire, Wisc. is the first in the state to train firefighters on the FLAIM system, a virtual-reality program that monitors how much water a user expends, as well as heat and oxygen levels.
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While more people take aim at Facebook for allegedly not doing enough to stop disinformation and hate, the company has officially rebranded as Meta. The Facebook app will keep its original name, however.
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Next year, officers from four Pennsylvania police departments will be entering virtual reality to help deal with possible, real-life scenarios where they have to de-escalate a situation to make sure everyone is safe.
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The virtual reality company Vinci VR gave vocational students a simulation of what it’s like to work on an offshore wind turbine, as the state’s clean-energy projects anticipate needing hundreds or thousands of workers.
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A new $20 million, 40,000 square-foot facility in Naperville, Ill. has large touchscreens, simulated rooms, ultrasound devices and other high-tech equipment for medical and engineering students.
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The Goshen, Ind., Police Department will soon have its own virtual training simulator after being authorized to purchase an Apex Officer training simulator, making it the first department in the state to do so.
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Nonprofit research group RTI International and the White Cross Fire Department have teamed up to pilot augmented reality technology for firetruck pump panel training. The goal is to create a blueprint for the industry.
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The company showed off its new Boeing Jacksonville Training Systems Center of Excellence, where it develops maintenance training systems for military aircraft, including the Navy’s P-8 Poseidon fleet at NAS Jacksonville.
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Tech company SAP is promoting the use of virtual reality to help students gain the skills they need for the job market. The company offers a VR program designed to assist students from underserved communities.
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Truepic created a software platform that helps verify digital photos and videos online in the quest to bust deepfakes. The company pulled in funding from Microsoft’s venture capital arm M12 and other investors.
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The Maryland college has catalogued close to 600 immersive, interactive experiences with 360-degree views and sound to help teach coding, sciences, engineering, anatomy, history and languages.
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A new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation says AR/VR programs could bring new lessons to students across grade levels, given the requisite investments to spur adoption and research.
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Owensboro Community & Technical College is using a grant from the National Science Foundation to create a virtual reality-based training program for higher-education students in advanced manufacturing.
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As two cities — Buffalo, N.Y., and Fairfax, Va. — embark on projects to implement augmented reality technology, questions arise on the effects the new tool will have in their communities.
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Project (VR)², launched by Viability and supported by the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, is using virtual reality technology in its vocational rehabilitation program to gamify workforce readiness training.
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From firefighting and social services to increased accessibility, public-sector agencies are using virtual and augmented reality to improve how staff train to interact with citizens — and it’s only the beginning.
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A National Institute of Standards and Technology-funded study, conducted by Health Scholars, aims to evaluate the efficacy of using virtual reality to train emergency medical services personnel in pediatric assessment.