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VR TRAINING FOR ENTERPRISE

Everything you need to know to develop and deploy successful

training solutions into your business or organisation.

© 2019 SPEARHEAD INTERACTIVE LIMITED

INTRODUCTION

If you’re interested in the ways in which Virtual Reality can be added to your training program, then this guide is for you.

Whilst the resurgence of VR began back in 2013, there is still a lot of mysticism and ambiguity around exactly what the art of the possible may be across multiple areas of commercial operation – from design and planning, consultation and feedback, process management, digital transformation and data visualisation.

Through this guide, we aim to educate and inform on the specifics of utilising VR Training for enterprise; specifically:

- Outlining technology and software options

- Demonstrating tangible benefits

- Offering insights to ensure you’re working with the right developer

- Developing your business case

- De-risking any investment

- Ensuring a successful engagement / outcome

This guide has been written by the award-winning team at Spearhead Interactive based on over 10 years of experience developing and deploying real-time 3D and immersive / interactive technologies enterprise and B2B sectors.

We would be delighted to assist you as you explore this exciting new era of immersive training. If you have any further questions around discovery, development or deployment, please contact [email protected] or call +44 (0) 1642 689 4187.

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CONTENTS

1. What is VR? ……………………………… 4

2. Benefits of using VR for Training ……………………………… 5

3. Types of VR ……………………………… 6

3.1. Hardware

3.2. Software

4. Applications ……………………………… 17

5. Ensuring success with any VR investment ……………………………… 21

6. The Development Process ……………………………… 23

6.1. Scoping

6.2. Choosing your engine

6.3. Deployment

6.4. Creation

6.5. Support

7. Additional options ……………………………… 29

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1.0 WHAT IS VR?

It’s important to begin at the beginning and understand exactly what VR is; what the strengths are; and why Virtual Reality differs from other popular technologies such as Augmented

Reality (AR) and (MR).

Virtual Reality is a software and hardware technology that simulates a user's physical presence in a replicated or imaginary environment in ways which provide a true sense of exposure and immersion for users; but what does that mean, and what does that entail?

Specifically, VR technology allows users to visualise and interact with environments, scenarios and processes that do not exist, cannot exist or requires operational and / or logistical resource to exist; and experience them as if they were there.

When discussing or talking about VR, we mean a fully immersive digital environment that separates the user from their physical environment, or the “Real-World” by using different pieces of hardware; for example, a head-mounted display (HMD) is used to obscure the eyes of the user and is connected to a device used to handle software processing (typically a PC).

By contrast, technologies allow us to recognise, highlight and overlay virtual data and information onto real-world objects, offering significant benefits in tackling social and commercial issues; and Mixed Reality technologies enable physical and digital objects to co-exist and interact - serving to merge the real and the unreal; overlaying virtual objects into the real world, or real objects into the

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2.0 BENEFITS OF VR FOR TRAINING

Whilst the applications of VR and other technologies such as AR and MR (collectively these three technologies are often described as XR) in the context of enterprise applications are incredibly broad (see 4.0 Applications). When applied specifically to training there are a number of immediate advantages:

- No raw material costs

- Removal of health & safety concerns

- Significant reduction in ongoing cap-ex or op-ex training spend

- No plant or productivity downtime

- Reduction in costs, lost productivity and CO2 emissions associated with travel

- Increase in service spend for local businesses and the regional economy

- Increased workforce engagement

- Increased knowledge retention

- Opportunity for revenue diversification and industry upskilling

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3.0 TYPES OF VR

As with all forms of interactive and immersive solution, Virtual Reality is a combined Hardware and Software technology.

Each of these come with their own options which are chosen based on a number of factors, including; the available budget, the narrative of the experience, how the end solution will be used and deployed within the organisation, the amount of time available to develop the software and most importantly, the purpose and objective of the engagement.

3.1 HARDWARE

For hardware, there are three different technologies to consider:

PC | Mobile | Standalone

PC

A PC-based VR system works with high-end HMDs and allows for detailed, often photo- realistic and interactive virtual reality content to be – depending on the amount of computing power available from the PC.

Whilst traditional PCs are predominantly used for VR training, a number of manufacturers now produce “backpack” style PCs which when combined with a HMD offer a good amount of portability; though battery life and additional weight do need to be taken into account when

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assessing this option.

Traditional and “backpack” PC

There are a number of high-end HMDs available for PC VR systems; some well known, others less so. These include:

Oculus Rift | HTC Vive | Fove |

Oculus Rift

The Oculus Rift is a high-end consumer

Virtual Reality system comprising of a HMD and an infrared tracking beacon. An additional beacon and Touch controllers are also available to create a more interactive experience.

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Comparable to the HTC Vive, the Oculus Rift is ideal for seated or static VR training experiences; and is the perfect system for when available space is constrained or when multiple set-ups are required across a small area.

HTC Vive / Vive Pro

The HTC Vive is a high-end consumer Virtual

Reality system comprising of a HMD, 2 x infrared tracking beacons (named

Lighthouses) and 2 x Vive controllers.

The lighthouse system enables "room-scale"

VR, the ability to walk freely within a pre-determined amount of space whilst immersed in the

Virtual World.

HTC provide the perfect system for when interaction is required across a large area.

Fove

The worlds first Virtual Reality HMD with eye-tracking functionality; the Fove offers a number of benefits, from new ways to engage and interact within virtual environments, to recording eye movements for training and competency tracking.

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Pimax 8K

The Pimax is the worlds first 8K Virtual Reality HMD offering a number of next-generation improvements to existing devices.

With a 4K screen per eye, resolution and clarity is significantly improved, however the Pimax also offers wireless transmission, a head-strap with integrated earphones, integrated cooling fan and eye-tracking.

PlayStation VR

This Virtual Reality HMD works exclusively with the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro; utilising proprietary PlayStation Move controllers for interaction and a depth camera for tracking.

If you are considering using the PSVR platform, you will need to ensure your development partner is registered as a PlayStation developer and has experience with all aspects of software development and publishing – this can be a lengthy exercise, but enables software distribution to more than 3 million PSVR owners (as of September 2018).

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MOBILE

A mobile-based VR system consists of a smartphone and a HMD viewer. There are many types of HMD viewer available, such as:

Cardboard / Plastic HMDs | Samsung Gear VR |

Cardboard / Plastic HMDs

Cardboard or plastic HMD's are a great way to maximise the impact of a VR solution to a wide audience as they use existing smartphone hardware.

Software is provided for users to download or is pre-loaded onto internal devices as a mobile app for Android or iOS, with the HMD used in combination with smartphone gyroscopes and sensors to immerse the user in the experience.

Many different types of cardboard and plastic HMD are available, with numerous options available - NFC functionality, in built audio, touch-screen selection, etc. By defining the purpose of the solution, your development partner can help in determining the best hardware for the job.

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Samsung Gear VR

For more complex or higher fidelity VR experiences, the GearVR HMD from Samsung provides an ideal solution.

Whilst limited for use on selected Samsung smartphones only, the device acts as the display and processor with the GearVR hardware providing much more functionality than a cardboard or plastic HMD.

Originally a collaboration with Oculus, the Samsung GearVR HMD essentially acts as the controller, and contains field of view adjustment, custom sensor for rotational tracking, a touch-pad, buttons and a proximity sensor to detect when the headset is on.

Google Daydream

Googles' Daydream is an alternative to the

GearVR for users with Daydream-ready smartphones which utilises their Google

Daydream View HMD.

The View distinguishes itself by being constructed out of a light-weight cloth material, and also includes capacitive nubs and NFC functionality.

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Daydream-ready smartphones contain higher quality sensors, gyroscopes and accelerometers; with the VR system also compatible with a controller to aid in navigation and interaction within virtual environments.

Mobile VR solutions allow for a much higher level of portability and offer significant benefits for distribution and access, however this is juxtaposed against a reduced amount of processing power when compared to PC (and depending on the platform / smartphone,

Standalone) based VR which can have an impact on graphical fidelity and functionality; depending on the complexity of the software.

STANDALONE

Standalone VR platforms are exactly that, single, self-contained and portable pieces of hardware that provide all the benefits of mobile VR, without the need to use a smartphone.

As such, standalone devices still succumb to the visual and functional trade-off that comes with reduced processing power compared to a PC system, however these devices can be extremely cost effective for organisation-wide rollout, particularly as hardware setup and installation is minimal.

Oculus and HTC are leading the charge with standalone hardware, providing entry-level and enterprise options as listed below:

Oculus GO | | HTC Vive Cosmos | HTC Vive Focus / Focus Plus

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Oculus GO

The GO is the entry-level standalone device from

Oculus, offering users a HMD and a controller with 4

DOF (degrees of freedom) – up, down, left, right, which can be used to select and interact with your training software.

Oculus Quest

By contrast, the Oculus Quest due for release later in 2019 differs from the GO in that it contains higher levels of computing power. Additional sensors that work in combination with the Quest controllers also provide users with a full 6 DOF (up, down, left, right, forwards and backwards) experience, allowing for more complex tasks to be completed in

VR.

HTC Vive Cosmos

The HTC Vive Cosmos is more of a peripheral than a true standalone HMD. Whilst wireless and a 6

DOF device, the Cosmos does rely on an external device for it’s processing power which may limit

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some applications where portability is key; though through the use of a PC to handle the processing, greater levels of visual fidelity and interation are available for end users.

HTC Vive Focus / Focus Plus

The HTC Focus is similar in many respects to the Oculus

GO, offering a fully standalone, portable experience with a 4 DOF wireless controller. For enterprise applications, the Focus Plus provides a full 6 DOF experience and also includes eye-tracking, which can be a very useful feature for analysing training effectiveness and benchmarking new metrics by which to judge learning effectiveness and success.

3.2 SOFTWARE

There are two main types of VR content typically created for Virtual Reality:

- Real-time 3D

- 360 Images / Video

Real-time 3D is the name given to virtual environments, whether conceptual, existing or imaginary that have been created using 3D models and techniques to allow navigation or other forms of interaction, in real-time.

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These environments can be static, animated, or heavily programmed and interactive based on the integration of specific functionality, for example to complete a manufacturing or fabrication process.

The majority of real-time 3D solutions are developed for PC hardware due to the superior level of fidelity and realism that can be offered; though mobile and standalone platforms are also popular choices for simpler solutions such as site inductions or examination-based scenarios that are focused on presenting specific tasks or instructions to the learner.

Real-time 3D sub-sea ROV pipeline inspection system – Spearhead Interactive 2019

360 image and video content can be captured using 360 cameras, and provides a way to film a scenario, or move through a series of images related to a plant, site or process. Interactivity is also possible through the inclusion of hotspots, navigation markers, information panels and more; however due to the static and fixed nature of the image or video content, options for world-interaction are limited and editing of scenarios and environments after the filming / capture have taken place are either very difficult or impossible.

Almost all 360 image and video content can be accessed through mobile and standalone hardware, with the portable nature of these solutions of great benefit - though considerations

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do need to be made in regards to managing battery life and also storage - depending on the amount of 360 content, level of interaction and the resolution, file sizes can be significant.

360 image tour of Concorde – Spearhead Interactive 2016

For this guide, our focus is going to be towards the use of real-time 3D software.

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4.0 APPLICATIONS

Our knowledge and understanding of our industry has enabled us to break-down and categorise the applications for immersive and interactive solutions, so as to predict the current and future uses for the technology. VR and other XR / interactive 3D solutions work due to the following three factors:

VISUAL COMMUNICATION (CONVEY)

By visualising components, products, plant, sites, environments and

experiences, we are able to better convey.

DATA TRANSFORMATION (UNDERSTAND)

By integrating data, processes, information and functionality into

visualisations we are able to better understand.

REAL-TIME IMMERSION (EXPERIENCE)

By running scenarios, applications and content in real-time, we are able to

better experience.

The overall applications for not just VR but real-time 3D solutions are truly vast. Within this section we will look at the overall application landscape to provide an understanding of the scale and benefit that real-time 3D solutions can offer - with VR training falling heavily into the experiential data category.

Software and experiences fall under one of three categories; visual, experiential or functional, with additional bolt-on support for data monitoring and control. V1.0 February 2019 © 2019 Spearhead Interactive Limited Page 17 of 33 http://www.spearheadinteractive.com

VISUAL DATA

EXPLORE, NAVIGATE AND INTERROGATE 3D PRODUCTS, ENVIRONMENTS OR SCENARIOS.

Visual data solutions are used to plan, design, promote, showcase or navigate static models.

This could include touring a site on a tablet or within virtual reality to evaluate the placement of equipment, or visualisation of built environments pre or post construction.

Visual data can be used for planning, design, public consultation and sales, alongside lean and six sigma process refinement or identification of bottlenecks.

EXPERIENTIAL DATA

COMPLETE AND ENGAGE WITH SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES FOR SINGLE OR SEQUENTIAL PROCESSES

DIGITALLY AS THEY EXIST; OR ARE EXPECTED TO EXIST IN THE REAL-WORLD.

Experiential data solutions are used to engage audiences, train staff or expose people to new

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experiences they can interact with.

This could include a Virtual Reality training solution for process industries to improve skills or impact health and safety within hazardous areas. Blur and colour filters allow us to simulate disability and increase empathy with physical or social conditions, whilst animated or interactive assembly guides improve efficiency in the manufacturing of a product or modular house.

Experiential data can also be used for learning, process testing and mapping customer journeys.

FUNCTIONAL DATA

ACCESS SPECIFIC FUNCTIONALITY FOR EXPERIENCES, PROCESSES AND ACTIVITIES WHICH ARE

UNABLE TO BE COMPLETED IN THE REAL-WORLD.

Functional data solutions combine software functionality with resources, information and ideas to bring projects, processes and experiences to life whilst meeting operational remits.

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This could include an architectural visualisation with the ability to make walls semi-transparent to visualise internal building infrastructure and pipe-work, whether for facilities management or maintenance activities. Imaginary environments or creative experiences can also be developed and used to market products and services in new and exciting ways.

BOLT-ON SERVICES

Each of the above can be augmented through the integration of monitoring or control bolt- ons.

Solutions operating in this capacity can be scaled to work as 3D automation systems to inform or enhance existing strategies and investments in IoT or Industry 4.0 technologies; or include functionality to gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which users are interacting with software.

Integration of sensor, satellite weather and other live data-feeds to create world-class 3D monitoring and control systems for processes, plant, equipment, and personnel. i.e. Linking

IoT sensors into the virtual environment to monitor air / light / temperature / pressure / movement across areas of the manufacturing plant and visualise your data in context.

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5.0 ENSURING SUCCESS WITH ANY VR INVESTMENT

Engaging a VR developer and beginning your VR training journey requires some consideration; we’ve listed the steps that we feel are most important to follow to ensure success with your ventures:

Talk to the Experts

We have tried to offer a foundational level of knowledge through this document, however there is much more to creating compelling and purposeful VR training solutions.

By speaking to a VR expert or reputable VR company early, they will be able to guide you through the jargon, qualify or help you build the use case, explore the art of the possible and generally ensure you are successful with the engagement.

Define your Purpose and Objective

Without a defined objective and understanding of what you’re looking to achieve with the solution, the project will undoubtedly suffer from delays, miscommunication errors, scope creep and other issues; many of which could prove costly to rectify and bring the project back on track.

If you are unsure of where to start, ask your VR expert or chosen VR company if they run discovery sessions. In our case, we often work with management teams to understand their challenges as a collective; determining areas of training priority and finding a starting point to work from in collaboration.

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Often discovery sessions lead to the development of a short, medium and long-term priority list, typically beginning with processes and internal procedures that are dangerous, expensive or can lead to significant downtime and productivity loss.

Ensure Consideration for Medium and Longer-term Goals

In order to get the most from your first engagement, it is often useful to consider the wider picture and how the technology may be adopted internally at a level of scale. This will ensure that the foundations laid through the first solution are solid and can be built on over time.

This could involve developing a scope of works around different areas of your training requirements and working with your chosen VR developer to ensure a similar user interface and user experience can be replicated across all tasks, reducing the need to make hindsight based amendments to commissioned work.

It is likely that a suite of software will be required to meet all of the applicable training needs.

By understanding and considering this early in your discovery work, the development process is likely to be significantly more efficient and cost effective.

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6.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

The world of Virtual Reality, software development and quantifying value across different options can often be a multi-faceted challenge for enterprise – after all, the solution being commissioned needs to meet the defined purpose and objective in order to provide benefit, especially if the requirement is around a safety-critical process (ideal scenarios for VR training).

Whether you’re looking at a solution for manufacturing, construction, sub-sea, nuclear, utilities or healthcare or blue-light training, it’s important to understand the basic foundations of the development process before visualising and replicating processes at the level necessary to meet your requirements.

Within this section of the guide, we will look at a few of the critical elements involved in ensuring a successful engagement and provide a breakdown of the typical development process for real-time 3D and VR content.

6.1 SCOPING

The most important aspect of the engagement is defining the purpose and objective. Whilst this guide has been prepared to provide answers and guidance for the what and the how surrounding VR technologies for training, the critical component of any solution is the why.

Understanding the why will dictate all major design decisions around the setup, functionality, hardware, deployment, engagement processes and project management of the solution.

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A key factor when completing internal modelling to assess suitability for VR training within your organisation should be not just the ROI, return on investment; but the potential ROX, a term we have coined to define the return on experience.

When completing your ROI and benefit calculations, you’re looking at areas of the existing training process that are expected to be improved - identifying areas where waste will be omitted and balancing this against hardware and software development, implementation and any ongoing service costs.

What is not often taken into consideration (and are sometimes difficult to quantify) are the post-implementation benefits and the effect that the solution will have on staff and management as a by-product of engaging with VR technologies – benefits we refer to as

ROX. This can include positive increases in morale, and enhanced productivity and efficiency as a result of the increased level of support, instruction and guidance offered by the VR technology.

6.2 CHOOSING YOUR ENGINE

By understanding the way in which VR training solutions are developed, you can gain a greater insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the different tools available for your VR developer to leverage based on the defined goals of the engagement.

With the engine choice affecting a number of software design decisions and the underlying architecture of your software solution, this is a great place to start. It is the strengths and weaknesses of the engine, combined against the skill and experience of your chosen developer that will determine the quality of the overall content and experience.

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There are three core enterprise-ready engines typically used for the creation of real-time 3D and Virtual Reality content; the requirements of your solution will dictate the choice of engine.

These engines are:

Unity | | CryEngine

Unity

One of the most popular engines, particularly amongst smaller studios and indie developers, the foundation of C# and Javascript, combined with a large and active developer community make this an attractive option; though in our experience, ease of programming is traded against lower quality “out of the box” visual fidelity; and as the Unity code is not provided, this could result in difficulties scaling to an enterprise level depending on the application.

Unreal Engine

Whilst not as popular as Unity, Unreal provides higher quality visuals and is considered amongst many, including us, to be the superior engine in our list (again, relative to the purpose and objective). Unreal is built on a foundation of C++, with source code available which means that whilst it is incredibly powerful and flexible as an engine, though higher- level 3D design and programming skills are required to get the most from it.

CryEngine

The CryEngine is a lesser-known, but powerful engine with VR capabilities, however caution should be used here as there are a number of concerns to be addressed from a development and commercial perspective in choosing this engine; primarily related to the engine

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documentation, LUA programming requirements and licencing terms which can be ambiguous in some cases.

6.3 DEPLOYMENT

Prior to beginning work creating the VR training software, it’s crucial to consider the way in which the software will be used. The deployment strategy and requirements that come from this will strongly dictate the methodology and functionality of the overall software solution.

Another element to consider as part of the deployment strategy is the potential for monetisation of your software. Many of the hardware options come with storefronts and digital distribution platforms which provide the ability to leverage your software as a revenue generator, whilst also engaging and upskilling purchasers and exposing them to your brand.

6.4 CREATION

Working through the requirements of the solution and defining the deployment strategy with your chosen developer will ensure that the solution is capable of being fully scoped. Below we present a number of key steps, stages and best-practice requirements which all reputable

VR developers will follow and provide.

In most cases, detailed information will need to be provided to the developer, potentially over a number of sessions where exact variables, processes, timings and functionality will be defined. All of the findings will be collated into a single Design Document which will form the development bible for the developer.

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From this document, your developers will be able to create a comprehensive proposal and provide specific rather than ballpark details on creation timeframes and budgets for your solution, assuming an alternative commercial arrangement is not in place.

In some cases, depending on the size of the project and the amount of time required to collate the information and develop the design document, this discovery work may be chargeable, however this can often be mitigated if specific steps and requirements are pre- documented and handed to the developer for review.

Project management and communication are key to ensuring the delivery of a successful project. Exact steps required for this will differ depending on the size and complexity of the project, however this can range from weekly update emails or team conference calls, alongside trackable tasks and progress updates via software such as Trello, to short daily video calls and on-site visits.

A large portion of work involved in the majority of VR developments lies in the creation of the art assets required for the project. In some cases not all of this needs to be bespoke; using a company with a history of developing real-time 3D software will likely have an extensive library of assets that can be repurposed; particularly if they have experience working in your sector.

An alternative approach may be to purchase pre-built assets which are available from multiple websites and can be significantly more cost effective than completing the model as a bespoke asset.

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Once the environment is created and the assets have been textured, materials added and the scene lit effectively, your developer will move on to the animation and functionality stages of development (though there will likely be crossover across all tasks to ensure maximum efficiency across their creation pipeline), iterating and testing until the software matches the specification in the design document.

It is often useful to set up review meetings at key points in the development process to ensure any errors are picked up early and your developer can attain feedback. Some projects may only require one review meeting, but for larger projects, two, three or even more may be necessary.

Once the software functionality is complete, your developer should have built in time to complete quality assurance (QA) and testing processes to ensure the software is performing as it should and that there are no bugs or issues that can occur to affect the software or provide a negative experience of any kind to the end user.

You will need to work with your developer on a process for handover of your software once complete. Whilst all developers have their own standard processes this will differ from project to project and may also depend on the hardware platform selected for deployment and could also be impacted by your own internal IT policies. Again, communication is key.

6.5 SUPPORT

As with much of the processes surrounding the development process, exact support requirements will differ depending on the scale of the project.

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Typically, a short warranty is provided for all projects to cover any issues encountered through initial operation, however more complex SLA contracts may need to be created to cover elements such as documentation, training, ongoing development support, extended warranties or any exhibition requirements or non-conventional technical needs.

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7.0 ADDITIONAL OPTIONS

Throughout this guide we have focussed on HMDs and their associated controllers for interaction with training software, however there are a number of additional hardware options and technologies available to increase the level of immersion into virtual environments.

Whilst we utilise and supply cutting edge Virtual Reality hardware like the Oculus Rift, HTC

Vive and GearVR platforms, our insight and desire to deliver experiences which surpass expectation have led us to invest in numerous additional technologies.

Spearhead Interactive have been investing in and partnering with leading hardware manufacturers across the VR industry since 2013 to develop the most comprehensive, powerful and flexible solutions for our clients. Using a mix and match mentality to determine the correct combination of hardware required to maximise the impact and future-proof the final experience, solutions can also be scaled over time; adding additional hardware in phases, as necessary.

In order to create an experience that the human brain will perceive as being real, we have identified four target areas which, in combination, achieve this vision. These areas we have coined the Four Senses of VR:

Presence | Navigation | Interaction | Stimulation

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PRESENCE

To achieve a sense of presence and enable the user to see and look around the virtual environment, a HMD is used; powered either by a smartphone or a PC.

A comprehensive guide of the HMDs currently available for enterprise level VR training can be found within section 3.1 of this guide, though more details on presence and associated hardware can be found on our website at: https://www.spearheadinteractive.com/presence.

NAVIGATION

To achieve a sense of movement and enable freedom to navigate, whilst also removing any motion sickness we use an omni-directional treadmill (ODT); linked to either a smartphone by Bluetooth or a PC by USB.

VR Showroom with support – Spearhead Interactive 2017

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There are a number of different ODTs available to choose from, at a range of price-points.

More details on navigation and associated hardware can be found on our website by visiting: https://www.spearheadinteractive.com/navigation.

INTERACTION

To achieve a sense of self and enable users to see themselves and others within a Virtual

Reality environment, we use camera or suit-based finger and body tracking systems.

Multi-user VR co-location (Paris, France & Middlesbrough, UK) - Spearhead Interactive 2016

More details on interaction and associated hardware can be found on our website by visiting: https://www.spearheadinteractive.com/interaction

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STIMULATION

To fully immerse the user and provide maximum sensory feedback, we utilise technologies which allow for both causal (user action) and environmental (i.e. temperature, wind, smell) levels of deployment.

ARAIG haptic vest integration for NatGeo TV show solution – Spearhead Interactive 2017

More details on stimulation and associated hardware can be found on our website by visiting: https://www.spearheadinteractive.com/stimulation.

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