Sealund’s Serious Games Blog

I’m always looking for instructionally sound uses for the latest technologies because learners enjoy using them, and we all know that the fun-factor increases retention. So I was quite excited to find an instructional rationale for 3D stereoscopic technology!

Perception is Reality

Depth perception can play an important role in learning in virtual reality environments. Increasingly lifelike simulations and even game environments can enhance the initial learning of students in many life-saving professions, like the police, medical and military fields. Depth perception can be critically important in skills ranging from estimating the distance to a target to finely detailed perspective in microsurgery, requiring all levels of refinement in hand-eye coordination, from large scale to, well … micro.

Think about the benefits for Stereo 3D learning in these fields:

• Medicine - effective demonstration and practice for surgery and micro-surgery as well as diagnostics. Take a look at UCSF’s radiology department demo here, where UCSF’s medical education faculty believes that “Students are often more engaged in an interactive computer based learning environment. Role-playing game-like teaching tools or simulations can be created incorporating 3D displays, which could incorporate haptic [tactile] sensory feedback techniques. These tools can be used for postgraduate trainee and practicing physician education, as well.”¹ Other medical applications include the display of X-ray data for molecular modeling, anatomy and physiology.²
• Manufacturing - effective simulation of operating very large, very small, or very dangerous equipment. One study found several important applications of keeping it real: Stereo 3D learning environments can “enhance communication and interaction via the computer enabling affective expressive interpersonal communication and enriching interaction by haptic feedback. With a recent tendency on working closer to [the] user’s domain when performing 3D tasks, it has been suggested that instrumenting the real device/props would allow the user to work as in a real environment. Researchers claimed that providing feedback by manipulating physical input devices which closely correspond to virtual objects is an important step towards bridging the gap between knowing what we want to do and knowing how to do it.”³
• Oil and gas industry - for engineers’ training to effectively use powerful stereo 3D systems (like the one illustrated here) for visualizing subterranean features of geological interest, using data from seismic sensors.
• Mechanical design - for training designers to use their 3D modeling tools that enable peer- and customer-review to make sure the product meets the specifications.

What about the industries you serve? How can stereo 3D training help those learners practice critical skills before the critical situations arise? What do you think? Please share your comments.

Footnotes:

1. UCSF. Medical Education: Potential Contributions of Stereoscopic 3D. http://www.radiology.ucsf.edu/app/medstudents/3D/educationMain.htm
2. Perry, Janie, David Kuehn and Rick Langlois. “Teaching Anatomy and Physiology Using Computer-Based, Stereoscopic Images,” Journal of College Science Teaching, January/February 2007, v 36, n 4, pp. 18-23. http://www3.nsta.org/main/news/stories/college_science.php?news_story_ID=53077
3. Aziz, Faieza Abdul and Maryam Mousavi. “A Review of Haptic Feedback in Virtual Reality for Manufacturing Industry.” http://www.banglajol.info/index.php/JME/article/viewFile/3476/2914

This entry was posted on Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 12:32 pm and is filed under Serious Games. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.