OpalVR

Short description - The “OpalVR” research project aims to offer VR-based learning content via the OPAL learning platform. VR technology is used to create a computer-simulated environment that mimics the learner’s physical presence in an artificial learning setting and provides a realistic, three-dimensional, sensory experience. Learners should be able to use the virtual environment without having to provide the necessary hardware infrastructure themselves. A VR headset (Oculus Go) will also be provided to them by the university. As part of the project, the technical requirements of the OPAL learning platform will be analyzed and subsequently expanded to meet the technical requirements for VR applications. The key questions here are how the IT infrastructure, including the network structure, needs to be adapted and what factors currently limit the provision of VR content. Based on these findings, BPS Bildungsportal Sachsen GmbH is to implement a prototype of the necessary technical infrastructure. The VR technology is to be integrated into OPAL as fully as possible through additional software modules. To achieve this, it is necessary to provide, in addition to the web-based interface already available today, the appropriate server-side computing power for VR-based output media. The newly designed web-based user interface will be available in the future as the “VR Classroom,” open to all VR-based learning content. Furthermore, the creation of VR-based learning content based on an appropriate didactic concept is part of the project; as an example, an application scenario from the fields of production planning and control will be implemented.