Is it really Kevin Kastner demonstrating the operation of the pump station, or not? Somehow both. Through the extended reality headset (xr-headset), only an avatar is visible, placed in the room by the program. However, it’s a virtual representation of Kastner, created by the researcher from Mannheim University of Applied Sciences. Some time earlier, when he walked through the facility equipped with a xr-headset, demonstrating each operational step - the movements were directly captured by the glasses themselves, without additional sensors.The result is an immersive instruction manual for the pump station that conveys knowledge in a hands-on way through extended reality. Such formats can be created with little effort using the ImmersiveCreator, the app developed by Kevin Kastner, Inés Miguel Alonso from the University of Burgos, and Anjela Mayer from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
The Colleague from the Virtual World
The ImmersiveCreator transforms data management and documentation with extended reality into an engaging experience. Employees of companies or research institutes can easily create an avatar to share machine operating instructions or collaborate asynchronously. This app is the essence of the work of an international team taking its first steps toward founding a company through the ICM Early Ride Program.
"The ImmersiveCreator is a low-threshold approach to visually document and manage data as well as to share information and instructions audiovisually," explains Anjela Mayer. The application works as easily as described above: there’s no need to be a data scientist or extended reality expert to use it. While a demonstration is being performed, the headset and sensors capture the data, which the app uses to create a visualization of the work steps.
The most straightforward application of the ImmersiveCreator is in training formats for spatial tasks, such as when new machines or laboratories are introduced, processes are adjusted, employees are onboarded, or students are trained. Experts don’t need to be present to share the information because learners can simply put on a xr-headset and start at any time. The app accelerates and simplifies onboarding processes while enhancing information retention. Learners immerse themselves in the process, visually memorize individual steps, and learn through practice. Beyond training, the ImmersiveCreator is also a tool for asynchronous collaboration. Trainees can expand recordings and ask questions of experts, or developers can engage in asynchronous discussions about a machine. "There is currently no technology that enables asynchronous collaboration in spatial environments. Our app is one of the first solutions for this," says Kevin Kastner.
The ImmersiveCreator represents the first step for Anjela Mayer, Inés Miguel Alonso, and Kevin Kastner to develop their collaborative research into a marketable product. The trio has been working for some time across universities and borders on extended reality solutions. Just last autumn, their EduAvatars project won the DIVR XR Science Award, which recognizes outstanding research in augmented, virtual, and mixed reality in Europe. While Kevin Kastner and Inés Miguel Alonso focus their research on teaching and learning formats, Anjela Mayer's dissertation investigates asynchronous collaboration in virtual environments, including in the ICM project Xircon.
“We have now developed the ImmersiveCreator into a minimum viable product that potential customers can already experiment with quite effectively,” says Anjela Mayer. Technically, the next big step is adapting it for other devices, such as headsets from different manufacturers. Economically, there are still a few questions to answer by the end of the Early Ride Program, particularly how to turn their research-based approach into a market-ready product that can be used in companies.
ICM Early Ride Program
The ICM Early Ride Program, is an incubator program for innovation projects originating from the academic environment in Baden-Württemberg, with a strong focus on mobility and production. Participants learn to think entrepreneurially and discover, test, and leverage market potentials.