As the global community pulls together during the coronavirus outbreak, businesses big and small are assisting and supporting in any way they can. Here are some examples of companies working in the immersive industry doing just that.
Microsoft
Major U.K. businesses have come together to form a consortium to produce medical ventilators for the NHS. These devices are much needed in the fight against coronavirus. The consortium is led by the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult and includes companies such as Airbus, Unilever, and Siemens.
Microsoft is an enabler of the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium. Microsoft is working with its partners Avanade, Content & Code, IT Lab, and PTC to support the consortium’s work. It is giving the consortium free access to Teams so that companies can easily message, talk, hold training sessions and share documents from anywhere.
Microsoft HoloLens and mobile devices will run PTC’s Vuforia Expert Capture app to create and share training content. This will give workers guided instructions in how to set up the new production processes needed to make ventilators. In addition, Dynamics 365 Remote Assist will offer hands-free video calling on the HoloLens to let operators collaborate with experts on a PC or mobile device.
Rather than put users in a fully computer-generated world, as virtual reality does, HoloLens allows users to place 3D digital models in the room alongside them. As the Windows 10-based product does not have wires or external cameras, or require a phone or PC connection, users can walk around the objects they create and interact with them using gestures, gaze, and voice.
The supply chain of the ventilators is being supported by Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, enabling the consortium to order parts and oversee the process through to the manufacture and assembly of the finished product. Everyone can also see who bought the parts and where they were sent. That’s crucial in a supply chain involving multiple companies. The process is so complex that it would normally take up to 12 months to set up a solution; however, Microsoft worked with Accenture to launch it in just three weeks.
Oxford Medical Simulation
Oxford Medical Simulation delivers medical simulation using virtual reality, training healthcare professionals without risking lives. The disruption of COVID-19 means that many higher education facilities are canceling in-person classes, which poses difficulties for healthcare education. To combat this, Oxford Medical Simulation is providing U.S., Canadian and U.K. institutions with complimentary access to the online simulation platform, OMS Distance, over the coming weeks.
OMS Distance is an online and distance-learning solution where learners can access multiple scenarios from home, practicing the assessment and management of virtual patients, receiving feedback on their performance, repeating as needed and engaging in blended learning.
If you are in the U.S., Canada or the U.K. and want to take advantage of this offer, visit this website for more information.
PTC
PTC helps industrial companies create value for themselves through improving existing tools using augmented reality, industrial IoT and computer-aided design. The company has recognized that working remotely can be a challenge for industrial companies, so it is offering its remote assistance product, Vuforia Chalk, free of charge.
Vuforia Chalk uses augmented reality to facilitate collaborative operation, maintenance, and product repair between on-site and off-site employees. Users can share a live view of a problem, talk about it, and use Chalk to provide clear instructions—making remote guidance easy. Users can also point things out in someone else’s environment by simply using a finger to draw chalk marks on the screen that stick to the object or surface drawn on.
This offer will be in place until June 30 (and longer if need be) with no obligation, to help businesses deliver critical expertise to remote service technicians and customers when they need it most.
Nvidia
Nvidia is providing a free 90-day license (with an extension if the situation demands it) to Parabricks so researchers can accelerate their understanding of the novel coronavirus and help informed a response.
Based on the Genome Analysis Toolkit, Parabricks uses GPUs to accelerate by as much as 50x the analysis of sequence data. Researchers are sequencing both the novel coronavirus and the genomes of people afflicted with COVID-19 to understand, among other things, the spread of the disease and who is most affected.
However, analyzing genomic sequences takes time and computing power. Parabricks can reduce the time for variant calling on a whole human genome from days to less than an hour on a single server. This reduction could have a significant impact on understanding the evolution of the virus and the development of vaccines.
Immerse UK
Immerse UK is the U.K.’s leading membership organization for immersive technologies. The network brings together industry, research, and academic organizations, public sector, and innovators to help fast track innovation, R&D, scalability, and company growth.
Every Tuesday in April, Immerse UK will be running a series of free 1-2-1 online drop-in sessions for individuals and businesses from across the immersive tech sector in response to the challenges faced due to the COVID-19 outbreak. For dates and information on how to book your place—the sessions are open to all but advance booking is essential—visit this page.
On a dedicated COVID-19 Support and Resources page, Immerse UK also offers information on collaborative working remotely and virtual events, government support and guidance, finance, funding and grant information, support and advice for individuals and advice on managing anxiety, health, and wellbeing.
Virti
Virti, a U.K.-based AR/VR startup, plans to retrain more than 15,000 NHS nurses, doctors, cleaners, and porters over the next two weeks to help them deal with the influx of coronavirus cases.
Virti uses virtual and augmented reality combined with artificial intelligence to transport users into realistic, hard-to-access environments and safely assess them under pressure to reduce anxiety and improve human performance and outcomes.
The company that has offices in Texas and California has already trained roughly 14,000 health workers in the U.S. and expects to train 50,000 more over the next fortnight, having “significantly” cut its prices for healthcare providers during the pandemic.
The VR simulation is designed to help medical staff understand the viewpoint of a patient being treated for COVID-19.
