CONVERT

Immersive learning

Immersive learning

VR Construction Simulator

Courtesy of Digitalnauts

Learning by building in a virtual world

CONVERT is an immersive learning programme funded by the UK’s Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and comes under CITB’s Future Skills Strategy. The project aimed to reduce dangerous accidents and errors that could be life-threatening in the construction industry while also using immersive learning (IL) and innovative technologies to provide an engaging and safe learning environment, both in education and at the workplace. 

We along with five other delivery hubs across the UK fed into the development of training to allow students and work based learners to build in a virtual environment. 

The VBEE application was developed by Digitalnauts in conjunction with Construction Wales Innovation Centre (CWIC) and ourselves at BE-ST. 

How it works:

Learners navigate a virtual construction site that is generated using custom graphical assets from established BIM libraries.  Users are set a task to build a house, an industrial unit or an offsite modular building, and then are presented with a range of building scenarios to choose from. Within the simulated environment, users can trial different layering techniques and materials from foundation to finish.

Then, once they are satisfied with their build, they can witness it being built on a 1–to–1 scale and their selections being tested against four categories:

1. Sustainability

2. Durability

3. Comfort and Cost.

 

What's in it for construction:

Minimise risk

Students, apprentices and work based learners can make mistakes safely in VR.

Construct sustainably

The VBEE application learning content highlights the net-zero potential of VR by educating the users on how to make more sustainable building choices and enabling them to see how their choices resulted in saving money on bills and energy for the homeowners.

Inspire the future

The main goal of CONVERT is to widen participation and educate young people about career opportunities and what these might look like in a future that considers sustainability as a key priority.

Digitalnauts developed a suite of VR training modules in order to better engage learners ... It will now be distributed across the UK through a number of specialist hubs including colleges and innovation centres. Caitriona Jordan
Head of Retrofit, BE-ST