The impact of technology has been increasing across the sectors, and all this is happening at a very rapid pace. In the education sector, the adoption of new emerging technologies like AR-VR is on the rise. Such technologies are making a great impact on productivity of both students as well as teachers. In line with this, Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, Digital Terminal talked to Prashant Mishra, CEO and Founder TechXR Innovations Pvt. Ltd. He explained about the growing use of technology, growth prospects and much more. Read below the excerpts:
Rajeev: Why is AR-VR considered to be more productive in education than conventional ways of teaching?
Prashant: If we talk about learning and teaching, according to Dale’s Cone of Learning when we read, we only retain 10%, when we hear, we retain only 20%, what we see, we only retain 30%, what we see and hear, we train 50%, when we participate and speak, we retain 70%, but when we immerse ourselves and simulate the real time experience, we retain up-to 90%. So with AR-VR technology students can learn and visualize things in an immersive manner and teachers will be able to explain difficult concepts with full immersion. Some of the use cases are Augmented Reality Powered Smart Class Rooms, Virtual Reality Labs, 3D Classes, Skill Development and much more.
Rajeev: How do you see the adoption new technologies for Education in India market?
Prashant: India is a developing nation and with the new technologies, the adoption rate is not very high but eventually in the education sector, new technologies are getting adopted. Digitalisation plays an important role in adoption of the new technologies. But now with the upcoming technologies like AR-VR, Metaverse and blockchain. Adoption is very slow due to lack of resources and unaffordable hardware. But if the resources are provided, India will surely adopt the technologies faster than others. That’s what we are trying to do at TechXR. With our patented hardware we have not only made the technology affordable but also accessible to the masses and with this in the coming 10 years India will be the leader in adoption of these technologies.
Rajeev: How can India become a global leader in AR-VR content / solutions?
Prashant: India has always been dominating in the service based industry. We have a very talented pool of software engineers. Even in the big MNCs, Indians are at the highest level. But in AR-VR there is not such a pool of engineers and the only reason is the learning resources, hardware and lack of AR-VR companies. There are course and learning resources available in the global market but they are not that affordable that can be afforded by a normal engineering student. India can become a global leader in AR-VR content if the proper resources are available and provided to everyone at an affordable price with a good level of interaction. In the software industry, nobody can beat the talent we have and with the proper resources we can definitely become the global leader in this AR-VR industry.
Rajeev: What are the major challenges for AR-VR based classrooms?
Prashant: Though AR-VR based classrooms can turn simple learning into a revived experience, the process of developing AR-VR classrooms is very tedious. First of all, each student shall require a VR headset to experience learning in the virtual realm. The cost of a simple interactive VR headset could go up-to 40,000 Rs which is not a pocket friendly option. Secondly, AR-VR classrooms require the entire educational content to be recreated and remodeled in 3D according to the Virtual realm, which is an intensive and time consuming process. Moreover, wearing heavy VR headsets for a long time is not a healthy option for young students. Also VR headset is only one to one solution but if the teachers want to teach to the whole class then Augmented Reality technology is required which works as a one to many solution but the hardwares which are present does not provide AR based learning.
Rajeev: What are key solutions being offered by TechXR?
Prashant: At TechXR we have innovated a hardware which works as a 3D mouse for Augmented Reality as well as Virtual Reality on Smartphones. In India everybody has a smartphone and with our controller, their smartphone can be turned into an AR-VR device. It connects with the smartphone using bluetooth for getting the button inputs, Also the interaction is same as of the other expensive devices. It is a very affordable solution which will cost around 3000 Rs. which is less than 20% of the other solutions. And with this solution we can remove the barrier of experiencing and learning in AR-VR in India. The patent of which is already granted. This hardware will be very useful for converting any classroom into an AR-VR classroom. Not only in education but this can be used in various fields like health, skill development, training, and gaming.
Rajeev: How these technologies may harm kids if exposed to an early stage?
Prashant: Yes, according to AICTE and the Ministry of Education, vocational and skill development training should be introduced and everyone should learn about this technology. If the appropriate resources are provided, students in India will definitely come out with extraordinary talent. There is always a limit for everything, it’s not only about AR-VR, if the kids are exposed to any technology at an early stage then the extensive use will obviously lead to harmful consequences. But the important thing is that students should know about this technology because this is going to be the future.
