- Unity 3D
- Photoshop
- Maya
VR Platforms
- HTC Vive
- Oculus
- HP Reverb
- HoloLens
Workplace
- 7-ym – Ultimerse
Year
2017
Scenario
Telstra has an issue with outages caused by technicians working with older server infrastructure located across Australia, Contractors that are only trained with newer tech were unable to complete their duties on older hardware, this also translates with newer technology requiring special procedure to maintain and service.
Technicians often missed crucial steps causing critical damage to servers resulting in isolated outages, large repair bills and government fines.
Considerations and limitations
- Australia wide Implementation
- Cost-effective and easy to manage
- No bulky specialist systems requiring further training
- Cloud-based content delivery
Constraints
- IT / Security Concerns – HW ID and IMEI verification
- Cloud-based delivery, no data cached
- End-user capabilities of hardware use
System Goals
- To mitigate the risks of outages and potential damages to critical systems
- Create a delivery platform for in-depth hands-on training across Australia
- Lower the expense of current training methods
Design Goals
- An intuitive easy to set up and use application experience for training content delivery.
- Visually and scale accurate to reference hardware.
- Using current hardware readily available for platform delivery
- Create an engaging and rewarding experience for technicians undertake training material
Proposed system & solution
Using Unity3D as the engine, it will enable delivery on new and existing platforms such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Google VR, Microsoft VR (hololens & HP, ACER headsets) ensuring future delivery on newer hardware platforms.
Using a VR/AR solution to teach technicians with hands-on interaction. The learning platform will be delivered via a web-based solution where new courses and evaluations can readily take place. Using AIO VR headsets with a wand support for platform delivery.
A companion portal showing detailed media instructions will also be developed for on the field reference when working with specialized IT server infrastructure.
First prototype
Below are some screenshots of the first working prototype, this was working and ready to be used within a week of development
This first iteration featured
- Fully functional grading system
- Basic mechanical interaction
- Dynamic server questionnaire accessed via web portal
Final prototype
After receiving great feedback from the initial tech demo, prototype 2 started. Greater detail to design, procedure and server layout was added. Full interaction of cards added and a detailed installer step by step guide implemented along side an evaluation quiz which can be taken on html portal or in the VR experience
Conclusion
Unfortunately this project never saw through its full development, Telstra suffering at the time with a series of massive outages, CEO shake ups and cost cutting to contractors coupled with major layoffs in 2017 this project was put aside.
