VIRTUAL REALITY WONDERLAND OPENS ON CAMPUS

Christabell Lourens

@_clourens_

 

The North-West University (NWU) Potchefstroom campus boasts a brand-new facility: a high-tech virtual reality (VR) laboratory. On Friday, 23 August, the laboratory officially opened for the first time in the Community Psychosocial Research unit (Compres). The goals of this new addition to the research facilities on campus are admirable, with the main aims being more immersive training for students, better preparation for real-world scenarios and completely new experimentation regarding mental health and psychology.

 

The capabilities of this new unit are vast, involving much more than just purely theoretical concepts displayed on a headset. Other than just the VR headsets, the laboratory also boasts impressive facilities such as motion capture cameras, sensors for data collection and even a treadmill linked to a VR headset. This can be used for a variety of scenarios, including anatomical deconstruction and physical training aided by VR.

 

PhD student Neville Robertson was the main advocate for this brand-new addition to campus as he emphasised its importance in the field of postgraduate study. Robertson stated on the day of the laboratory’s opening that, “Through this, we can make learning through experiencing more accessible to students”.

 

Robertson goes on to explain some of how this new technology can be utilised in fields other than Psychology and Social Work. He mentions that Pharmacy students could use it to work with chemicals or Engineering students could use it to look through and interact with a virtual reality version of a factory. This could provide students with invaluable experience that they might not be able to get otherwise.

 

The laboratory was built with the help of Innovado. According to innovado.co.za, they are a company specialising in the creation of new technology, especially as it pertains to VR. Their services focus primarily on sports simulations. The Innovado founder, Russel Millen, was also present at the opening event and even taught Prof Michael Temane, the NWU Deputy Registrar, how to play a game of rugby on a VR headset.

 

The addition of the VR laboratory is not only a major achievement for NWU and the Potchefstroom campus but for the academic world as a whole. It is a completely novel concept in the field of psychology and social work. Prof Jeanetta du Plessis, Deputy Dean of Research and Innovation in the Faculty of Health Sciences, commended the new VR laboratory for its ingenuity. “This laboratory represents not just a leap forward in technology, but a profound commitment to research, innovation and the future of social sciences and healthcare.”

 

In order to book a session, Neville Robertson can be contacted via his email at [email protected].

 

Edited by Mhlengi Khumalo