Anglia Ruskin University - Peterborough Campus

Purchased using part of the proceeds of Office for Students funding, the product aligns itself with this key ethos of innovation. ARU Peterborough opted for a four-walled, fully immersive room featuring floor projection for the ultimate student experience.  

The space is designed with flexibility in mind, so that it can provide learning experiences for students across the curriculum through a combination of existing 360 materials and planned bespoke content. Subject areas that are currently earmarked for bespoke content include construction, engineering, bio, nursing, midwifery, computing, and gaming. 

Christie DWU500 projectors provide crisp wall projection with Digital Projection Evision 5100 projectors completing the immersive experience with floor projection. ARU Peterborough also opted for the Igloo Immersive Media Player (IMP) III, our highest-spec media server capable of handling the most taxing of content.  

Many of the bespoke elements being designed are done through Unreal Engine, which integrates seamlessly into Igloo Core Engine, Igloo’s software platform for immersive spaces. Another benefit of using Core Engine has been the ability to save individual sessions for each subject area, which ensures the space is flexible and lessons can be loaded on the fly without the need for lengthy pre-configuration. 

The product is newly installed, sitting as the crown jewel of the XRP centre. Following a testing and optimising phase during the summer break, the system has now opened to students and is already heavily baked into the syllabus. Initially, it is being directed towards resource-intensive subjects such as science and engineering, computing and gaming, and healthcare, before being scaled out across the entire curriculum. 

Students across these courses will work closely with the Igloo system, both experiencing and designing scenarios to be used. There are already a number of simulations that have been designed for the system. For example, healthcare students will work inside digitally recreated specialised theatre environments. Another scenario already created is that of a road traffic accident, where students conduct trauma treatment with the added external factors that would be present in real life such as blue flashing lights – neither of which would be possible without the Igloo system. 

Other experiences that have been designed include digital ‘escape rooms’ where students move around digital environments and use environmental context to navigate their way through the experience. These simulations work alongside a networked camera system to allow teachers to provide remote assistance without coming in and breaking the immersion. 

ARU Peterborough has also purchased a 360° camera to capture their own real-life content for use in the Igloo. Students will then use the camera to help guide the creation of external content, which can be imported seamlessly into Igloo Core Engine. 

As time goes on, the system will be integrated more deeply into existing workflows at the university. Live briefs will be given to students build digital content for the Igloo will be incorporated directly into the syllabus, leaving students with provable, extensive experience of building simulations that have real-world validity. 

As there is a suite of rooms around the system, students in different areas can relay with those in the Igloo for a synchronised learning experience. This will combine with the networked camera system which will record student reactions and interactions within the space, allowing for self-assessment and review of their reactions in the simulated environments. 

Experimentation with mixed reality or ‘phygital’ environments (environments that blend both physical and digital elements to create a unified experience) will take place, combining real-life props with digital environments to expand on the learning experience. This will be especially useful for the healthcare provision, as the space afforded allows for large props such as medical dummies to be used. 

The university also plans on leveraging some of its existing capabilities to further enhance the shared immersive experience. One way that it plans to increase student interaction and immersion is through its motion capture suites, using performance capture to bring more lifelike models into the digital environment. 

ARU Peterborough is also in talks with external agencies for the space to be lent out and incorporated into staff training opportunities. One area that is particularly likely to benefit from the space is construction, with a vast number of local construction companies able to incorporate Igloo technology into their existing workflows.