Projects

Virtual Reality technology has matured over recent years to a level where it can be considered for application at scale to provide new avenues for tertiary education. The MITI project is a collaboration project between the MITI team, the VARS and eSolutions UX designer developing a multiplayer collaborative VR space in response to a client brief from the Monash Bachelor of International Business (BIB) program.  

The project involved researching several development software platforms for their features and technical capabilities. This was followed by the creation of a working VR prototype compatible with HTC Vive-series headsets. The solution successfully delivered proof of the capabilities of a multi-user VR environment, dedicated to business innovation through the use of ‘virtual sticky notes’, all within the VR space. 

The human hand anatomy is very complex, so it is usually a daunting task for medical and allied health professionals to learn and understand how all this complex anatomy interacts. Working with Monash University Professor Paul McMenamin, this app has been created for Android and iOS devices that allow students to ‘see’ the anatomy in their own hands and even act as a substitute for practical anatomy classes. 

The HeARtbeat app, a Monash - Warwick University Alliance Project, is an augmented reality app for immersive learning of cardiology for students, cardiologists and patients. It is an immersive, interactive and real time experiential navigation of a heart where you are able to select different conditions the heart is under with voiceover explanations, such as Atrial Fibrillation, which can be a complex subject difficult to understand. 

Working with the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Services, Faculty of Arts and Library Services to develop a virtual reality (VR) activity -  where students are able to experience racism from the perspective of someone with an Indigenous or Torres Strait Islander background - within a realistic immersive, interactive environment. These VR scenarios focus particularly on improving awareness of implicit bias, culturally sensitive communication and reflection.

Collaboration between Monash Master of Arts students and the Melbourne Zoo, with VARS helping to tie the technology side together. Aims to provide fun activities for children that bring attention to endangered species.

An interactive web-based game developed using Unity, dedicated to assisting students currently learning the Korean language. The numerous game modes help to build vocabulary, listening and typing skills, in students studying Korean language units, or even beginners. 

Using Mozilla Hubs, a virtual open day was hosted by the student recruitment team with the help of the VARS team for technical expertise. Students were able to have the campus experience while being in lockdown. They had the ability to engage with staff and watch interactive videos to learn more about the courses offered by Monash Business School. 

A 360 virtual reality video was developed for online students in the Graduate Diploma in Psychology. The aim of the VR activity is to support the development of personal and professional empathy in psychology students. It consists of a number of scenarios that students need to navigate and then reflect on. Students were posted out cardboard VR sets and the link to the 360 VR video to add to their smartphones. Data were collected and is currently being analysed. 

The VARS team helped Billy Head who manages the ATS3183 Virtual Reality Lab unit by supplying Monash branded Google Cardboard headsets to the students enrolled in this unit. The students as a result have produced a selection of CVR/360 videos which can be found in this playlist.

A Monash - Warwick University Alliance Project to facilitate the use of XR in Engineering for students to understand complex, high stakes, low exposure principles and practices. To be used in unit design. 

This networking workshop provides the platform for those involved in AR, VR and MR across the university to demonstrate current activities in education and research. The overview of the event can be found here. 

In April 2019, Monash University awarded posthumous degrees and a certificate of recognition to five students of the Melbourne College of Pharmacy, whose education was cut short by World War I. The Melbourne College of Pharmacy would go on to become Monash University's Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Through Pharmacy's close connection to Sir John Monash, their students and the First World War, the Library was given a unique starting point to explore the effect of repatriation on the wider community.

Combining rare items alongside innovative digital technologies, this exhibition was made possible through a large collaboration between Monash University Library, Monash Art, Monash Design and Architecture and eSolutions. A select group of students studying Master of Multimedia Design and Master of Interaction Design worked alongside Monash University Library staff to bring to life Special Collections items exploring the Repatriation after World War I in Melbourne. These technologies allow the visitor to be immersed and experience the effects of World War.

Working with the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) to create a VR game that tests stereo-vision in drivers. The aim is to create an environment that is more immersive so that we can learn about factors to improve road safety. 

Testing the fatigue in truck drivers who drive long hours, using Systems Technology Inc Simulator Drive (STISIM Drive). The simulation presents real-world events to measure and record driver reactions. Some events include sharp curves in roads, pedestrians crossing, and traffic lights stoppages.

Working with the Monash Young Medtech Innovators' (MYMI) Healthcare Innovation Summer Scholarship (HISS) program to develop an immersive, interactive,  high fidelity simulation-based learning and assessment activity in the use of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). This strategy aims to address identified cognitive, metacognitive, clinical practice and systems issues when dealing with technical equipment such as ECMO that is used in life threatening, low frequency, high stakes medical interventions such as cardiorespiratory failure from sepsis.

Supporting the Turner Institute in developing an interactive game using Minecraft  to complete cognitive testing and provide critical data for research in the psychology field. The interactive game is aimed at studying the working memory of children, by presenting adaptive, self-selected, and stepwise approaches to setting task difficulties. 

Working  within Monash University to implement an Artificial Intelligence system to aid invigilators detect certain suspicious activities and raise flags/alerts. This aims to lower the load on invigilators  where they can pay closer attention if the AI flags something suspicious. 

Working in collaboration with the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health in their Thrive initiative to support the creation of a voice based chatbot.

The goal of the project was to implement the function of mRNA vaccines and how they aim to prevent COVID-19 reinfection, within the experiential simulation environment. The deliverable of the project was a VR headset experience which allows for students and trainees to visualise the process from the vaccine administration site, to the makings of B memory cells in the immune system. Later these B cells, upon reinfection, deter the serious and life threatening symptoms that are often associated with COVID-19. The simulation application would allow for an immersive and interactive learning experience for students in STEM departments as well as Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences.