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Visualisation tools help the fire service coordinate with other agencies more effectively during joint missions
seamlessly on any device, so if one has 3D immersive visors such as Meta Quest, there’s a dedicated app to run their platform on those, but if someone only has a laptop and browser, then it just runs in the browser without the need to install anything. The vast majority of our clients just give access to the platform to their employees on the browser because they are not going to make the investment in lots of hardware dedicated to these use cases.” That isn’t the case for a number of Techstar’s competitors, who typically require a desktop to install specific software, which gives it barriers to entry. “Then there is the fact that you can collaborate synchronously, so all of us could be in the platform, meeting, seeing each other, interacting with each other and together with objects, which makes it quite powerful. I think that the most powerful thing is the fact that it’s super intuitive to use and configure and it’s typically being used by not very technically savvy end users.” Techstar is able to develop almost anything on their platform, though technical training is currently one of the areas in highest demand. “It’s almost some clients’ gateway drug into our platform,” admits Griotti. “ABB Robotics, for example, has very complex products that they produce, and there is software and hardware involved and they use our platform to train their staff. Similarly, the Italian Fire Department uses our platform for their fire investigators who need to go in after a fire has been put out and figure out exactly what’s gone wrong. The way they train their trainees was to typically send them to this place
somewhere in Italy that has fake burnt-down rooms and just practice on those scenarios all the time. On our platform, we build dozens of immersive burnt-down rooms, which they can go in and investigate in a virtual setting.” For some of Techstar’s clients, the software helps bring people together in virtual settings. “There might be a trainee in their Milan office and the trainer in the Rome office, for example,” explains Griotti. “They can instead meet together in this virtual environment. The trainees wearing the immersive gear can pick from a virtual table outside the room whatever tools they need to use, for example, and they can go in and perform the procedure. It also allows them to condense the physical training because they’ve seen virtual scenarios hundreds of times in their spare time, wherever they are, whenever they want.” Techstar also works with retailers across the country who rely on the
platform for training staff. Another key area utilising the virtual space is car dealerships and showrooms. “Typically, companies would have flown maybe one person per showroom to Rome to discover a new vehicle that’s about to be launched before it hits their own showroom. Now in virtual reality, we have replicated the Rome flagship showroom. They organise big events, inviting all the salespeople from all over Italy to come in and explore the new car before it hits their local showroom. They get to know it with interesting interactions, so when the car hits the showroom, they can confidently talk to potential customers about all these features. We are doing something vaguely similar for the Ministry of Education. We have created a virtual space for 14-year-olds to learn more and understand the technical subjects that they can study in high school. Our platform gives them the opportunity to figure out what high
Barco’s collaboration with the Ministry aligns with broader efforts to modernise education
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