Simon Noerdjan » WSF ITE Innovation Lab 2

Beginning phase of our first project

Simon — Sat, 12 Apr 2014 18:54:25 +0000

As you know I’m in Singapore with Michael Christensen, a 3D CAD Designer from Canada, to develop 2 3D Virtual Reality Applications. The first one is an application with the purpose to inform viewers about the conventional water treatment process that is used in Singapore for many years.

We’re actually in the last stage of the project and working to finish it off the next week. We haven’t posted a lot of updates about the project due to some confidential matter. We’ve been talking about this with the involved parties and my colleague Michael was able to do a write up of the beginning phase of the project.

As most creative projects, it all starts with rough drafting, sketching, doodling, brainstorming and story-boarding. I’ve embedded Michael’s write-up below. Be sure to check it out!

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Just a preview how immersive 3D VR is

Simon — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 16:36:33 +0000

A group of students got to visit ITE’s iCube where 3D Virtual Reality applications are simulated. During this visit, the simulation of a roller coaster was run as a demo. Check out the video to get an idea of what the effects of 3D VR are and just imagine the purposes we can use it for.

Developing a 3D Virtual Reality application

Simon — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 09:21:25 +0000

I think it is time to tell you about my project here in Singapore without going into very much details, since there is some confidentiality. To be honest, this project is nothing of what I’m used to as a programmer and web developer, from the technology used to the contents of the application. The same counts for my teammate, Michael Christensen, who is a professional 3D CAD designer from Canada.

Together we have to design and develop two 3D Virtual Reality applications for the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). The first is an application that will be displayed at the International Water Week 2014 in Singapore and the second will be used in one of the courses of ITE. In this application the student gets to be in a 3D environment to study a subject which is virtually right in front of him and also gets to complete tasks without the risk of material loss or fatal injuries, which is a good preparation for the real thing.

The application we’re developing is being build on the EON Reality platform which very new to me, so for the 2 weeks I’ve been here I’ve been doing a lot of reading and watching video’s about this software. We’ve also met some of the team members of the EON Reality office based in Singapore and they’ll be available to us to answer some questions when we need it. The better part of it is, that we get to attend a 2 day EON Developers Training next week, which will hopefully accelerate our learning process.

Because this is a 3D Virtual Reality application we’re building, it’s clear that I have to brush up on some 3D skills also. I’ve been walking through 3ds Max tutorials also for the past 2 weeks. Good thing this software is around for so long, so there’s a lot of helpful content online.

You guys are making good progress – Miss Sock Tin Yeo, Director Academic & Pedagogic Innovation at ITE

So if the two above applications are not alienating me enough, I still have to be educated about the contents of the application and the course it will be implemented in. I’m not complaining but it’s just to give you an idea about my experience. We’re very enthusiastic about the project and are making good progress so far. In fact, they moved our deadline for the first part to one week earlier.

This immersive experience is getting very popular in the education system at ITE since our application is not the first. Except for the real life risks this might also be a less costly way of educating the students. Just think about the possibilities of implementation of this thing.

One thing is for sure, I’m not returning to Suriname empty handed… empty headed I mean :).

note: image used in this post is property of EON Reality

WorldSkills Foundation & ITE Innovation Lab 2014

Simon — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 23:19:57 +0000

So I’m finally here! Singapore!

Somewhere around last year the WorldSkills Foundation (WSF) send out a call for champions to participate in a very innovative project. The call wouldn’t have reached me if my former trainer, Wouter Niekus, hadn’t posted the message on Facebook. I was immediately interested and decided to sign-up en felt pretty confident. On January 17th I got an email quoting:

I am delighted to inform you that following your interview with Sock Tin and follow-up internal discussions at ITE, you have been selected to join the team for the upcoming Virtual 3D Learning Innovation Lab project in Singapore. Congratulations!

So what is it I really I signed up for?
The project is initiated from a partnership between The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) Singapore and WSF where WorldSkills alumni are selected to develop a Virtual 3D application, a cutting-edge training tool that will be used by over 500 students at the new ITE College Central Icube classroom facility. To break it down: Students get to be in a 3D Virtual Reality environment where they can do some hands-on learning. This time we’re building a application in Plumbing & Sanitation which will be rolled-out in ITE’s own Facility Management courses.

To get an idea what we’re building you can view this video http://youtu.be/9g-QYVESfw0. The result of last year project completed by Wouter (Netherlands) and Nata (Brasil), both webdesign champions. Joining me this year is Michael Christensen, a CAD designer from Canada. So basically we’ll be using his expertise in 3D CAD design and my expertise in Programming to complete the p