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The power of metacognitive reflection in elearning

La puissance de la réflexion
métacognitive dans l’e-learning

Metacognitive reflection: definition and issues

Metacognitive reflection is an essential element of pedagogy which significantly enriches the learning process. It awakens in learners a heightened awareness of their study methods and their approach to tasks, allowing them to adjust their strategies to optimize their effectiveness. This introspection not only reveals areas requiring additional reinforcement or support but also initiates a proactive approach to filling gaps, resulting in a significant improvement in long-term knowledge retention. By cultivating a better understanding of their learning process, learners gain autonomy, which stimulates their motivation and strengthens their commitment to their training journey.

Additionally, by encouraging a critical approach to problem solving, metacognition paves the way for the development of more effective and adaptive strategies. It plays a determining role in the ability to apply skills and knowledge acquired in one context to another, thus facilitating the transfer of learning. This ability to adapt and transfer highlights the importance of metacognition not only for academic success but also for practical and flexible application of knowledge in various real-life situations.

Application strategies

With the exponential growth of online learning, metacognition presents real opportunities to maximize its effectiveness. Some strategies can be put in place to apply metacognitive reflection in elearning.

Regular self-assessment via formative quizzes allows learners to test their understanding and zoom in on areas requiring more attention. By using reflection questions, we can go further and encourage critical thinking. It is possible, for example, to regularly integrate a case study applying recent knowledge.

Let’s imagine learners having discovered the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility. Once the concept is presented, they are asked to advise a fictitious company, “EcoTech”, which develops clean technologies but faces economic and social challenges. Learners are faced with several decisions that EcoTech must make regarding CSR. For each decision, they must choose an option and they discover the immediate consequences of their choice on the pillars of CSR.

After each decision, metacognitive reflection is encouraged. This involves answering a series of questions about why they chose this option and how it is aligned with the principles of CSR: What factors did you consider when making your decision? How does your choice reflect a balance between economic, social and environmental considerations? What are the short and long term implications of your decision for the relevant stakeholders? How could you have improved your decision with more information or resources?

Incorporating dedicated reflection breaks into learning content, inviting learners to stop and reflect on what they have just learned through guided questions, is also particularly educational. So, to help learners organize their thoughts and track their progress, it may be a good idea to encourage them to keep a digital journal to reflect on what they have learned, challenges encountered, and strategies used. It is possible to use self-reflective learning applications that support metacognitive reflection such as Evernote, Reflectly, Notion, Quizlet, MindMeister, Google Keep, or Socrative.

This reflection can also be done via reflective videos or recordings. Learners are then invited to orally express their learning process and the strategies they find effective.

Finally, another powerful strategy is self-generated feedback which involves encouraging learners to ask themselves critical questions about their understanding and actively seeking answers through additional bold resources or by delving deeper into difficult topics. To illustrate this strategy, let’s imagine self-generated feedback in a python programming course. Before beginning the module, learners complete a quick quiz to assess their prior knowledge. They receive results immediately with explanations for each answer, allowing them to understand their gaps before they even begin. The course continues with a series of videos. After each video lesson, learners are asked to write down in a digital journal what they understood, areas of confusion, and how they plan to use this new knowledge Learners then work on programming exercises, then self-evaluate their code based on criteria given by the trainer such as cleanliness of the code, efficiency and correct use of the concepts learned. Self-generated feedback: By comparing their work to the criteria, learners specifically identify where they excel and where they need to improve. After self-assessing themselves, they receive a “research mission” which consists of finding additional information to resolve code problems that they were unable to correct on their own. At the end of the module, learners answer metacognitive thinking questions, such as “How has your information search strategy influenced your learning?”, “What obstacles did you encounter while searching and how did you overcome them?”, “How can you apply information search strategies?” ‘learning that you have developed in this module to new topics or challenges?’.

In conclusion

Metacognitive thinking is an essential skill in the educational armamentarium but also a powerful catalyst for deep and lasting learning. Through strategies such as self-assessment, use of digital journals, implementation of reflective breaks, employment of self-reflective apps, and self-generated feedback, trainers can effectively equip learners with the necessary tools to navigate the complex landscape of information and knowledge.

The incorporation of these practices into elearning shows that technology is not only a means of disseminating information but can also be a partner in the development of critical thinking and self-reflection. By encouraging learners to actively engage with the learning material, reflect on their own understanding, and independently seek avenues for improvement, e-learning transcends its perceived limitations and reveals its full potential by providing a rich and transformative learning experience.

Vision Pro helmet: what impact for training?

Casque vision pro : quel impact
pour la formation ?

Apple Vision Pro has just been announced with much fanfare. Not yet available on the French market, its potential impact on professional training is considerable. The Training Departments have every interest in following the matter closely… The opportunity also for a reminder on the VR2024 headsets.

The year 2023 witnessed several key trends in the development of VR headsets, including battery life, improved screen resolution, reduced device weight, and the integration of more motion tracking technologies. precise. Very affordable financially, the popular Quest 3 and Pico 4 thus offered high-quality immersive experiences, without the burden of heavy equipment or complex installation. They have made virtual reality training more accessible to businesses of all sizes.

The evolution of virtual reality (VR) headsets towards mixed reality (MR) is another major trend that has been gaining momentum. Mixed reality combines elements of virtual reality and augmented reality (AR), providing a broader spectrum of immersive, richer and more contextual experiences. This transition marks a significant shift in the way we interact with digital content, merging it seamlessly with the real world.

In training, this means that learners can manipulate virtual objects while remaining aware and interactive with their real-world environment, which enriches learning and improves knowledge retention. For example, in the medical sector, students can practice surgical procedures in a virtual environment superimposed on physical mannequins, providing a very realistic simulation. Similarly, in industrial training, operators can receive virtual instructions and guidance overlaid on real machines, making on-the-job learning and maintenance easier.

At the dawn of its launch on the French market, the Apple Vision Pro is already arousing keen interest for its disruptive potential in the field of professional training. This mixed and virtual reality headset, powered by Apple VisionOS operating system, promises to open new frontiers in learning and skill development.

First of all, the Apple Vision Pro should stand out for its ability to run applications with superior graphics quality, far surpassing the performance of existing VR headsets. In addition, with a resolution of 23 million pixels and a 3D Micro-OLED display, the Apple Vision Pro aims to guarantee exceptional visual clarity and precision. This remarkable image quality, combined with world-class sound immersion, will mark a significant advance in the context of VR training, where hyper-realism proves to be a key factor in engagement.

Another major innovation of Apple Vision Pro is its ability to capture eye movements, hand gestures and voice commands, without requiring the use of controllers. This feature enriches interaction with training content, making learning more intuitive. Additionally, its large storage capacity means that users will be able to access a vast library of training courses, ranging from simple introductory courses to more advanced courses.

The spatial aspect described for the Apple Vision Pro highlights another advance in the management of virtual spaces and augmented reality. This feature allows users to position and interact with virtual interfaces in the physical space around them. The user can thus place virtual elements, such as screens, dashboards, or 3D objects, in a physical space, such as a room in their home or office. For example, positioning a virtual screen on an empty wall and a 3D object on a table. What sets this capability apart is the precise and persistent spatial tracking. Once a virtual item is placed in a physical space, Apple Vision Pro remembers its position. You can leave the room, then come back later, and find the item exactly where you left it.

Trainers will thus be able to create tailor-made virtual workspaces, equipped with screens and tools necessary for their activity without requiring additional physical equipment. This will create a wide variety of interactive and immersive learning environments, where learners can interact with virtual educational materials integrated into their space.

Finally, by allowing learners to navigate and interact together in a fluid and natural way in a virtual space, Apple Vision Pro should facilitate a structured and interactive approach to training, transcending physical barriers and reinventing the way we learn and work in groups.

In conclusion, Apple Vision Pro offers immense potential to revolutionize professional training, by offering immersive, interactive, and collaborative learning experiences. However, the successful integration of this technology into existing training environments and its cost remain significant challenges to overcome.

VR training: a multi-learner management and visualization trainer application.

Formations VR : une application formateur de gestion et visualisation multi-apprenants.

In the ever-changing landscape of elearning and immersive training, a major challenge faced by trainers is tracking and interacting with learners using standalone headsets. Until recently, existing solutions left trainers somewhat helpless, unable to effectively measure learners’ progress or interact meaningfully with them while they were immersed in the virtual experience. This gap in training technology has created a need for a more integrated and interactive solution. To respond to this, Audace has developed an innovative application for trainers.

The challenge of immersive training

Immersive training, although a very powerful tool for learning and engagement, presents a challenge: the isolation of the learner in the VR headset, making it difficult for trainers to monitor progress. of each participant and the provision of real-time help. Platforms like UnityRenderStreaming and WebRTC Package have attempted to meet this need by enabling live streaming of immersive content. However, these technologies offer a partial solution, primarily limited by one-way real-time interactions and a restricted ability to manage multiple users simultaneously.

Audace’s innovation

Faced with this challenge, Audace has developed an innovative multi-learner management and visualization application for autonomous headsets. This solution not only allows trainers to follow the progress of several learners in real time in a shared virtual environment but also allows direct and meaningful interaction. This technological progress represents a major breakthrough in solving the problem of learner isolation in immersive training.

Features and benefits

The app stands out for its ability to offer a real-time overview of learner activity, as well as an option to zoom in on a specific user, all with a smooth update every two seconds. It is designed to be lightweight, adaptable and customizable, meeting the varied needs of trainers and learners in different training contexts. Additionally, this solution is compatible with a wide range of devices, which significantly broadens its potential application.

Comparison and context

Comparing with previous technologies, Audace’s application offers a more robust and flexiblebold solution for immersive training challenges. While UnityRenderStreaming and WebRTC laid the foundation for live content delivery, they failed to provide a platform for effective, real-time multi-learner interaction. Audace’s innovation fills this gap.

Audace’s initiative thus responds to a pressing need in the field of immersive training by providing trainers with the tools necessary to effectively monitor, interact and measure the progress of learners using autonomous headsets.

Digital Learning Trophies: a new Audace project rewarded!

With the serious game “La Table de Marie”,
created in partnership with Audace, SKEMA Business School wins the Digital Learning Trophy

SKEMA Business School, a leading French management school, has just won the Digital Learning Trophy in the “Higher Education” category. This victory rewards its efforts in educational innovation, particularly through an innovative training project developed with the assistance of Audace.

An original solution to meet the new educational requirements of students

Every year, SKEMA Business School organizes the “Knowledge Management Sprint”, a seminar aimed at raising awareness among L3 students of the challenges of knowledge management by putting into perspective its organic and nourishing impact within a structure.

Convinced of the need to review traditional educational models intended for younger generations, SKEMA wanted to design original training mixing multi-player serious games and coaching. Indeed, a pillar of the system is provided by coaches who help students give meaning to their actions, as well as a team of correctors who feed the scores in real time and communicate feedback to the teams.

Serious gaming is a potentially powerful tool, still largely under-exploited, in the context of initial training. A comparative analysis (benchmark) revealed that it was poorly developed in higher education. However, the younger generation of students has high expectations in terms of pedagogy. They consider too much theory without practical application to be insufficient, while too much traditional case studies are seen as repetitive. So there’s a dilemma: Students need to interact with concepts multiple times to learn them, but excessive repetition makes them feel like the content is redundant.

Convinced of the need to rethink traditional educational models, the school therefore sought to meet the new expectations of students by offering a new fun and educational medium: a collaborative serious game entitled “La Table de Marie”.

Inductive pedagogy, as implemented in this system, makes it possible to resolve these dilemmas. It offers students the opportunity to discover in a concrete way the organizational and human issues encountered in the professional world in a fun way, while establishing links with the concepts covered during their undergraduate university program. This approach aims to prepare students for future responsibilities within international companies, by requiring them to work in teams, make collective decisions and make choices within a limited time frame.

“We firmly believe that the earlier students are exposed to complex management situations, the more they will develop responsible management skills, which is essential for both organizations and society as a whole. »

Béatrice TOUSTOU, Teacher-researcher

Bringing together 800 players, divided into 160 teams and across 3 sites in France: the challenge of this highly collaborative serious game

Each year, no less than 800 L3 students, divided into 160 teams on 3 campuses, participate in the Knowledge Management seminar at SKEMA Business School.

To do this, the device developed by Audace had to meet several challenges: managing a large number of players simultaneously, allowing remote team collaboration and the use of a real-time application with a scalable server.

The multiplayer serious game “La Table de Marie” thus immerses students in a scenario similar to that of “Nightmare in the Kitchen”, challenging them to resolve organizational and human issues in a high-end restaurant. They take on the role of consultants and must collaborate as a team to find solutions, while receiving personalized support from coaches and correctors.

This solution is based on the Unity 3D game engine and offers a variety of interactive activities to reinforce learning: closed activities, such as processes and quizzes, as well as open activities focused on creativity and reflection. The application’s features allow students to work interactively and validate their answers as a team.

Serious Game Skema - La Table de Marie - Ecran

More than 86% satisfaction: the positive impact of training!

Whether it is collaboration, learning results or the level of involvement and motivation of students, the positive impact of this educational innovation has been clearly noted by the teams of coaches and correctors.

Satisfaction was expressed through direct satisfaction questionnaires and the satisfaction survey carried out by the teaching team. We also organized post-seminar debriefing sessions with class delegates and speakers (see verbatims). The satisfaction percentage is at 86.4%, based on a very good response rate (37.85%).

The specific serious game questionnaire administered by a researcher indicates the following results: interesting activities (88%), absorption by the activities offered (88%), mentally demanding exercises (73%), fun (86%), satisfactory teamwork (88%).

“Best seminar of the year”

“The course we worked the hardest on”

“This inductive pedagogy side is super powerful!”

Building on its success, the project is intended to be disseminated beyond the establishment, thus opening the way to new opportunities in the field of digital learning.

By winning the Digital Learning Trophy, SKEMA Business School demonstrates its commitment to educational innovation and the excellence of its teaching. From our point of view, this success perfectly illustrates the ability of educational institutions to adapt to the needs of students and push the boundaries of traditional learning using digital technologies.

Discover the project in a video.

What we have in store for you at Elearning Expo 2024

From March 19 to 22, 2024, the SIRH/E-learning Expo will be held at Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles. Like every year, Audace will not miss this unmissable event in the field of digital training and awaits many of you on stand A58.

Come discover our e-learning, serious games or immersive learning training devices the most innovative and efficient in many sectors (education and training, industry, logistics, construction, etc.) and responding to numerous fields of application: welcoming new employees, GDPR, workplace safety and cybersecurity, training in technical procedures , etc.

We will also invite you to test our tailor-made or off-the-shelf virtual reality simulators (VR machine driving training simulator, industrial process simulations, etc.).

Attend our selection of mini-conferences

Jérôme POULAIN, Associate Director of Audace, specialist in pedagogy for over 25 years, and Yann LEURENT, VR Product Manager, will have the pleasure of hosting a series of free mini-conferences (duration: 10 min.) on topics digital training. Each intervention will be followed by a time for discussion. See you on stand A58!

Program for March 20, 2024

11:00 a.m.: Elearning, Serious Game, XR… How to choose the right device?

How determine the best approach to meet your educational objectives? . Discover the advantages and disadvantages of each learning modality And maximize your learners’ engagement and memorization. Targeted for training and HR experts. Get the keys to wise learning choices.

11:30 a.m.: Training in virtual reality: what does it cost? what profitability?

In This mini-conference, Yann Leurent challenges preconceived ideas and demonstrates how virtual reality can significantly reduce training costs while improving the quality of learning and the operational excellence of the company. With concrete cases to illustrate the demonstration.

3:00 p.m.: How to gamify or gamify your digital training course?

Find out how to capture the attention of your learners, maintain motivation throughout the training and work on memorizing knowledge. What are the levers of pedagogy and how to adapt it to your learner profiles? How to integrate edutainment into a face-to-face or distance learning course? Can we gamify everything? Jérôme Poulain will answer all your questions.

3:30 p.m.: Risk hunting, technical training… Immersive learning for the safety and productivity of your employees.

Headsets becoming more and more accessible, technology becoming more and more sophisticated… With immersive learning, learning by doing and the logic of trial/error remains the best way to acquire skills. Immersive Learning is particularly efficient in responding to numerous challenges:integrate new operators without taking any production risks; thetrain quickly in critical business actions; ddelegate maintenance to operators as part of TPM, improve the safety of your operators and reduce accidents at work…

Program for March 21, 2024

11:00 a.m.: Integrating an XR device into an educational course: the right questions to ask yourself

Are you wondering about integrating virtual reality into your educational journey? Discover during this mini-conference the essential questions to consider, from the relevance of content to technological accessibility to guarantee the success of the immersive experience.

11:30 a.m.: Succeed in your VR device deployment strategy

Yann Leurent, VR Product Manager at Audace, will give you his advice for a successful deployment of virtual reality in your training course. Learn how to build an effective strategy, from needs identification to practical implementation, and maximize the impact of your VR initiatives on your training and learner engagement.

2:00 p.m.: The power of “beauty” in digital learning

In the world of digital learning, editorial quality and aesthetics are not details, but on the contrary essential elements that transform the training experience. Join us to discover how these key components can significantly improve engagement, understanding and retention of information in our saturated digital environments.

3:45 p.m.: Be innovative with SCORM, bold with Tin Can

An essential pillar of the standardization of elearning content, SCORM strategies can considerably optimize the management and monitoring of training. To go further, Tin Can offers unparalleled flexibility in data collection, paving the way for personalized and immersive learning experiences. Join Jérôme Poulain for an exploration of these essential tools for more effective training.

TOTAL – E-LEARNING CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSORSTOTAL

As part of the ongoing training for its employees, TotalEnergies has entrusted Audace Digital Learning with the development of e-learning training modules dedicated to the use of common tools in the process industry. Following ‘Centrifugal Pumps’ and ‘Reciprocating Compressors,’ this new e-learning program aims to train the Group’s technicians in the use of centrifugal compressors to guide them towards operational excellence.

Consisting of 3 e-learning modules, the program also includes an immersive 3D capsule dedicated to the practical application of the training. The operator must ensure that the machine is functioning correctly while familiarizing themselves with the equipment.

A pre-course and post-course assessment in the form of multiple-choice questions (QCM) allows for measuring the evolution of knowledge and the effectiveness of the training.

Target

Operators on the production site.

Objective of the digital training

Enable TOTAL technicians to understand the operation of centrifugal compressors, be aware of the risks associated with operating these machines, and know how to intervene in case of a breakdown. Finally, be able to perform routine operations.

Accessibility of the e-learning module

PC or tablet

Sony and Pimax: New Developments for Headsets

Sony has introduced a new XR headset that stands out for its focus on spatial content creation. This headset, designed for professional applications, targets engineers, developers, and product designers involved in exploring and modeling 3D environments, as well as for testing and prototyping product designs.

Sony, the headset oriented towards spatial content creation

The headset is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset and features two 4K OLED micro-displays, providing a high-quality visual experience. It also includes a transparency video feature and has a total of six cameras and sensors for spatial recognition and enhanced mixed reality experiences. The device is designed to support creators in crafting sophisticated 3D content, with collaborations planned by Sony with various 3D production software developers in both entertainment and industrial design domains.

Unique features of the Sony headset: its physical control options.

It includes a wearable ring accessory for intuitive object manipulation in the virtual space, and a hybrid stylus and controller for precise interaction and pointing. Another notable feature is the headset’s flip-up visor, allowing for an easy transition between virtual and physical environments without the need to completely remove the headset. This folding mechanism is particularly useful for professionals who may need to switch frequently between virtual and real tasks.

Overall, Sony’s XR headset represents a significant step towards integrating virtual and physical workflows in professional environments, providing an immersive and intuitive tool for spatial content creation.

Pimax Crystal, the virtual reality (VR) headset that redefines the standards of the visual experience.

Welcome to the technological world of the Pimax Crystal, a virtual reality (VR) headset that redefines the standards of the visual experience. This detailed analysis highlights the essential technical aspects that make the Pimax Crystal a future pioneer in the field of VR.

The exceptional clarity of the Pimax Crystal

The Pimax Crystal stands out with its revolutionary Pixels-Per-Degree (PPD) measurement, achieving an unparalleled visual clarity of 35 PPD. The visual experience is then significantly enhanced (on average below 20 for other headsets). Its QLED+Mini LED panels, with a resolution of 5760 horizontal pixels and 2880 vertical pixels, create an unparalleled visual experience.

QLED+Mini LED Panels

Featuring QLED+Mini LED panels, the Pimax Crystal provides a wider color gamut, deeper blacks, and local dimming mini-LED backlighting. This unique design ensures enhanced contrasts and vibrant colors, creating an exceptional visual immersion with vivid colors and deep blacks, providing a rich and vibrant visual palette.

Ergonomic Design, Balance, and Comfort

Beyond its visual performance, the Pimax Crystal offers a balanced weight distribution for optimal comfort. With a weight of 960g, this headset remains among the lightest on the market, ensuring a secure and pleasant fit. Its angular design redefines comfort standards for VR headset users. The interchangeable glass lenses ensure consistent visual clarity and sharp vision, providing an uncompromised visual experience.

High-Precision Eye Tracking

Featuring high-quality eye tracking operating at 120 Hz, the Pimax Crystal offers immersive visual control. The eye tracking system enables optimal visual rendering, with a Foveated Rendering system that dynamically adjusts image quality in the peripheral vision (outside the user’s gaze) for exceptional performance.

Two Powerful Modes: PCVR and Standalone XR2

Explore the two exceptional modes of the Pimax Crystal. In PCVR mode, immerse yourself in the virtual reality world with the power of a robust computer. Discover how the standalone XR2 mode provides a lightweight and mobile experience, with support for Wi-Fi 6E and planned wireless streaming features via WiGig (WiGig is an ultra-fast wireless technology for short-distance connections, ideal for high-definition streaming and wireless devices).

External Cameras for Station-Free Experience

With 4 external depth-sensing cameras, the Pimax Crystal eliminates the need for base stations. These cameras ensure precise tracking without requiring additional accessories, simplifying setup and enhancing user convenience. The external cameras also enable advanced features such as hand tracking and augmented reality, expanding the possibilities for interaction in the virtual world.

Despite some minor drawbacks, the Pimax Crystal provides an exceptional visual experience. This technical exploration reveals the convergence of clarity, technology, and comfort, positioning the Pimax Crystal (priced at 1999€) as a headset to watch in the world of virtual reality!

New augmented reality glasses, the Air 2 Ultra from Xreal, at CES 2024!

The Chinese startup Xreal (formerly Nreal) unveiled its augmented reality glasses, the Xreal Air 2 Ultra, at CES 2024. These revolutionary glasses, set to be available in March, stand out with two front-facing sensors enabling 6DOF tracking (the ability to detect movements in three dimensions, adding a dimension to the classic freedom of movement – up/down, left/right, forward/backward), providing an unparalleled immersive experience. Compatible with the Galaxy S22 and S23 smartphones, the Xreal Air 2 Ultra is equipped with Sony micro-OLED displays, offering a resolution of 1080p per eye with a refresh rate of 120 Hz in 2D and 90 Hz in 3D.

Featuring a sleek design and lightweight build

The glasses, with an elegant sunglasses-style design, weigh only 80 grams thanks to their titanium frames. Equipped with small directional speakers and two microphones, they provide an immersive sound experience. The glasses’ lenses can be darkened for increased immersion, with three levels of adjustment available.

Features.

The Xreal Air 2 Ultra requires a connection to a smartphone or computer via a USB-C cable. The Nebula software overlay allows the display of Android or Windows applications in the form of virtual windows within the environment. The glasses can map the environment in 3D, with a semantic analysis of surfaces. Hand gestures are tracked for intuitive interaction.

Compatibility and Price

Compatible with Samsung Galaxy S22 and S23, as well as computers running Windows or MacOS, the Xreal Air 2 Ultra is available for pre-order at 799 euros. Primarily aimed at developers, they promise to create the next generation of mixed reality experiences. The software development kit (NRSDK 2.2) will be available in March. This will allow our developers at Audace Digital Learning to explore advanced uses for these glasses in the development of innovative training programs in the future!

Comparison and Battery Life, the Drawback of These Glasses

While Xreal positions the Air 2 Ultra as competitors to the Apple Vision Pro, they stand out for a narrower field of view and less advanced technology. Their autonomy, dependent on the host device’s battery, provides approximately three hours of movie viewing on a smartphone. However, it’s important to keep in mind the price of these two devices, which adds to this difference: 799€ against approximately 3200€!

Growth of the Augmented Reality Market

The augmented reality glasses, booming in 2023, are evolving with the Xreal Air 2 Ultra. Despite some limitations, these glasses anticipate a new era of visual comfort and spatial features, driving the expansion of the augmented reality market.

The announcement of the Xreal Air 2 Ultra represents a significant advancement in the field of augmented reality, providing developers and users with an unprecedented immersive experience. Although presenting some differences compared to the Apple Vision Pro, these glasses pave the way for a new era of visual innovations. With promising features and an elegant design, they demonstrate the ongoing growth potential of the augmented reality market. Note: BMW has highlighted the integration of augmented reality into cars with the Xreal Air 2 glasses. AR indications guide the driver, overlaying navigation instructions in their field of vision, providing hazard warnings, offering a convincing demonstration of the future of AR-assisted driving.

NVIDIA ACE (Avatar Cloud Engine): A significant upcoming addition to e-learning?

Revolutionize Your Experiences with NVIDIA ACE: Intelligent Avatars for a Playful and Instructive Future.

NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE), a technological breakthrough enabling developers to create innovative digital avatars through generative AI. ACE offers easy customization, secure outcomes, and deployment flexibility, paving the way for realistic and engaging avatars. This could be a significant advantage for your future training programs. This project revolutionizes players’ immersion. Non-player characters (NPCs) become interactive, reacting realistically to players’ words, offering natural dialogues with the ability to speak to them through a microphone. The interactions are multilingual with a one-second latency.

Key Features of ACE:

– Easy to Build – Highly Customizable: Customize ACE models without deep expertise, seamlessly integrate them into your applications for realistic avatars.

– Secure and Consistent Results: ACE offers secure AI models (Audio2Face, Live Portrait, Voice Font, Riva, and NeMo) ensuring accurate and appropriate avatars in various contexts, addressing future demands, such as in training.

– Flexible Deployment Options: Deploy avatars via the cloud, PC, public or private, in real-time or offline, offering total adaptability to developers.

Key Components of ACE :

– AI Animation: Uses Audio2Face for realistic 3D animations, also facilitating the animation of 2D portraits with Live Portrait.

– AI Speech and Translation: Provides accurate transcription (ASR), text-to-speech synthesis (TTS), and up to 31 bidirectional translations with NeMo. (More info : https://www.nvidia.com/fr-fr/ai-data-science/generative-ai/nemo-framework/)

– Generative AI: NVIDIA NeMo provides language models for advanced responses, ensuring accuracy and security for avatars.

Exploration of Possibilities: :

NVIDIA ACE offers an innovative solution to developers, enabling them to create customized avatars or adopt processes specific to their application domain, such as customer interaction and intelligent services. In the gaming industry, development with NVIDIA Kairos introduces intelligent non-player characters (NPCs), ensuring natural interactions through ACE via NeMo, Riva, and Audio2Face. Finally, real-time communication is optimized by NVIDIA Maxine, which integrates real-time translation and speech synthesis, with the addition of Riva for immersive global-scale communication.

In summary, NVIDIA ACE propels avatars to new horizons, offering seamless integration into digital experiences. From gaming to real-time communications, ACE paves the way for a future where avatars become a significant addition to interactive experiences, particularly in future training scenarios. Imagine being able to interact in real-time with an avatar that provides you with more information about your training; that could be a significant advantage!

The GAI, star of CES 2024

Already last year, generative artificial intelligence (GAI) was the star of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, just two months after the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI. This year, the trend is confirmed at this new edition of the trade show: AI will be increasingly used in sectors such as health, finance, logistics, and education, thereby transforming the way these industries operate.

The Industry Giants highlight the GAI:

Nvidia, renowned for its contributions to large language models (LLMs), has unveiled a hybrid solution combining the power of its graphics processing units (GPUs) with cloud computing. This approach meets the growing demand for GAI and extends to sectors such as 3D modeling and video game. Intel, its direct competitor, announces a new generation of processors focused on GAI and expresses its commitment to integrating GAI into future automotive fleets.

At the event, Volkswagen announced the integration of ChatGPT into its vehicles. LG, on the other hand, plans to infuse its household appliances with GAI to enable them to provide verbal guidance.

Industrial Metaverse: How Siemens Aims to Shape the Future

Among the major industry players present, Siemens unveiled significant advancements aimed at creating an industrial metaverse, merging the physical and digital worlds for innovative collaboration through artificial intelligence (AI). Siemens CEO, Roland Busch, emphasized the opportunities presented by this metaverse, allowing individuals to collaborate in real-time to address challenges in the physical world.

One of the key partnerships announced is with Sony, focusing on the development of immersive engineering. Siemens and Sony are collaborating on a solution called ‘NX Immersive Designer,’ scheduled for release in 2024. This innovative solution combines Siemens’ NX software with Sony’s new spatial content creation system, including an extended reality (XR) headset. This XR technology provides a virtual and augmented experience with high-quality 4K OLED micro-displays and controllers for intuitive interaction with 3D objects. The demonstration shows how engineers at Red Bull Racing can overcome traditional constraints by immersing themselves in the industrial metaverse.

At the same time, Siemens is strengthening its collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to facilitate the creation and deployment of generative AI applications. By integrating Amazon Bedrock into Mendix (Siemens Xcelerator’s low-code platform), customers can easily select and integrate generative AI models without requiring specialized programming skills. This collaboration streamlines the development of intelligent applications, enhancing productivity by simplifying tasks such as machine documentation search and suggesting equipment adjustments. Generative AI provides a user-friendly interface for interacting with information, thereby accelerating the development process while ensuring security and confidentiality in data handling.

In summary, Siemens is actively committed to shaping the future through key partnerships and technological advancements, aiming to realize the concept of the industrial metaverse through immersive engineering and generative AI solutions. The CES 2024 highlighted the growing appetite for GAI, suggesting that this technology is on track to become the standard for all economic players. This wave of innovation recalls the advent of the web in the late 1990s, marking a major turning point in the global technological landscape. Stay tuned for these exciting developments, as the future of learning has never been more promising.