Two months ago we rolled out a new module called Guided VR Co-Viewing. The InstaVR Pro add-on feature allows an administrator to manipulate the POV of multiple app users simultaneously, regardless of location. Today, we discuss one of the most popular use cases for the module: training. 

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How Does Guided Co-Viewing Work? 

1. From your InstaVR Pro account, purchase the Guided Co-Viewing add-on. This will allow you to act as an Administrator and control the VR view of up to 15 of your app users in real-time. (additional co-viewers above 15 can also be purchased)
2. Package up the app you’d like users to download and view during your guided co-viewing experience. While co-viewing works across all major VR headsets (Cardboard, Gear VR, Daydream, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Web), the end user will have to maintain an Internet connection to be part of the live training.
3. As an Administrator, turn on Live Co-Viewing from your Console. You can then select which online users of your packaged app you’d like to participate in Guided Co-Viewing.
4. Start Co-Viewing! This could include manipulating the POV, linking through to a next scene, initiating a hotspot, etc

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Why Use Guided Co-Viewing for Training? 

VR for Training is one of the most common use cases of VR at an enterprise level. Companies are embracing the effectiveness and cost savings of immersing employees and partners into virtual environments to teach them.

However, to truly maximize VR for Training, you’re going to want to have an administrator guide the users through the training. Doing this, you can highlight important features in the 360 environment and make sure that your training audience sees all the necessary things during their training.

For example, when onboarding a new cohort of employees using VR, you may want to familiarize them with the environment they’ll be inhabiting. If they’re hired to do inspections of meat packing plants, you’ll want the trainer to walk them through the VR meat packing plant and point out all the important areas to inspect. Hotspots can be used to highlight particularly important areas to inspect, and the 2d image/video hotspots can provide additional contextual information. Without the guided part of the Co-Viewing though, a new employee might miss an important item during their VR orientation.

One of the biggest benefits of Guided Co-Viewing is the remote nature of it. A trainer in Atlanta can do live training for new hires in Chicago, Seattle, and Boston all at the same time. If one user has a question, the administrator can help all viewers to see the answers simultaneously. Real-time feedback is an essential part of VR training.

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Top 5 Reasons to Utilize Guided Co-Viewing for Training Now

1. Train employees immersively – Let’s be honest — watching a standard video as part of training isn’t going to be terribly memorable. But immersing employees fully in a virtual world will be. Command 100% attention while presenting as realistic a depiction of an environment as possible, without actually being there.
2. Train multiple employees simultaneously – Setting up and initiating a co-viewing training is simple. After you’ve distributed your VR app, simply choose the online employees who you want to lead in your training exercise.
3. Train employees simultaneously regardless of location – Live co-viewing training can be achieved entirely remotely.  Location of the trainer and employees is no longer an obstacle with Guided Co-Viewing.
4. Enhance training using Navigation and Hotspots – Just like when you’re creating a packaged VR app, you can incorporate Navigation and Hotspots into your co-viewing training. Use the latter to provide close-up information, educational video overlays, or text-based information. Utilizing hotspots in your co-viewing makes it even more valuable.
5. Iterate quickly! – You can turn around and create a new co-viewing app in minutes using the InstaVR platform. Gather feedback from your audience and enhance your VR training classes quickly. Successful businesses move quickly, and the ability to quickly and easily roll out new live VR training modules is essential.

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Conclusion

VR for Training is already one of the highest ROI use cases for the technology. Adding in live, remote, simultaneous Guided Co-Viewing makes the technology even more impactful. Train locally or globally, dynamically changing the contents of your VR training quickly.

If you’re an InstaVR Pro user, you can upgrade and add Guided Co-Viewing today!