VR Education and Training with Interplay Learning / ITI

IMPORTANT NOTE:
This month's meetup will be hosted at Awty International School. See end of the meetup description for parking instructions.

John Hughes of Interplay Learning/ITI will explore how immersive technologies -- like VR crane, heavy equipment, and skilled trades simulations -- are transforming how organizations and institutions train the modern workforce. Serving industries across heavy manufacturing, facilities maintenance, construction, and workforce development, Interplay and ITI partner with employers, educators, and apprenticeship programs to close skill gaps and build job-ready teams. This session will showcase the latest innovations in simulation-based learning, share real-world applications, and demonstrate how immersive training can be integrated into a blended curriculum to improve safety, performance, and workforce readiness.

Ted Hayes II will give a field report on the new Meta Ray Ban Display glasses -- the newest generation of Meta's smart glasses, with integrated display. He's been using them daily for almost a month now and will share what he's learned.

We will, as always, discuss the latest AR and VR news, and demo the latest hardware and software. An additional mini-presentation on the technology of XR will be given to Awty staff and students before the meetup at 7pm -- you're welcome to show up early if you'd like to attend that as well.

Members are welcome to share hardware and software they're developing, give reviews, or speak on topics.

Parking Notes:

• From Post Oak Lane, turn onto Awty School Lane
• Once on Awty School lane, go past the cemetery to the first guard shack.
• STOP at the Guardshack - provide ID to the guards to quickly check and tell them you are here for the VR/XR meeting.
• From the guard shack you will veer slightly left and drive into the parking deck (speed bumps are brutal, take them at 5mph).
• Park on the side of the garage that faces the campus buildings (west side), on any level of the parking deck.
• Take the stairs or elevator down to the 1st floor (bottom floor).
• Walk in the direction of the campus/look for the glass walled building in front of you.
• The large glass walled building that is in front of you is our cafeteria. We will be having the meeting there.
• Doors will be open, please walk in.