The classroom of the future has arrived in Wisconsin, and if the founders of Madison-based Holos have their way, the startup's AR/VR technology could soon make the shoebox diorama a thing of the past.
Holos is a spatial computing platform. The startup behind the technology is testing out its immersive learning experiences in the classroom, giving teachers and students the ability to create, organize and learn — all in 3D.
Think of Holos as a 3D version of Powerpoint, says the company’s co-founder and CEO, Dan Borkhus.
“You’re in a virtual reality space where you can ‘pull’ in photos, videos, text or 3D models into your environment,” says Borkhus.
Users can also “stretch” or resize the models as they see fit. “We can then control what the environment looks like. We can put you in the Amazon rainforest or in Ancient Egypt.”
The space that has been created can then be saved into a library, and shared across the platform. A teacher in Sheboygan can share the same content to a teacher in Appleton, for example.
In addition to the company’s uniquely positioned “drag-and-drop” interface, Holos is also making waves for its hands-free, voice-activated features. Unlike most AR/VR programs, there are no controllers.
Just ask Arnold. That’s the name of the program’s virtual assistant.
“It works like Siri,” explains Tyler Waite, Holos co-founder and COO/CCO. “Except there’s a visual result back.”
While the ability to bring augmented and virtual reality learning to students certainly eschews traditional teaching methods — like lectures, reading assignments or worksheets — Borkhus and Waite believe AR/VR technology can bring improvements to education, including learning engagement and retention.
“This is a new way to learn about [school] topics, kind of like a field trip,” says Waite. “Because it’s alive and in front of them. We’re trying to capture that tangible feeling."
When Borkhus and Waite first launched Holos in 2015, the company was focused on bringing AR/VR to consumers at home or in the workplace. But while AR/VR devices like the Oculus Rift were busy making headway — and plenty of headlines citing the technology as the next wave of disruption — software development for the hardware was lacking behind the scenes.
Even moreso, the technology was unproven.
“Companies weren’t ready to use the technology,” Borkhus says. He compares the barrier to VR as similar to when the personal computer first entered the consumer market.
“There was no data to prove how companies were more productive with [AR/VR]," he said. "We thought we could apply it to education because students would really benefit. It’s more exciting and engaging than a lecture. We saw a clear value add there.”
Investors soon followed suit. After securing a $60,000 equity free grant from the Discovery 2 Product (D2P) accelerator in the company’s early stage, the company completed a seed round earlier this year, successfully raising $100,000, and has plans to launch a second venture round this spring.
Today, Holos is fine tuning its technology in a handful of schools including in Sheboygan, Madison and Milwaukee, but the company believes there is a strong opportunity to scale verticals — including into corporations.
As of now, the company is also in talks with a U.S. government agency to leverage Holos’ VR cross-platform to create employee training modules. A contract could change the game for three-year-old Holos.
“With our interface, using your hands and voice, it’s not as abstract — you’re actually interacting with content,” Borkhus says. “AR/VR allows people to have a more symbiotic relationship with computers. It gives a very personal experience. We can use those almost as superpowers.”
