Hello listeners! Welcome to the EnterVR podcast. On today's show I speak with Tony Diepenbrock from Learn Immersive. Tony and his team are creating a way for you to learn a foreign language using the virtual reality. Come along as we discuss using deep learning with VR, what makes vr so effective when learning a new language and more!
Here is a snippet of some of the things we talked about:
20: Intro. What is Learn Immersive? How do they what they do?
2:20 What sparked the idea of using vr to teach languages in the first place.
4:00 Combining deep learning with virtual reality?
5:00 The target audience that Learn Immersive has in mind.
7:00 The platforms that Learn Immersive will be available in.
8:20 How long will it take for you to learn a language with VR?
10:00 Why is VR better for learning a language?
12:30 Why do you need to learn a language in the first place in 2015?
16:30 What motivates Tony to work on this project?
18:00 What does the Learn Immersive interface look like?
19:00 The languages of learning of language from a native speaker vs. a none native speaker vs. machines?
22:00 Creating a market place for language tutors in VR.
24:00 What is the advantage of working in the Metaverse as a language tutor?
25:00 What does the pricing model look like for the Learn Immersive experience?
27:00 How to pitch to investors when your business model might lose money in the first few months?
29:00 How does the business model scale up?
30:00 The tools that Learn Immersive is using to create their virtual environments.
31:00 Why use gamefication? Is gamefication the future of learning?
34:00 How does Learn Immersive pick up on what you will be saying? And how will it provide value to the experience?
37:00 What is the goal of Learn Immersive?
38:00 How to localize the language learning process from country to country?
41:00 Making experienced based learning accessible in subjects like history and math.
43:00 How do we learn new things in the information age?
44:00 What is Learn Immersive's biggest weakness?
45:00 Incorporating a rating system for students and tutors? How to make sure the right tutors are paired with the right students.
47:00 Tailoring the learning experience to the scenarios you will most likely see yourself in.
49:00 Could this system help soldiers learn the languages of the combat theater they will be in before they get there.
52:00 How long before deep learning algorithms get to a point where learning a foreign language is not necessary anymore.
58:00 What does the Facebook acquistion of a speech recognition company mean for Learn Immersive?
1:01:00 Worst and best case scenarios for the vr industry.
1:03:00 When will public demos become available?
1:04:00 Why work in vr in the first place?
1:05:00 Estimations as to how big vr will in the next 5 years.
1:08:00 Last minute on meal on planet earth?
1:08:30 Favorite video game of all time.
1:10:00 Will the Metaverse become a wild west or become a more tamed version of our current internet?
1:13:00 If you could turn into any animal every time you sneeze, what would it be?
1:13:30 Closing thoughts and how to stay in touch
Thanks again to Tony for being a true scholar and gentleman of virtual reality and thank you for listening.
Keep in touch with Tony and Learn Immersive with links below:
https://twitter.com/learnimmersive
http://learnimmersive.com/
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
I will be hosting an event in collaboration with Silicon Valley Founders and VCs meetup group on Janaury 26th . Check out the meetup page for more info on the event in the coming days. Follow @entervr on twitter and check out the r/entervr subreddit to get in touch with the community.
http://www.meetup.com/SV-Founders-VC/
https://twitter.com/EnterVR