Cultural challenges

Katrina was concerned about inadvertent misappropriation of culture when Māori visual art was being taught by those who didn’t have cultural experience or a full understanding of the art. Ideally, tā moko would be taught only by Māori teachers and visual art practitioners, but there is a shortage of Māori teachers across New Zealand, and many of that small number teach in Māori medium schools, rather than in English medium schools. 

“A potential solution would be to find Māori artists who were willing to teach others. I would video record the lessons and curate them into an online LMS for use in the classroom – that way, instead of needing one kaiako per school, one artist could cover many schools.”

When researching what was already available in this sphere, Katrina found that there was a shortage of suitable content. “I found the resources to be quite clunky and hard to navigate and understand. Teachers wanting to be able to use these resources in the classroom would need time to become familiar with them before implementing.”

She was determined to create her own tā moko teaching resource which would present authentic teaching in an accessible way to those who were eager to learn.

Structure, creation and content

Katrina enrolled in a course to learn Māori and Indigenous Art at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, to learn more herself about tā moko. Her teacher on the course, tā moko artist Rawiri Horne, agreed to share his knowledge in videos which would be the core content of her new learning resource. ANZAAE National Art Association provided funding for professional videography, in exchange for permission for them to use the finished resource on their online hub. Katrina then edited the videos herself using WeVideo. 

In terms of presenting the content, Katrina envisaged dividing the learning content up into 5 steps, each of which consisted of a set or “sprint” of lessons, covering individual aspects of that element of tā moko. She wanted a platform that would allow for a certain amount of “gamification”:

“Something that would give me the option to lay out the sprints kind of like a board game. I knew I wanted the layout to be an image, with buttons that linked to the relevant content. I also wanted analytic data, immersive learning options such as speech to text to cater for diverse learners and a way for students to see their progress if possible.” 

ThingLink Scenario Builder

After researching a number of alternative creation and hosting platforms, Kat settled on ThingLink. Each lesson within the learning sprints was built using ThingLink’s Scenario Builder. 

For each of the 5 steps, the learner goes through the tags from left to right, guided by the direction of the arrow tags. In this way the learner:

• Learns from Rawiri’s video about the background to a specific aspect of tā moko; 
• Watches his drawing of the symbol, pattern or motif; 
• Practises the drawing themselves; 
• Takes a quick knowledge test about what they have just learnt.

Katrina also wanted to include somewhere for learners to demonstrate evidence of learning. So via a tag at the end of each module, learners use what they have learnt so far to create their own design: eg mangōpare that explains your family. Learners can then upload their designs to one overall Padlet via a link. 

Incorporating elements of Māori art into the resource design

Katrina describes the structure of Pae Ringa Toi, which in itself reflects Māori art forms :

“Each sprint the learner undertakes is termed poutama or ‘step’. It comes from the stepped pattern found in tukutuku panels and weaving. It symbolises genealogies and also levels of learning and achievement. As the students progress through each poutama they learn more about Tā moko until they reach the top and are tasked to create their own artwork based on the knowledge they have acquired on their journey up the mountain. I wanted the site to be easy and fun to navigate with an element of gamification.”

Using ThingLink’s language features

Katrina was also keen to include translation into Māori as much as possible throughout. Microsoft Immersive Reader is an accessibility tool embedded into ThingLink and can be used to translate text in text and media tags. She was also able to make use of the new feature in Scenario Builder which lets creators change the text in the end screen. Each end screen message is written first in Māori and then in English.

Katrina has also made use of ThingLink’s built-in statistics feature.

“This is quite helpful so you can track how many people are actually ‘climbing the mountain’ or just opening the first scenario to check it out.”

In Pae Ringa Toi, all the content is contained and framed within a one page ThingLink scene to which learners return after each module. The progression from left to right through the “sprints” and climbing up through each tier of the mountain is clear from the outset and gives the learner an obvious indication of where they are and how far they have come at each stage. 

“ThingLink is such a great resource for visual representation.”

“What I like about using [ThingLink Scenario Builder] is that you can insert different ‘blocks’ such as questions, media, text, branches and goals etc. All the content is editable and updates in real time, so if I use a video that has tags and update this then I do not need to go into every scenario that features that video to update it, it will just happen.”

Results

Overall, Pae Ringa Toi has received an extremely positive response. Three responses to highlight in particular are featured below.

• One learner was inspired by having completed Pae Ringa Toi to create a carving which they gave as a gift. 
• Another has been inspired to create a ThingLink of their own to share the histories and legends of their iwi (people).
• Feedback from a committee member of the ANZAA :

“The tools load really quickly and are so packed with juicy information and clear learning steps. Great resource. Clever idea. Very engaging.”

ANZAAE committee member

How this resource will be used

ANZAAE will use Pae Ringa Toi on their online resource hub which is available to all Art Educators in New Zealand. Rawiri Horne will now be able to use Pae Ringa Toi in his own teaching. In addition, Katrina had always envisaged creating a digital learning resource for sharing cultural heritage that would be accessible to all regardless of financial or geographical barriers, time constraints or technology experience. As such, Pae Ringa Toi will remain available for anyone who is interested in tā moko, not monetized but as a permanently free resource. 

Katrina intends for this mountain to be just the first of a whole mountain range for learning associated Māori visual arts.

An inspiring example of capturing and sharing in an accessible way the authentic knowledge, stories and experience of those who teach their art form and keep it alive for future generations. We wish Katrina every success in her journey!

Creating similar tools with ThingLink

This structure using ThingLink is ideally suited to teaching any creative learning material, but is particularly suited to visual (2D) arts. It is the perfect illustration of how a digital learning resource or virtual learning environment (VLE) can be very thoughtfully created and used to convey and continue the teaching of traditional heritage and culture.

Further examples of virtual learning experiences with ThingLink

ThingLink is used as a learning platform to create a huge variety of web-based virtual learning environments. It’s used by higher education institutions and schools to create virtual field trips, and as e-learning and distance learning for trainees, employee onboarding and professional development. From scenario-based learning modules and courses to interactive in-situ training using the ThingLink AR App, the combinations of formats and multimedia content are almost infinite.

Explore these case studies below to find out more:

• Savonia University of Applied Sciences creates an interactive virtual environment with ThingLink’s AR App

• Online learning in Further Education: ThingLink Virtual Learning Environments Train Students in Customer Service

• K-12 Educational Technology: Empower students with collaborative project-based learning using ThingLink

• Higher Education: Creating a virtual lab with ThingLink

• Recruitment: Vocational Training institution creates a virtual recruitment forum

“[ThingLink support] have provided excellent customer service. I recommend anyone thinking of using this platform to try it out.”

Katrina Lilly

Finally, some advice and guidance taken from Pae Ringa Toi for all those who are inspired to create with ThingLink: “Iti nei iti nei ka taea – Small consistent steps amount to success”.

Registration

ThingLink has become an essential tool across numerous industries, making the learning experience more relevant and relatable at every stage. The impact in healthcare related education has been particularly evident, helping learning designers align experiences with hthe approaches they know best to enable health care professionals acquire essential skills and knowledge. This sector, in particular, has seen a surge in utilizing simulations and scenarios to drive more effective and impactful learning outcomes.

Join us to explore the direction of immersive learning with our latest webinar in partnership with the University of Cumbria, “Immersive Learning Landscapes: Healthcare with Scenario-Based Simulations.” Hosted by Louise from ThingLink, alongside Claire WhiteHouse and Finn Drude from the University of Cumbria’s award-winning Digital Health Simulation Team.

Cant Join Us?

If you are unable to join us, please don’t worry – sign up anyway and we’ll send you the action replay and resources we mention on the webinar.

Key Takeaways:

1. Understand the role of simulations and scenarios in Healthcare learning and education, making it more engaging and effective.

2. Experience immersive learning firsthand, through our live demos, see how ThingLink brings complex healthcare scenarios to life, offering a true-to-life learning experience.

3. Gain Insights from Industry Leaders: Hear from Claire WhiteHouse and Finn Drude, pioneers in digital health simulation, about their journey and success in integrating technology with healthcare education.

4. Come away with fresh ideas and insights on how to implement immersive learning strategies within your own context.

Whether you’re a professional in health, an educator, a ThingLink fan, or simply keen on the latest in learning technology, this webinar offers valuable insights and ideas. Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us.

Clean, safe water on demand is a fundamental expectation and mainstay of our lives in the developed world. Even initially minor faults or interruptions in a water supply network can cause issues which can quickly escalate, with potentially catastrophic effects on health and safety on an urban, regional or even national scale.

For this reason, fast and  accurate responses are vital when even minor issues are detected anywhere on a water network. Developments in technology have removed much of the potential for human error in these processes, but the human element remains essential. Clearly, the optimisation and development of this operator-technology partnership is fundamental to the seamless provision of this critical utility. A water network testing and research facility in Finland (WaterLAB) has been using the new ThingLink AR Solution to ensure that maintenance, fault finding and troubleshooting is as fast, efficient and accurate as possible.

The work of WaterLAB

Systems modelling using digital methods to optimize the water sector is the specialized field of expertise of Patryk Wójtowicz, Research Manager at Savonia University of Applied Sciences. Patryk is leading Smart Water Group leveraging the WaterLAB – a dedicated space for development and testing at the university. WaterLAB incorporates a number of different water systems testing facilities using specialized equipment and laboratories. WaterLAB is also equipped with WaterLOOP – a Distribution System Simulator (DSS) – in simple terms, it is a small-scale version of a typical urban water network (from a source to a tap).

Leveraging WaterLAB facilities, Patryk and his colleagues can introduce and manipulate a huge variety of simulated events, to test various scenarios that could occur in a real water network. WaterLAB also has access to the SuperDMA (district metered area) full-scale demonstrator, which is part of the water distribution system operated by the local water authority, located close to WaterLAB.

Augmented reality applications in Smart Water

Patryk leads the Smart Water Group at Savonia UAS, who are developing applications of digital solutions such as augmented and extended reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning. In 2020 the group began investigating how the new generation of digital solutions could best support field technicians, specifically in optimizing the speed, efficiency and safety of troubleshooting operations.

They initially experimented with a number of solutions using available virtual reality and AR headsets, but found that all potential solutions were too bulky, unreliable and took too long to master. In addition, the AR software platforms would have required significant development time to build the content. 

However, via the SWIM (Smart Water Management) project supported by Business Finland, Patryk was put in touch with ThingLink, who were in the initial stages of developing their new AR Solution. The ease with which materials could be created and updated, and the user-friendly interface suggested that this would be the ideal solution for supporting field technicians.

Augmented Reality solutions for the energy and water sectors

Augmented Reality has been used for training and field technician support by energy grids for some time to help minimize the risk of operator error, and Patryk realised the potential of using the ThingLink AR Solution in the water industry in a similar way. The Smart Water Group were provided with funding by the Finnish government’s SPECTRAL project to develop the AR project using ThingLink.

Together, WaterLAB and ThingLink are creating resources using the AR Solution for maintaining and troubleshooting a number of applications and instruments that feature in the WaterLAB and in the SuperDMA, and which are used in water networks around the world. One of the AR resources is designed to be used with the EventLab system by Optiqua and PipeScan by Scan (Badger Meter Group), just one of the many instruments installed in the WaterLAB. 

Simplifying the complex with augmented reality

EventLAB is a compact but highly sophisticated water quality monitoring instrument using ‘Lab-on-Chip’ technology. It gives operators a complete grid network overview, with graphical analysis tools and automated early alerts for 24/7 network monitoring. It consists of sensor hardware, data transmission infrastructure and data analysis and event detection software. This is exactly the sort of complex and critical instrument which would benefit from a comprehensive but easy-to-use app for use by technicians in the field when troubleshooting issues. A video of the AR Solution in action with EventLab is provided below.

How does the AR Solution work?

In the video below you can see both the quick and simple process of the content creation, as well as the functionality of the AR Viewer App when used by the field technician in situ. 

• Creating interactive resources for viewing in AR is exactly the same, and just as simple, as creating any ThingLink content. The process can be mastered in minutes, even by those with no previous experience of AR technology. You simply upload the product/instrument image to the ThingLink editor, and click on the image to add interactive tags in the relevant locations. In each tag, you then add any combination of text, images, 3D models, videos (singly or as carousels), links out to additional information, or even an entire manual as a PDF. 
• In the viewing stage, the operator simply points their smartphone’s camera at the object and they see the interactive tags appear on the on-screen image as an overlay. They then tap them to read, view or watch, going through the troubleshooting process step-by-step.

Challenges facing the water sector:

• Even minor faults can escalate to major issues such as interruptions to supply which can cause risks to health, secondary risks to other industries, a loss of consumer confidence and reputational damage. Fast and precise troubleshooting is therefore critical.
• The 24/7 nature of the sector means that there is little opportunity or time for creating technical or training resources, so fast and efficient production of materials that does not require any interruption or compromise to operations is crucial.
• Lack of support for new technologies at all levels, from field technicians, through senior management to board level.
• Staffing and HR issues throughout the sector. These include:
  • Skilled Workforce Shortages, particularly in specialized areas, affecting water resources management and essential services delivery.
  • Workforce Aging/Retirement: Many water sector professionals are approaching retirement, leading to concerns about a “brain drain” and loss of knowledge and expertise, impacting operational and service continuity.
  • Training and Capacity Building: Training and CPD on emerging technologies, best practices, and regulatory requirements is essential. However, budget constraints and competing priorities can limit training investment.
  • Workplace Safety and Health: Common hazards include exposure to hazardous chemicals, confined spaces, and physical risks around fieldwork and construction activities. Ensuring workplace safety and implementing health and safety protocols is crucial to protect staff.

The Benefits of ThingLink’s AR Solution:

“It’s much easier for even untrained staff to go into the field with this kind of support. You can be confident that that person is doing their job correctly.”

Patryk Wojtowicz

• Reduces errors, increases success rate and precision of troubleshooting.
  Which in turn:
  • Reduces costs – less unintentional damage to expensive or critical equipment, less time spent in the field troubleshooting or awaiting resolution.
  • In some cases can reduce danger to staff.
  • Mitigates for staff shortages in water industry.
  • Simplicity of the user experience reduces the need for specialist employee training and onboarding in assistive technologies
  • Increases confidence in staff, which in turn increases staff morale and, in turn, retention.
• The ThingLink AR solution is incredibly simple and intuitive for resource creators, even those with no augmented reality training or experience.
  • Speed: It’s incredibly fast to create material in ThingLink. For example the Optiqua AR resource seen above took less than two hours to create.
  • Ease: Easy and intuitive to create and update. Slick and accessible, the content is easy to update when any changes or updates to the system are made. In fact it allows for constant and regular updating of materials if required. 
• The AR Viewer App user interface is also very intuitive, clean and easy to navigate for viewers.
  • Rather than using AR glasses, the app is accessed via the technician’s phone or other mobile device, instantly providing a sense of familiarity and confidence, and a somewhat gamified experience. There is no need for specific AR training programs to introduce it, which will shorten the training process on new instruments, in turn reducing training costs.
  • This can help address resistance to change that often comes with the introduction of new technology in the utilities sector.

“ThingLink is very user friendly, even with a small phone screen. It’s very responsive. That’s what you need.”

Patryk Wojtowicz

ThingLink’s AR Solution: Ideal for challenges common to the water industry and the wider utilities sector

Fast and efficient fault finding and resolution is the key to increasing the overall efficiency of water networks, so having access to the correct technical help in the instantly accessible format that ThingLink’s AR Solution provides is crucial. 

“At the end of the day what we want to achieve in the water sector by providing the ThingLink AR Solution is to increase efficiency, safety and knowledge. Guesswork is not efficient. It could take you a whole day to solve the problem. In the AR Viewer App you are given instructions one by one, you are shown which button to press, which valve to close – you are minimizing the time taken to troubleshoot.”

Patryk Wójtowicz

Join our Webinar to learn more!

Sign up to our webinar (watch live or on demand) to hear Patryk and other special guests discuss their use of the amazing new ThingLink AR Solution!

Further reading:

Read how the AR App made this Ohio art exhibition more accessible

The Challenge in Nursing Education: Nursing students must master a mix of theory and practical skills and be ready to make quick decisions in ever-changing situations. Part of their training takes place in real-world healthcare settings, which is crucial for their learning.

Since nursing programs across Europe share core elements, students have the chance to study and train in different countries. However, before starting their clinical practice abroad, they need a thorough orientation to adapt to new work environments and cultures.

Introducing the Care for Europe Project: The “Care for Europe Erasmus+ KA2” project aims to make it easier for nursing students from abroad to fit into their new clinical placements. The project focuses on creating digital tools to help these students get used to their new country and healthcare settings.

This initiative is led by the French Red Cross’s IRFSS Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with partners from universities in Hungary, Spain, and Finland. Together, they’ve developed materials in collaboration with educators, nurses, and students themselves.

A Breakthrough Digital Tool: One of the standout creations is a 360° immersive learning resource built with ThingLink. This learning resource is designed to introduce students to the concept of cultural competence and prepare them for their clinical placements in various countries. It offers virtual tours of actual nursing locations, like hospitals and educational simulation rooms, allowing students to explore and learn about their upcoming work environment before they even arrive.

Learning Modules Offered: The learning resource is divided into four key areas:

1. Cultural Competence: Helps students reflect on their own cultures and understand others better.
2. Understanding Local Nursing: Offers insights into the nursing field and education in the participating countries.
3. Mentoring and Clinical Practices: Guides on mentoring and how to navigate clinical placements.
4. Local Culture and Country Info: Provides a peek into the local culture and practical information about the host country.

Positive Feedback and Future Possibilities: The feedback from both students and teachers across Finland, Spain, France, and Hungary has been extremely positive. The ThingLink platform is praised for being innovative, engaging, and user-friendly. The project has sparked interest not just for educational purposes but also as a potential tool for orienting new healthcare staff or patients in different settings.

Conclusion: The “Care for Europe” project showcases how digital innovation can enhance nursing education and support students in adapting to international clinical environments. By leveraging immersive experiences and collaborative efforts, it offers a forward-thinking approach to preparing nursing students for global opportunities.

With many thanks to case study authors,

Niina Glerean, Senior Lecturer, Laurea University of Applied Sciences

and

Mika Alastalo, Principal Lecturer, Laurea University of Applied Sciences

Breathe life into the ordinary with ThingLink’s brand new Augmented Reality Solution! Easily create an overlay of hotspots containing multimedia information on your images of real-world objects, then share as AR experiences to view via any mobile device. 

What is the ThingLink AR Solution?

ThingLink has always offered the easiest and fastest way to create interactive and immersive experiences for viewing on screens or in Virtual Reality. Now you can add Augmented Reality viewing to the list of easy-to-create interactive media.

The ThingLink AR Solution consists of the new AR Mode in the ThingLink suite (for creating), and the ThingLink AR Viewer App (for viewing).

How does the ThingLink AR Solution work?

Creation:

Using advanced AR technology, ThingLink allows you to upload any image of a real-life object, and then add hotspots to it via the super-simple and intuitive ThingLink interface. The interactive hotspots can contain any combination of multimedia content: images, videos, gifs, text, links, 3d models and much more! Add your hotspots, then add the content you would like to share with your viewers. After creating your AR resource or ‘Collection’ ThingLink generates a share code for you, which you can also convert to a QR code for sharing if you wish.

Viewing:

Your viewer then:

1. Downloads the AR Viewer App from the AppStore and opens it.
2. Enters the share code/scans the QR code.
3. Points their phone camera at the object. 
4. Interacts with the hotspots that appear on their screen!

Both the ThingLink creator interface and the AR Viewer App are very easy to navigate. Our intuitive interface ensures that everyone can enjoy a simple and seamless user experience, without any specific technical expertise.

You can read full instructions, account limitations and details at our Support Article here.

Video above shows the AR solution being used at Savonia University of Applied Sciences’ WaterLAB – a dedicated space for development and testing.

What are the benefits of ThingLink’s AR Solution?

For learning and training

More impactful training with Mixed Reality 

Instantly engage learners with your training by adding augmented reality experiences. From educational institutions to corporate training, the app provides an opportunity for experiential learning. Make complex topics, physical processes or even machinery easier to understand and more engaging through interactive, hands-on experiences that guide learners through processes step-by-step.

Increased accessibility

Providing accessible content is essential. ThingLink is designed to break down barriers and open up new opportunities for exploration for everyone. We’ve built an AR training solution that’s not just easy to use but also makes learning fun and inclusive. No matter their age, training needs or tech skill level, your viewers can dive right into augmented reality training on demand with the ThingLink Viewer App, on a device that’s familiar to them. 

Keep training costs down

Create interactive employee training experiences that don’t rely on expensive AR headsets or training software and can be instantly updated at no additional cost. Create a variety of different overlays for different event simulations and training scenarios. Reduce the training process from two steps (theory, then practical) to one, saving time and money.

For cultural venues:

Clear and accessible information for visitors

No more dealing with cluttered information signs or panels on each object. With the ThingLink AR Viewer App your viewers simply point their device at the image, tap on the hotspot, and access information seamlessly. A whole catalog of objects or artefacts can be accessed with one short code. Retain the original aesthetic integrity of your location, no need for ‘out of context’ information panels that disrupt the experience. Providing information via your visitors’ own devices rather than providing audio guides to visitors keeps your exhibition costs down.

Drive engagement 

Engagement is the key to a memorable experience, and the ThingLink AR Viewer App excels in this area. By adding interactivity to your exhibition or display, you’re not just looking at artefacts – you’re truly experiencing them. Dive deep into historical contexts, gain artistic insights, or even share personal stories attached to objects – the possibilities are endless.

For business:

Increase safety and efficiency and lower costs with optimized troubleshooting 

With the ThingLink AR Solution, you can be sure that whatever the problem, your operators and agents can deal with it swiftly, safely and efficiently. You can reduce potentially costly and hazardous errors with interactive AR product guides that demonstrate correct processes. 

How can you use the ThingLink AR Solution?

The AR Solution has multiple applications in learning, training, industry, marketing, retail, art and culture, tourism and more. In fact its applications are almost limitless!

Add multimedia tags to paintings, structures, products, machinery and technical equipment, production lines or in fact any workplace object, unlocking layers of information and insights in an instant. Here are some key use cases by sector.

1. Galleries and Exhibitions

Augmented reality can transform the traditional gallery and exhibition experience into a truly immersive one. This application can add an extra layer of interpretive content to artworks, bringing them to life with interactive, animations, audio descriptions, artist interviews, 3d objects or historical contexts. Visitors, equipped with the AR app on their smartphones or tablets, can point their devices at an artwork and watch as the static display evolves into an interactive multimedia experience. This not only boosts visitor engagement but also offers an exciting new way to delve deeper into the stories and ideas behind each piece.

In the example below, you can watch how the solution was used to create AR guides for an exhibition in Columbus, Ohio. You can read the full case study blog here.

2. Onboarding and Impactful Training

The use of augmented reality in onboarding and training programs can revolutionize the way companies educate their new hires or existing employees. By incorporating AR features into their training, companies can make complicated training materials interactive and engaging. For example, employees could scan a machine with their phone to see a step-by-step AR guide on how to operate it, minimizing risks and facilitating a faster learning curve. This hands-on learning approach helps improve the understanding and retention of information, making training more effective.

3. Troubleshooting, Maintenance and Product Guidance 

Provide detailed visual guides to instruments, machines and appliances for your field operators, agents and customers. Reduce costly errors and the time taken to resolve issues by providing clear and sequenced instructions in multimedia format, including videos to show processes and functionality in action. Increase accuracy and confidence, avoid potentially dangerous and/or expensive mistakes from incorrect use and procedures and reduce hazards to employees and customers. Step-by-step walkthroughs with videos, images and even 3D models can guide them independently through the correct actions when products and machinery display a fault. These AR applications work across a wide spectrum of industries – from those as diverse as manufacturing, utilities, healthcare and hospitality.

ThingLink’s AR solution is one of the best AR apps for use in environments where information or guidance needs to be regularly updated. Any changes that you make to your content in ThingLink are updated in real-time, meaning that whenever the viewer opens the app, their material will automatically be the most up-to-date version. In the example below, the AR solution is used to troubleshoot complex instruments in a water network.

4. Escape Rooms and Treasure Hunts

Augmented reality can bring an innovative twist to traditional escape rooms and breakout sessions. With AR technology, you can design thrilling scavenger hunts or gamified experiences in any location or space. For instance, clues or puzzles could be placed in real-world environments, but only visible through the AR app, making the challenge more immersive and engaging. You can also incorporate educational content in these AR games, turning any location or learning experience into an interactive adventure. This can be especially impactful in settings like museums, educational institutions, or corporate team-building exercises. Popular experiences such as Pokemon Go have made the concept of an AR treasure hunt familiar to everyone, and now with ThingLink AR solution, it’s incredibly easy to make your own! In the video below, educator Christoffer Dithmer has used the AR solution to add additional layers of information to a history book for his students.

5. Information Panels and Directions for City Guides and Trails

Augmented reality applications can provide interactive information or direction panels in a variety of spaces, from public parks to buildings and tourist attractions. Users can simply point their AR-enabled device at a location or object to view a layer of digital information – this could include historical facts, architectural details, or even directions to nearby points of interest. This provides an innovative way for visitors to interact with their surroundings, making navigation easier and experiences richer.

6. Historical Education and Tourism

Historical sites and museums can adopt augmented reality to provide immersive tours and educational experiences. Users can view re-enactments of historical events, see how historical figures looked, or visualize how ruins and buildings looked in their prime, all by downloading the augmented reality app. This application of AR makes history more accessible and engaging, and helps users develop a deeper appreciation for cultural heritage. 

Device and Platform Compatibility

ThingLink’s AR Viewer App is available as a mobile app for iOS (for iphone/ipad/other Apple devices) and for Android devices/operating systems.

Experience the ThingLink AR Solution 🌐💼: Transforming everyday tasks into seamless and efficient experiences!

Registration

Discover the new ThingLink Augmented Reality App! In this exclusive free webinar Louise from ThingLink is joined by Special Guests Patryk Wójtowicz, Savonia University of Applied Sciences and Sarah Dove from Ohio State University.

Together they explore how to create AR experiences with the new Augmented Reality app and just a handful of the uses of this versatile solution.

What is the new ThingLink Augmented Reality Solution?

Breathe life into the ordinary with ThingLink’s brand new Augmented Reality Solution! Easily create an overlay of hotspots containing multimedia information on your images of real-world objects, then share as AR experiences to view via mobile devices with the ThingLink AR Viewer app.

With our new solution, a phone or tablet can be a portal to a vibrant world brimming with multimedia information, offering immersive experiences like never before.

Watch our playlist with introduction from ThingLink Founder and CEO Ulla-Maaria Koivula and our expanding list of real world and live use cases

Six Key Takeaways! What You Will Gain:

1. In-depth Understanding: Grasp the fundamentals and advanced features of the ThingLink Augmented Reality App. Learn how it can breathe life into ordinary settings with hotspots of multimedia / multimodal information.
2. Hands-On Demos: Experience live demonstrations on creating and deploying AR experiences. See real-world applications that showcase the app’s versatility across various industries and education sectors.
3. Creative Inspiration: Spark your imagination with innovative use cases presented by our guest speakers. Discover how AR can transform learning, training, and customer engagement.
4. Networking Opportunities: Connect with like-minded professionals, educators, and AR enthusiasts. Share ideas, challenges, and solutions in an interactive Q&A session.
5. Future Trends: Hear from ThingLink’s Founder and CEO, Ulla-Maaria Koivula, about the vision behind the AR app and what the future holds for AR in education, training, and beyond.
6. Resource Access: Get exclusive access to resources that will help you get started with the ThingLink Augmented Reality App immediately after the webinar.

Who Should Attend?

This webinar is designed for everyone keen on exploring new dimensions of interactive and immersive experiences. It’s perfect for:

• Educators and trainers looking to enhance learning with AR.
• HR and development professionals interested in innovative onboarding and training solutions.
• Product managers and marketers seeking to create interactive product guides.
• Museum, exhibition, and visitor attraction managers aiming to offer engaging displays.
• Technology enthusiasts eager to explore the latest in AR innovations.

Catch the Replay!

Sign up to receive the action replay and all the resources shared during the event. Embrace the power of AR and transform any space or object into a dynamic, interactive canvas. See you there!

The Scalable-XR Project (Project Code: A90684) is funded by ELY (Centre for Economic Development, Transport, and the Environment) and EU (ERDF; European Regional Development Fund). The duration of the project is 15.6.2022-14.6.2024.

XR: From Niche to Mainstream Solution

At the heart of the Scalable XR Project is the goal to make XR content creation effortlessly accessible across existing mobile devices, thereby ensuring that the content is not only compatible with the latest headsets but any device the learner carries at work. This approach is pivotal in transitioning XR from being perceived as a niche, high-end technology to a mainstream educational solution. By enabling content to be created once and deployed across any device, the project addresses the critical scalability issue, ensuring that XR’s benefits in education can be fully realized and not confined to a limited audience.

Addressing Standards for Quality and Security

Quality standards and data security are paramount within the project’s framework. Recognizing the importance of these aspects, ThingLink Oy has dedicated significant resources to enhancing its technological infrastructure, ensuring that the XR solutions developed not only meet but exceed the highest standards of quality and security. This commitment to excellence and security is fundamental in fostering trust and reliability in XR technologies for learning and development purposes.

Building an Ecosystem of Trusted Partners

Partnerships are instrumental in pushing the boundaries of what kind of XR solutions can be offered to cater the needs of larger customers. In the Scalable-XR Project, one of the goals is to bring together complementary technology companies in Eastern Finland and package solutions that cover services from hosting to content creation and sharing XR experiences.

Scalable-XR Project Poster Summarizes Goals 

To ensure that project’s goals are visible and accessible, an A3-poster has been created and displayed prominently at ThingLink’s offices in Kontiolahti and co-working space in Helsinki. This poster serves as a tangible representation of the project’s mission, encapsulating the essence of the Scalable-XR Project and its dedication to advancing XR technology in learning and development. Furthermore, a dedicated Website for the Scalable-XR Project has been created in which further information about the project can be explored as well as some practical case studies and blog posts related to the project are illustrated. 

As the project progresses, ThingLink Oy remains committed to addressing the challenges and harnessing the opportunities presented by XR technology. Through our efforts in simplifying content creation, enhancing security and quality standards, and fostering collaborative innovation, the Scalable-XR Project is poised to make a significant impact on the future of learning and development, paving the way for a more immersive, accessible, and engaging learning experiences.

Past and Upcoming Workshops

So far in the project, we have organised:

Workshop in Kontiolahti headquarters in January 2023: ThingLink and 3D Talo Finland teams planning joint offering for the health care sector.

Workshop in Stuttgart in June 2023: ThingLink, Process Genius, and 3D Talo Finland teams planning joint offering for the German manufacturing market.

XR-workshop and a visit to Meta offices in Berlin on June 2023

VR/AR-workshop in Kontiolahti headquarters on October 2023

Atea Focus in Helsinki on October 2023

DigiSote in Helsinki on November 2023

Slush in Helsinki on December 2023

Scalable-XR Project Poster: Abstract & Goals & Technical Aims

Achieved Results So Far in the Scalable-XR Project

Project’s key achievements include:

1. Enhancing ThingLink’s technological infrastructure to comply with high security standards (ISO28001 audit phase 1 passed).
2. Developing new solutions to facilitate the creation and disseminate immersive (VR and AR) experiences (Unity PlugIn, Pano-to-360 application, and ThingLink AR application for iOS & Android).
3. Creating collaborative service models for enterprise sales (healthcare, defense, and manufacturing).

These actions play a significant role in achieving project’s goals and outcomes as well as supporting ThingLink’s international growth and competitiveness. Furthermore, project’s success is crucial for strengthening the Eastern Finland region as a collaborative hub for immersive training technologies. The project has so far progressed according to the established project plan and we are very pleased with how it has already accelerated our development work and international growth.

More information can be found at the Scalable-XR Project website:

Escape rooms (sometimes called breakout rooms) have surged in popularity over the past few years. These problem-solving, team-building activities offer a unique blend of riddles, gameplay, and teamwork that captivates participants. Traditionally a physical escape room experience, we’re now witnessing a huge surge in popularity of the online escape room variant. These allow for remote teams to engage in these captivating puzzles.

However, versatile escape rooms that are designed so that they be used either in teams, OR as a solo participant, are a great way to build gamification and a sense of time pressure into any course or training.

Enter ThingLink’s Scenario Builder, an easy-to-use tool for designing branched learning scenarios. We have now created 4 new scenario templates, which make it even easier to create online training from scratch. One of these is the Escape Room format. So if you’ve ever fancied creating your own virtual escape room, this tutorial is for you!

Why Virtual Escape Rooms?

Recently, social media has been abuzz with virtual team-building activities. The physical escape room transformed into the virtual escape room, combining the allure of video games with the social aspects of traditional escape games. These digital variants maintain the core essence: problem-solving skills, riddles, and team collaboration, often conducted over Zoom or similar video conferencing platforms. To explain the concept simply, the “escapee” has to answer questions correctly in order to proceed, and ultimately escape. Take a look at this example below which shows how the escape room principle works in action when built in ThingLink Scenario Builder.

New to ThingLink? Here’s a quick guide to creating your first interactive scene

How to create an Escape Room in the main ThingLink Editor

In the popular blog How to Make a Virtual Escape Room, we showed you how easy it is to make a ThingLink escape room using just a few 360 scenes and the handy transit tag.

Using Scenario Builder gives you an alternative format and functionality, which is particularly suited to anyone creating an escape room for learning and training content. With Scenario Builder you can easily track the route and progress that your learners took and which choices they made or answers they gave at each decision point.

Getting Started with ThingLink’s Scenario Builder

We have designed four main types of Scenario Builder templates: Linear, Escape room, Simulation Scenario and Self-Exploratory. They all work in slightly different ways. To learn about them all, see our blog ThingLink Scenario Builder Templates for Effective Employee Training.

The Escape Room template has been designed so that anyone can create their first Virtual Escape Room from scratch without any need to work out which elements go where! Simply follow our template and you will have a challenging puzzle for friends, family or colleagues to play. Swap out our dummy scenes for your own ThingLink scenes and edit the questions to suit your theme.

Your final escape room will behave something like this example below, with questions which have to be answered to move to each new section or scene.

How to use the Scenario Builder escape room template

To find and use the template, follow these simple steps.

• Log into your ThingLink account

• Go to Scenarios in the sidebar

• Choose the Create Scenario button

• Type in the name of your new scenario

• When Let’s Get Started screen appears, choose the Escape Room template

• Simply replace our dummy content with your own text, questions, branching and media! 

Going further with your Scenario Builder Escape Room

1. Choose a Theme: From Harry Potter to murder mystery, your escape room’s theme is its heart. This determines the questions, any riddles or trivia, and overall feel of the game.
2. Incorporate Gameplay Elements: Gamification elements like countdown timers and scores can be integrated. Only the correct answer should allow progression to the next stage.
3. Include a Tutorial: New players? Include a quick guide explaining how the game works. This can be a simple FAQs section covering game mechanics.
4. Interactivity is Key: Make use of ThingLink’s interactive features. This can mean clickable clues, embedded video snippets, or other gamified elements Embedding video from platforms like YouTube or Vimeo can enhance this. For instance, a clue might require players to watch a specific YouTube video with questions later in the scenario!
5. Escape Room Ideas & Variants: Beyond traditional riddles, you can design escape room games like scavenger hunts. The more creative you get, the better!
6. Team Collaboration: Encourage teamwork. For example, split a virtual team into groups, each working on different clues. They can discuss their findings before attempting each “escape”.
7. Feedback: Once players finish the escape game, you could embed a Google Form for feedback. This helps in refining gameplay, fixing any issues, and understanding player preferences.
8. Adjust Difficulty: Not all players are escape room veterans. Offering difficulty levels, or including a hint system, can make your digital escape room more accessible.

Extra Tips for an Engaging Virtual Escape Room

• Reusability: Maybe you’ve created a ‘murder mystery’ template, which can be adjusted slightly for a different storyline, saving time and effort.
• Incorporate Popular Culture: From movies or TV shows to famous video games, popular culture themes can attract a wider audience and a framework of reference.

Let’s go!

ThingLink’s Scenario Builder has made the creation of interactive experiences super easy. With this escape room Scenario Builder template, crafting your virtual escape room is now easier than ever, blending problem solving, teamwork, and the allure of escape room games into one digital package. The key is creativity, ensuring a balance between challenge and fun.

In this era, where remote team activities are the new norm, your ThingLink virtual escape room can be a fantastic bridge, connecting people in an engaging, gamified environment. Dive into ThingLink today and let the adventures begin!

Get inspired

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• LinkedIn Community
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Step aboard to learn more!

Background to the project

Dwitney is an educator who specialises in the creation of escape room games, digital scavenger hunts, murder mystery and team building games. Her company Urban Escapade hosts the experiences for groups of friends and colleagues, but she is also an online educator on the worldwide home education platform Outschool. Dwitney holds a Bachelor of Honours in History and Development Studies, an M.A. in Public History, and an M.A. in Globalization Studies. With this background in history and a love of all things historical, many of her games and experiences feature a historical setting.

Dwitney started teaching via Outschool shortly before the pandemic, when very few people were offering online escape rooms. She saw an example of a ThingLink escape room on Teachers Pay Teachers, themed around on Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, and realised it had everything her team needed.

Dwitney’s OutSchool classes that she then launched using ThingLink were doing so well, that she launched her online game business full time, creating content using ThingLink.

“When we did ThingLink for the first time it just took off! I had done collaborations with colleges and universities and corporate events, creating team building games and murder mystery events and that kind of thing using it. So just grew and grew. Over the course of the pandemic we created 15 to 16 different projects.”

Dwitney Bethel, Urban Escapade

How this escape room was created

Dwitney had an initial concept of an escape room based on the Titanic, having recently watched a documentary about the ship. She realized that the ship would work well as the location of an escape room experience given the different areas that the users could move through – the deck, first, second and third class and so on. She was keen to create a new approach to exploring the ship and the events leading up to the sinking for students who would have seen the Titanic movie, as well as multiple CGI reproductions of the ship.

A history mystery escape room

Creating a “history mystery” seemed like a great way to allow students to explore the content with fresh eyes and in a more interactive and nuanced way. At all times Dwitney and her team have kept as faithful as possible to the design of the period and reflect in each “class” of the ship the realistic items that might have appeared there.

The escape room has weaved together historical fact with a fictional storyline that is engaging and exciting, as Dwitney puts it “a thin line of fact and fiction, which doesn’t go too much outside of the realm of possibility.” Dwitney’s team introduced a fictional “saboteur” character – which avoided the potential difficulty of the students having to assign blame for the tragedy on one of the real individuals involved. It was also very important to Dwitney and her team that they respect the real event and the people that lost their lives.

Teaching analytical skills in ThingLink

The escape room demonstrates to students the importance of assessing evidence in an objective way. Dwitney wanted to show how evidence could be manipulated, and landed on the idea of a faked weather report. Students go through a simulation of one day during the voyage to explore witness statements, transmissions, newspapers and other primary source documents. Every piece of evidence is found by exploring the tags throughout the scenes, which may contain images, text, music or videos. Whilst working through the puzzles, additional help and support is provided by an animated AI assistant who provides additional evidence that he has “discovered”.

Scenario Builder: Perfect tool for creating multi-linear learning

Whilst working on the renders, Dwitney heard about ThingLink’s new Scenario Builder tool. She had been keen to add some sort of timer to her games but this wasn’t possible using the main ThingLink editor. Having explored what Scenario Builder was capable of creating, Dwitney realised that the format would provide the ideal way for students to explore the ship their way, without being told where to go next. They can move between floors in a “choose your own adventure” way, using multi-linear paths and using their reasoning skills to deduct where they should go next. A wrong decision has consequences, such as not being able to reach the lifeboats in time.

“We decided; let’s fictionalise the mystery part of it, but do it in a way where they can still go through the historical accounts. We wanted to do a mix of puzzles as well as trivia questions as well as just exploring stuff. So we added videos and clips and a lot of multimedia – to make it innovative and fun.”

Dwitney Bethel, Urban Escapade

Designing the graphic elements of the escape room

Dwitney works remotely with an architectural designer who creates the 360 renders using Sketchup, although a similar 360 scene could be created easily using Skybox. The AI assistant was created very simply using Canva, with a video on a loop and an audio file added which Dwitney had created using a text-to-speech converter. She also used Canva for creating much of the imagery and pieces of evidence.

How do students use this escape room?

Students work through the escape game tutorials either in groups or individually, with Dwitney on screen to help them if they get stuck at any point! Depending on the age of the students, she sometimes also provides background information, instructions or evidence before the game starts, for students to read up on.

When completing the challenge in a group, one student might write down all the evidence the group finds. They then discuss which floor to visit next and decide as a group the course of action. Dwitney helps them through as a guide when required, and asks them to name their top two suspects. The students then discover if they were correct!

What do students think of the escape room?

Dwitney has received excellent feedback from both students and their parents for this latest escape room. This has led to students and parents requesting more escape room lessons from Dwitney on Outschool.

“This is the most fun we’ve ever had we can’t wait to do more!”

Student feedback

Students respond that they enjoy controlling the direction of the experience and being responsible for their decisions, rather than being told where to go and what to do next. Dwitney has taught students from Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, the UK and will often be given requests for the theme of a new escape room.

“The kids will always give me ideas for the next one. They may ask for one themed around their favorite TV shows or they might say that they enjoy fantasy stuff or sci-fi. So I’m always trying to think of new themes and coming up with something different.”

Dwitney Bethel, Urban Escapade

Why do escape rooms make such excellent teaching resources?

Escape rooms work so well from a pedagogy point of view because they teach so much more than the subject material contained within them! Integral to every escape room are problem-solving skills and reasoning, as well as working under pressure if you use a timer. However, use them as virtual team activities, and you add a whole other level of soft skills such as teamwork, co-operation and group decision making.

For a great use of this in action, see our case study on the medical escape room created by Dr Abhi Jones for remote teams of students at the University of Central Lancashire. Whilst team building activities were not in fact the main remit of the challenge, the qualitative feedback from students was that it was an invaluable exercise for improving communication, delegation, operating as a team under stress and looking after other team members.

Benefits of creating a virtual escape room

Unlike a physical escape room, where there are certain limitations to the setting, a virtual breakout room is only limited by your imagination, creativity or graphic design skills and platforms available to you and your team. You can therefore create an epic or fantastical setting, or one steeped in a specific historical era or location. Perhaps a Harry Potter themed escape from Hogwarts for younger students? Or one based on a favourite movie, TV or book series for older students? You can now create limitless fantasy worlds in immersive 360 for your ThingLink escape rooms and other games with our Skybox integration!

Create your own virtual escape room

Escape rooms are so simple to create with ThingLink – and you can choose whether to use Scenario Builder as Dwitney did, or simply to use the ThingLink main editor.

Creating Escape Rooms in the main ThingLink editor

Here is an example below of how you can create one this way. We have used maths riddles in all our rooms, which we have themed to match each room or space. But the questions and content could be on any subject. Simply add a Transit Tag – and turn “Conditional Transition” on. Only by entering the correct answer can the user “escape” to the next room in sequence. They keep moving through rooms, areas or scenes, having to answer questions in the tags each time, until they reach the final room and escape. You can add clues in tags in each room as they go which they need to escape each individual room, as well as for the final challenge in the last room in the sequence.

Creating Escape Rooms in ThingLink’s Scenario Builder

The difference between creating escape rooms in the main ThingLink editor and in Scenario Builder is that instead of one linear path that the user has to take from room to room, you can create multiple paths or consequences in Scenario Builder depending on the choice or response. A choose your own adventure game! You can also add the timer function to the entire game, or to individual sections with Scenario Builder.

“Because I can now use Scenario Builder, this is the first time that I could really go all out without constraint. This is probably the most excited I’ve ever been for a project because I had the Titanic theme on the back burner for a long time. Because until now we didn’t have the tools to do it the way that I actually wanted to do it.”

Dwitney Bethel, Urban Escapade

ThingLink: A responsive platform that adapts to user needs and feedback

“I told ThingLink about the areas that I would have liked to change over the years. They’ve always kept me up to date with any changes and that’s how [my work] has been able to grow. So as ThingLink added different features, I did as well. And so it’s been a great tool and resource for me.”

Dwitney Bethel, Urban Escapade

If there is a feature or development you would like to suggest for ThingLink, please get in touch! Our team are always open to new ideas: in fact many of the new features that we have introduced over the last few years have been a direct result of our customer feedback and suggestions. We also love to see how you have been using ThingLink, so if you would like to be featured in a similar case study, do let us know!

More escape room ideas from our blog

Virtual team building activities and employee training games

Create your own scenario based learning with our new templates

Using ThingLink to develop virtual team building

A guide to creating amazing immersive learning resources

More inspiration this way!

Join our active groups and communities on social media for more inspiration:

• ThingLink LinkedIn Page | LinkedIn Community
• X / Twitter ThingLink Page | X / Twitter ThingLink Edu Page | X / Twitter Creative Learning Design Community
• ThingLink Education Facebook Group

Vaisala was founded in Finland in 1936 and is now a global leader in the fields of weather, environmental, and industrial measurements. Their 2,200 employees are stationed across 25 offices worldwide and their operations cover an enormous breadth of sectors – from government to energy companies, from pharmaceuticals to space agencies. To give some idea of its reach, “Vaisala operates on two planets and in every country on earth.”

Innovation, Research and Development at Vaisala HQ

29% of all Vaisala employees work in Research and Development (R&D) and this team includes professionals from many different fields – from physics to AI and machine learning. Of this total R&D staff, 67% of them (300 people in total) work at the new R&D and Innovation Center which opened in 2021. It’s sited next to the company HQ and production facilities in Vantaa, Finland.

Vaisala technology is used in the most inhospitable environments on earth – from the Sahara Desert to Antarctica. For this reason, as well as building custom designed testing equipment that mimics real-world conditions, the 7,900m2 R&D Center contains 37 custom-made laboratories. These range from an EMC (electromagnetic compliance) lab, a rain tower that simulates natural rain, a vibration and freefall laboratory, environmental chambers where instruments can be tested under extreme temperatures and humidity, and system testing laboratories.

Virtual Campus Tour attracts top talent and showcases scope of the organisation

This is a world-class and truly one-of-a-kind campus. To give a flavour of the facilities and operations on-site and what it is like to work there, Vaisala designed a virtual intro to their site by which the curious online visitor can take a self-guided tour. The tour was designed jointly by the company’s Communications, Brand and Talent Acquisition teams, accordingly with three main purposes in mind. These were:

• Primarily, to attract new talents from across the globe to join its international team, and subsequently to act as part of the onboarding program for those who start.
• To showcase the full scope of Vaisala’s operations to their customers and partners, either directly or via their sales and marketing teams.
• To give an insight into daily life at HQ for for employees at the regional HQs and many small Vaisala satellite offices worldwide who may never visit the site in person.

The tour below was launched in September 2023. It was shared on social media, was shared with all global employees via intranet internal news, has been added to the Vaisala website careers page and is used by sales teams worldwide at events and industry shows, and shared with regional customers via local offices.

We highly recommend that you activate full screen mode to fully appreciate the extraordinary spaces within the campus. The EMC lab is particularly worth a visit: there you can watch videos about how Vaisala technology is used on Mars.

Navigation around the tour

The public tour starts with a 360 aerial map which gives an overview of the location of each building. They include a brand video which gives a flavour of the company and their vision and values.

As with all ThingLink media, in each scene you can choose what to learn more about, or which area to move to next, via the clickable tags or hotspots.

From the initial aerial view you can choose to visit the factory or the R&D building. Within R&D you can visit the EMC lab, the “clean room” and many other rooms that give a fascinating insight into the unique, high tech and genuinely space-age environments at Vaisala.

Results of the virtual tour

External results: High engagement and visibility

• In its first 2 months the tour has had almost 7000 views. As well as being a marketing success, this is also a far higher number of guest visits than the campus can normally accommodate in a year – roughly 450.
• It was one of the most popular posts this year on LinkedIn for Vaisala, with about +30% views, +50% reactions, as well 10 times more shares compared to a usual LinkedIn post.
• Sales teams have reported back that it is an invaluable tool for industry shows and events, demonstrating the breadth and reach of Vaisala’s expertise to customers who may only be familiar with one specific application or vertical.

Internal results: Increased employee engagement

When it was shared to employees worldwide via company internal news, it got ca. 50% more views compared to a piece of average internal news. Feedback has been extremely positive, summed up by this example below:

“Thanks to the whole team for a great job with the virtual visit! It will be a really good tool in many ways, some of our people here outside the Vantaa Campus have never had the opportunity to see our head office production and R&D facilities, now they can visit virtually!”

Employee feedback

The educational legacy and vision that inspired the tour

This English language version was based on an original tour in Finnish created in collaboration with Otaniemi High School to support STEM education, which has now been expanded to high schools nationally. Vaisala is third-generation owned and has continually striven to support scientific education via engagement, awards, sponsorship and collaboration, so this project was a fitting reflection of their founding values.

The learning content was designed to directly link specific areas of Vaisala’s operations and research to related areas of the curriculum, to help students better understand how their school subjects can be applied in the real world. The content has also been used in ThingLink’s Scenario Builder to create thematic learning journeys and we will explore this educational project in more detail in a separate case study.

Pro tips for virtual tour creators

We break down exactly how Vaisala took this virtual tour to the next level with thoughtful content creation and simple but clever design of the component elements. These are all methods which even a complete beginner to ThingLink could easily replicate!

• Candid short interview clips with Vaisala employees help to paint a picture of the work environment and the work that goes on in all parts of the site – from the factory to the labs and beyond. These personal stories bring the tour alive and give a strong impression of an international workplace, and the passion which the employees have for their work.

• The variation of media types. As well as 360 scenes and static or interview type videos, there are also video walkthroughs of some of the areas within the tags, and tags containing simply text and images.
• Vaisala have used static text labels instead of tags, to highlight what is at each tag before you open it. Read how to do this here.
• Anchor points have been used so that the text labels don’t obscure the important elements. Read more on these here.
• A map in the top right corner assists navigation. This feature allows you to add a floorplan or map to any ThingLink content and helps the users see exactly where they are and/or move to a new location. read more on this feature here.
• The Vaisala virtual tours can also be viewed in VR so can be used with virtual reality headsets for a really immersive experience!
• Finally, for advanced ThingLink creators: notice the structure which they have applied within all the lightbulb tags. A Video ThingLink, embedded in a tag in a 2D image ThingLink, which is in turn embedded in a tag within the main 360 image ThingLink! Click on any lightbulb to see how well this structure works and consider using in your next creation!

Creating your own virtual tour

Whether you manage an international organisation, a small business or anything in between, virtual tours like these are an ideal way to demonstrate the working environment to potential candidates as well as new joiners. ThingLink is the easiest way to create a 360 tour like this, with no need to download virtual tour software. Simply access our cloud-based solution via your browser and share to anyone via a simple link or embed!

You don’t even need a 360 camera to create impressive, high resolution 360 images. The amazing – and completely free – Pano to 360 by ThingLink allows you to convert any panoramic image to a 360 photosphere in seconds.

Further virtual tour examples for you to explore

• How to create a Virtual Lab
• How to create an interactive virtual tour
• Hyria create a virtual recruitment forum
• Carmanah creates interactive content for trade shows and website
• How to create a virtual exhibition or art gallery
• How to create virtual tours for real estate
• Using ThingLink virtual learning environments in healthcare

Need help in creating your own tour?

• Go to our YouTube channel for easy-to-follow tutorials and webinar recordings

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• ThingLink LinkedIn Page | LinkedIn Community
• X / Twitter ThingLink Page | X / Twitter ThingLink Edu Page | X / Twitter Creative Learning Design Community
• ThingLink Education Facebook Group

For FAQs and advice from our experts, go to our helpful Support pages.