LabTrainingVR: OneLabVR Edition

Experience a laboratory environment like never before. OneLabVR provides a safe virtual laboratory environment for clinical and public health labs.

Description

OneLabVR encompasses a 50,000-square-foot virtual facility focused on clinical and public health laboratory training. OneLabVR includes 12 different laboratories and over 100 (and counting) laboratory-specific pieces of hardware and equipment.

We’ve worked extensively with laboratory architects, designers, safety experts, and members of the clinical laboratory community to create this virtual training space for your training needs. Everything from the physical size and placement of laboratory environments to simple things like the placement of fire alarms and sprinkler systems has been rigorously researched, tested, and reviewed for users like you. As needs grow and new training programs are developed, they will be added to this all-encompassing virtual environment.

Multiplayer Functionality

Asynchronous and online training is great, but nothing beats live, hands-on training with an instructor who can offer immediate feedback and guidance. OneLabVR includes a multiplayer lobby where trainers can create their own OneLabVR environment and invite their students to join them live in virtual reality. Teachers and students can see, hear, and talk to one another in real-time.

Picture this: With OneLabVR, a trainer in Germany could be working next to a student in Japan, offering guidance on properly pipetting a sample in a biosafety cabinet while students watch and comment live from all over the world. These multiplayer sessions can be one-on-one, or in large groups.

Initial Micro-Learning Scenarios

OneLabVR includes several 3–5-minute virtual reality training scenarios designed to quickly familiarize the user with laboratory hardware, safety, and task-specific procedures. These training scenarios include videos, voice-overs, and animations to assist learners with training tasks.

Currently, the following training scenarios are in production:

• Packaging and Shipping Dangerous Goods
• Centrifuge Safety
• Safe and Proper Use of a Biosafety Cabinet

Future training sessions may include:

• Autoclave Safety
• Laboratory Safety
• Chemical Waste Cleanup and Disposal
• Rabies Sample Collection
• Next Generation Sequencing / PCR Procedures

And many more laboratory training topics

Background

CDC’s Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS) has been at the forefront of virtual reality laboratory training at CDC. DLS has two VR laboratory training programs for the HTC Vive VR headset and OculusQuest2. These courses are available on TRAIN, STEAM, and the Oculus Store. You can find more information on their course pages: