A Digital Innovation Fund project, DML contributed to the creation of a high fidelity VR experience, to be used alongside a bespoke pipette controller
Operating a micropipette is an essential skill for life-science researchers, as micropipettes are commonly used in nearly all laboratories. However, mastering correct pipetting is challenging for many students. One significant issue is the lack of individual performance feedback from teachers, especially in large student cohorts.
The bespoke controller created as part of this project, can give immediate feedback to students, who are immersed in a virtual lab, allowing the learner to change and improve their skills as they go.
„This really short experience already made me feel so much more confident about going into the lab and working with the equipment.“ Student Participant
„It helps us towards sustainability: if usually we would run this session in the lab, we would actually create quite a lot of waste“ Dr Silke Donahue, FHEA
As well as building the lab setting, the DML created detailed assets (including the pipette!), to go alongside the bespoke controller.
Not only is the aim to increase confidence for students, and develop their skills, this project should also help reduce the risk of damage or breakages to the real-life, widely used pipettes, which can occur during this early stage of learning.
Collaborators on this project were Dr Silke Donahue FHEA, Ori Blich, and Dr Richard Palermo FHEA.
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