Immersive rooms - any experiences??

[mikeprice]

My school is looking at an 'immersive room' to stimulated/relax the kids. We have a specialiaty in ASD so it is seen as having great potential. Obviously there are questions of how often the damn thing will actuallually be used (I have been there before with all sorts of stuff like this in different schools) - but that is not my concern!

 

 

 

The system is basically a set of projectors and cameras connected to a sensory thing like those 'interactive whiteboard' things that have a beam over a normal whiteboard. When you break the beam it detects it and does something. So the hardware doesn't seem terribly cutting edge - which is good. Basically it is the software that is the key.

 

 

the company concerned will be supplying all the computer kit so I assume that the spec will be good enough to work.

 

I would be grateful to know if anyone has experiences with the technology etc that these rooms use and how well it works - or doesn't work. And of course what problems is throws up.

Also if you are aware of how easy it is to use - or will I be stuck with creating all the new stuff myself - playing with it may be fun!!

[Steve21]

One big thing I'd say if this is a new room, don't plan the tech for the whole room size! You'll find at least 50% of it ends up covered in beanbags, cuddly toys and other such "tools" (We've had sleeping bags and the like before too)

 

Also I don't know how your kids are but if it's anything like our past ASD departments, make sure all the kit isn't gonna be positioned near the floors as it always seems to get broken too

 

Generally a lot of those sorts of systems are reliant on the software in the background and aren't exactly easy to make new things for it, so would advise checking in advance if the software package supports what you want.

 

Steve