Abstract:

With the BMBF program "Interactive Systems in Virtual and Real Space - Innovative Technologies for the Digital Society" (2022-2024), the Federal Government of Germany has created the opportunity for teachers and students as well as citizens in general to participate in shaping the digital society. The objective is to promote innovative research and development projects in human-technology interaction and enabling the use of Mixed Reality (MR) technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), for physical interaction. New fields of application for students and teachers as well as citizens are to be created by using V/AR technology from a participatory point of view in a sustainable manner (Sustainable Development Goals, SDG - of the United Nations UN).
The government within the framework of this funding line funded fifteen VR/AR projects: in the field of education (6 projects), in the field of health and care (3 projects) and in the field of public space (6 projects).
The focus of this article is the presentation of the accompanying project "Living Lab: XR-Interakt". In particular, the six projects from the education sector of the programme line will be presented in summary form (anonymised) with a view to transfer, acceptance and stabilisation:

- Learning with an intelligent pen in augmented reality - project "Federleicht" (led by the University of Duisburg-Essen).
- Mixed Reality Interactive Training for Dealing with Heterogeneity and Conflict Situations in Schools - Project "MITHOS" (Head German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence GmbH, Saarbrücken)
- Immersive training environment for offshore safety training - "NEXT-Reality" project (managed by OffTEC-Base GmbH & Co. KG, Enge-Sande)
- Use of virtual reality to promote occupational inclusion - "UFO" project (management: University of Stuttgart)
- Realistic avatars of teachers for omnipresent teaching in Mixed Reality - Project "VoluProf" (Head Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications Heinrich Hertz-Institut (HHI), Berlin)
- Training fine motor skills in mixed reality - "GreifbAR" project (managed by the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence GmbH, Kaiserslautern)

Experiential learning originally introduced by Dewey (1930) offers new possibilities in visual learning/teaching design for pupils, trainees and students by using V/AR technology.
The project "Living Lab: XR-Interakt" has been entrusted with networking and interdisciplinary cooperation between all 15 funded projects by the BMBF and an overarching participatory evaluation. Participation and inclusion are emphasised, as well as the creation of "immersive and effective knowledge spaces" and the enabling of "social and cultural participation".
In the article, the first overarching results from the Living Lab as a whole will be presented in a design-oriented way. The focus lies on the six projects from the education sector in order to elicit the scope of VR/AR technologies in this regard.

The Project Living Lab XR-Interakt ist founded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany.

Keywords:

Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, VR-AR Technology in Education, Living Lab XR-Interakt.