Yesterday I got invited to witness the opening of Cisco’s Virtual Hospital ‘Palomar Pomerado Health’. At first it might sounds like ‘yet another build’ but the fact this Virtual Hospital is part of an actual, real life project makes it pretty special. The real world version will open its door somewhere in 2011, but patients and employees can already get used to their soon-to-be-made ‘home’ in the Virtual World. A really powerful application of the immersive environment of Second Life.
Virtual World development agency Millions of Us build the hospital as part of Cisco’s Connected Health Solution and is one of the first MoU presentations that managed to really impress me. The website with ’sign up’ application and clean interface looks like a comprehensible first step into the Virtual World, as does the introduction video as shown above.
Posted on: February 26, 2008 | Share on:
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nic mitham
said on February 27th
hi.
i agree, this is an excellent use for a virtual world environment with obvious benefits for various stakeholders.
thinking wider, we’ve already seen a small number of other similar projects such as hotel builds - this i think will be an increasingly used category - buildings recreated before they’re actually constructed in the real world.
Rick van der Wal
said on February 27th
Hi Nic, thank you for commenting!
I think so too, its easy to find ROI in virtual building projects, stakes (and budgets) are high. Not to mention in Real Estate the 3D visualisation where you can walk trough the buildings is very much a ‘new to the market’ niche - still a high level of remarkability.
I’m just getting less and less convinced Second Life should be the platform of choice for these kind of projects, though in aesthetics its still unparalleled by other ‘open’ Virtual Worlds.
nic mitham
said on February 27th
There’s no reason why SL should be the platform of choice for anyone really. Sure, it’s the ‘media baby’ (some of the time) but the choice of metaverse really should be a factor of:
1. target market, if there is one
2. usage, if a closed environment is required, use one
i think what we’re both referring to here is the possibility of ‘white label’ worlds
Rick van der Wal
said on February 27th
Definitely, and the thing that surprised me is the media silence surrounding these white label worlds - while in application and integration seems light years ahead of what I still think is considered ‘the standard’ for Virtual Worlds - Second Life, and not just by the (new & old) media. Look at the conferences and discussions. They either focus on Second Life, or measure by Second Life standards.
Its worth noting this isn’t the ‘fault’ of the summits or media, obviously SL is the ‘buzz’ and has become a metaphor many understand as a way of explaining Virtual Worlds - in fact, I get the impression the white label worlds like the idea of SL ’shielding’ them from this buzz, as this is often associated with hype. (it would certainly explain why their websites are so ridiculously poor at the moment ;) )
nic mitham
said on February 27th
Well i guess the mainstream media just doesn’t fully understand virtual worlds yet - they will catch up in time.
in LL’s defense, picking up on your second point about measuring standards, SL is one of the few worlds that actually publishes their metrics and stats - and they should be applauded for doing so, if it it means its sometimes clear to see dips in usage etc. other worlds need to take this lead and present their stats, to benefit many different parties.
third point - and you’ve identified a irony - sure, a lot of the websites of vw’s are extremely poor. just goes to show though that even if they are developing at the cutting edge of internet technology, they still need a website.
Rick van der Wal
said on February 27th
very true,
by the way, I don’t just mean the metrics. Technology, campaign results, user demographics are all too often measured by Second Life standards. I think you will find a good example in the ‘Proximity’ report debated in an earlier post, debunking ‘5 Virtual world Myths’ while all these points have just been based on Second Life.
http://digado.nl/on-myths-lies-and-fairytales.html