SYDNEY, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia launched the world's first short course in augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) on Wednesday, prompted by a surge in industry interest.
The course will utilize a U.S.-based company, Amazon's Sumerian platform, which doesn't require any specialized programming or 3D graphics expertise, for making it widely accessible.
It is hoped that the course will provide future expertise for enterprises to draw on, leading towards what is expected to be a 13 billion U.S. dollar global industry by 2023.
"There is a lot of industry interest in this trend and a clear lack of skills inside an organization to use the technology effectively," RMIT Online Chief Executive Helen Souness said.
"On top of that it's hard to find people with the combination of mobile application and 3D graphic skills needed to develop AR/VR apps from scratch."
The launch came in the same week as consultancy firm Capgemini released a report showing that half of all large businesses not already using AR or VR, expect it to be commonplace in their organization within three years.
Capgemini Australia digital strategy and transformation director Peter Meliniotis said that AR was already being used for safety goggles in mines as well as for activities like inspecting utility boxes, where instructions can be overlaid on top what operators are seeing in real life.
"It's really interesting that enterprises are actually embracing AR and VR ahead of consumers," Mr Meliniotis said.
Souness said that students taking on the new course would be supported by mentors from leading technology companies and supported in applying their knowledge practically.
"These courses are delivering a community-driven, industry mentored experience that not only teach up to the minute skills but also connects students to future work opportunities in cutting-edge industries," Souness said.
