It’s pretty exciting to receive an acceptance letter from a college or university, especially when you’ve worked very hard to gain entry into the exact course you want. One Chinese university is taking that excitement one step further by issuing augmented reality (AR) letters of acceptance.
The Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in China is sending out acceptance letters that contain AR functionality. The acceptance letter has an QR code that when scanned with popular app WeChat, prompts a download of the University’s special AR app. The NPU app allows students to view a model of the university and includes information about the university’s history and offers details about some of the university’s most prized courses, which includes aeronautics, astronautical engineering and marine engineering, all of which the university is famous for.
It is believed that this is the first AR-enabled acceptance letter to be sent out in China, and may even be the first in the world. The University claims that the AR acceptance letters were aimed at showing off the school’s embrace of technology and its use of such cutting edge tech to enhance education.
“Although the admission notice is just a piece of a paper, the carefully embedded AR technology serves to show a cutting-edge temperament and a sense of pride,” Xie Dan, admissions office deputy director of NPU told Chinese state newspaper The People’s Daily.
Response by the Chinese public to the technology has been mixed, with some dismissing it as merely a gimmick. However the AR technology used for the acceptance letters could be a proof-of-concept for a wider application. We have already seen AR technology being used to help soldiers in battle, or assist teaching a science lesson about space, so other innovative uses in education can’t be far behind.
VRFocus will bring you further news on AR in education and training as it becomes available.
via Mint VR