John Brooks is the founder and CEO of Mass Digital, a visionary know-how chief with over 20 years of expertise driving product and answer innovation throughout Digital Actuality (VR), Combined Actuality (MR), and Augmented Actuality (AR) for each industrial and protection sectors.
Beneath John’s management, Mass Digital has developed the MassXR platform, a sophisticated coaching ecosystem that integrates a Common Studying Content material Administration System (uLCMS) with cutting-edge simulations, gamification, and educational video help. Designed to reinforce real-world abilities and pupil efficiency, the MassXR platform empowers organizations with a safe, sustainable, and cost-effective XR coaching answer, full with teacher administration instruments to create an immersive, results-driven studying expertise.
Might you inform us about your transition from serving as an Air Power aircrew member to founding Mass Digital? What impressed you to start out the corporate in 2009?
My journey from serving within the Air Power to founding Mass Digital was deeply private. After years of touring the globe and dedicating myself to my army duties, I discovered myself longing to be extra current for my household. I wished to carve out a profession the place I may mix my love for know-how and the humanities with the insights gained from my army expertise. The world of digital innovation captivated me, however I seen that the tempo throughout the army was slower than I envisioned. I spotted I had the chance to create one thing significant and impactful, so I made a decision to take the leap and begin Mass Digital. It was my likelihood to not simply sustain with the longer term however to assist form it, and I couldn’t be extra enthusiastic about that path.
How has your army background influenced the course and mission of Mass Digital, notably in designing options for protection and aviation industries?
My army background has performed a pivotal function in shaping each my method and the mission of Mass Digital. It instilled in me the significance of adaptability and strategic considering, particularly in high-pressure conditions. Within the army, we frequently confronted complicated and dynamic challenges that required us to suppose on our toes and take into account a variety of potentialities. This expertise has translated seamlessly into how we develop our coaching options. At Mass Digital, we embrace that very same spirit of flexibility and thoroughness, guaranteeing our merchandise should not simply efficient but additionally attentive to the distinctive wants of the protection and aviation industries. It’s about crafting options that empower people to excel, and I’m extremely proud to hold these classes ahead in our work.
Because you based Mass Digital over 15 years in the past, how has VR/XR know-how advanced? What had been a number of the early challenges you confronted in constructing immersive coaching options, and the way have these been overcome as know-how matured?
The evolution of VR/XR know-how has been nothing wanting extraordinary over the previous 15 years. Once we first set out, the panorama was fairly completely different; there was skepticism concerning the potential of those applied sciences, and we frequently confronted hurdles with restricted adoption. It was a problem to persuade stakeholders of the immense advantages VR and XR may deliver to coaching and schooling.
Nonetheless, as developments in {hardware} and software program emerged, together with important price reductions, we witnessed a shift in notion. The door started to open, permitting us to showcase the true capabilities of immersive coaching. Our workforce remained steadfast in our imaginative and prescient, believing from the outset that this know-how was destined to go mainstream. We devoted ourselves to refining our merchandise, pushing the boundaries of what was doable, and at the moment, that dedication has really paid off for us and our clients.
Because the market matured, so did our understanding of methods to tailor our options to fulfill the evolving wants of our customers. The journey has been stuffed with studying and progress. I’m proud to say that at the moment we’re serving to firms implement their very own XR methods and highway maps to attain workforce proficiency.
Mass Digital’s know-how is deployed throughout 135+ areas and helps over 31,000 USAF members yearly. How did you scale the platform to such a large attain, and what function did technological developments play in attaining that?
Scaling Mass Digital has been an exciting journey, pushed by our clients’ wants and their perception within the worth we deliver to their coaching applications. We acknowledged early on that our platform needed to be adaptable, so we designed it with particular use instances in thoughts, permitting us to reply rapidly to various necessities throughout completely different areas.
The success of our growth can also be a testomony to our unbelievable workforce, whose ardour and dedication to innovation have been instrumental in our progress. They share a imaginative and prescient that goes past simply delivering a terrific product; it’s about creating significant coaching experiences that genuinely improve outcomes for our customers.
Technological developments have performed a major function on this journey. As VR/XR know-how has matured, we have been in a position to leverage new instruments and methodologies to refine our choices. This has allowed us to succeed in a wider viewers and meet the wants of the various organizations we serve. It’s immensely rewarding to see our options making a distinction within the lives of 1000’s of service members, and it motivates us to maintain pushing ahead collectively.
You’ve seen firsthand how VR has reworked coaching within the army. Are you able to stroll us by how immersive simulations can speed up mission readiness and handle abilities gaps in industries like manufacturing and aviation?
Immersive simulations have really revolutionized coaching, and I’ve witnessed this transformation firsthand. The great thing about VR lies in its potential to create life like situations that enable learners to interact deeply with the subject material. This accelerates studying and abilities acquisition, making coaching not simply efficient but additionally motivating.
Take aviation upkeep coaching, for instance. With VR, maintainers can observe complicated duties in a managed atmosphere with out the necessity for an actual plane. This not solely enhances their abilities but additionally builds confidence, permitting them to concentrate on mastering their craft. The consequence? Higher ready maintainers who can reply swiftly and successfully to real-world challenges.
Furthermore, this method isn’t restricted to aviation. Industries like manufacturing are additionally reaping the advantages. VR can simulate intricate equipment operations, enabling employees to realize hands-on expertise with out the danger of pricey errors. By addressing abilities gaps and bettering data retention, immersive simulations pave the way in which for a extra competent workforce.
General, VR coaching not solely enhances mission readiness but additionally cultivates a tradition of steady studying and enchancment. It’s an thrilling time to be a part of this evolution, and I can’t wait to see the way it continues to form numerous industries.
The MassXR platform includes a Common Studying Content material Administration System (uLCMS). Are you able to clarify how this technique enhances coaching experiences, and the way it integrates with third-party content material and gadgets to create a seamless coaching atmosphere?
The uLCMS is really the spine of our MassXR platform, designed to simplify the administration of complicated coaching infrastructures. Consider it as a central hub that brings collectively numerous XR content material, making it extremely straightforward for organizations to curate and entry an unlimited catalog of simulations and coaching supplies.
What excites me concerning the uLCMS is the way it empowers customers. It permits for real-time monitoring of progress and efficiency, guaranteeing that learners have the suitable supplies at their fingertips. That is essential for fostering collaboration and data sharing amongst workforce members, whether or not they’re in the identical room or throughout the globe.
Furthermore, our system seamlessly integrates with third-party content material and gadgets, which signifies that organizations are limitless within the distributors they could need to make the most of as a result of our uLCMS manages any XR content material they personal inside a turnkey system. It gives firms with insights in addition to accessible ROI to raised perceive developments — whether or not in weeks, months or years, giving them higher visibility in decision-making for subsequent steps on the subject of their XR technique.
This flexibility enhances the training expertise and encourages a tradition of steady enchancment and creates a coaching atmosphere that’s each environment friendly and interesting. I’m proud to say that our uLCMS performs a significant function in attaining that.
With the rise of distant work and distributed groups, how has Mass Digital tailored to supply versatile studying options which might be accessible anytime, wherever?
In at the moment’s quickly altering panorama, we acknowledged that flexibility is crucial for efficient studying. Our system was deliberately designed to help team-based studying experiences, facilitating collaboration in dynamic environments, no matter the place workforce members are positioned.
One of many options I’m notably happy with is how our platform permits customers to interact in simulation collectively, intently emulating real-world situations. This digital atmosphere allows customers to study and observe duties collaboratively, as they might in actual world settings – whether or not they’re in several buildings, states and even continents.
By studying to work ‘together’ – performing completely different, simultaneous duties as a cohesive workforce – customers not solely improve their very own efficiency but additionally construct stronger relationships amongst colleagues, fostering a supportive and related tradition.
As a know-how chief with over 20 years of expertise, how do you foster innovation inside your workforce, particularly when main cross-functional and globally distributed groups?
Fostering innovation begins with assembling a workforce of passionate people who deliver distinctive views and experiences to the desk. I imagine that hiring for ardour, relatively than simply {qualifications}, units the stage for creativity and collaboration. Making a tradition the place everybody feels valued and heard is essential.
I attempt to domesticate an atmosphere the place workforce members really feel empowered to share their concepts and take dangers. Drawing inspiration from trailblazing firms, I encourage my workforce to embrace the mindset of exploration and experimentation. It’s all about nurturing a shared imaginative and prescient and aligning our objectives in order that we’re all transferring in the identical course.
In the end, innovation is not nearly inside processes; it’s additionally about understanding and supporting the wants of our shoppers. By staying attuned to their challenges and aspirations, we will tailor our options to fulfill their evolving calls for. Once we prioritize our shoppers’ success, we create a collaborative ambiance that drives innovation and results in impactful outcomes. It’s extremely rewarding to witness how this method helps us construct lasting partnerships whereas repeatedly pushing the boundaries of what’s doable.
Trying again in your journey with Mass Digital, what are you most happy with, and what excites you about the way forward for immersive applied sciences?
Reflecting on my journey with Mass Digital, I discover that my best delight lies within the unbelievable folks I get to work with day-after-day. We’ve constructed a compassionate and inclusive atmosphere that fosters collaboration and creativity. There’s nothing fairly like seeing our workforce members develop and flourish and figuring out that we’re all contributing to one thing significant makes each problem worthwhile.
I’m equally thrilled about the way forward for immersive applied sciences. The chances are countless, and it’s thrilling to consider how we will proceed to innovate and make a optimistic impression throughout numerous industries. We’re on the cusp of a technological revolution, and I genuinely imagine that our work will play a major function in shaping how folks study and work together with know-how. The journey forward is stuffed with potential, and I can’t wait to see what we’ll obtain collectively!
Thanks for the nice interview, readers who want to study extra ought to go to Mass Digital.
