Do you want to visit the future? Do you want to explore a concept in three dimensions and then come back to real life and shape those concepts?
These are not the visions of a transcendentalist or an opium eater in council. This is the world of Second Life created by professor’s Craig Thompson, Fran Hagstrom and their students at the University of Arkansas. Second Life is an online 3D virtual world of hospitals. The project focuses on the complex modeling of healthcare logistics in a virtual world.
Second Life will change planning for hospitals and hospital logistics. The traditional approach to hospital planning was for the architect to create conceptual drawings and floor plans, have medical equipment planners calculate new equipment and re-use equipment, all being reviewed by the client. Once these plans were complete the construction phase begins and you get to visualize the finished product as the build takes shape.
Second Life adds one unique dimension; a look at the finished project before a shovel goes into the ground. Using computer animation, the Second Life project enables the hospital staff to see exactly how the new facility will look and how logistics will flow within the new space. Ideas and concepts are tested in cyberspace instead of the real space.
And the virtual world is now becoming reality.
Palomar Pomerado Health is building a new hospital utilizing Second Life technology. The virtual system has enabled hospital planners to visualize concepts large and small. From determining the layout of the operating rooms to how the plantings will look, every aspect of the project has been pre-determined in a virtual world.
I would be careful about sharing this concept with your boss. Avatars work very efficiently and don’t command a paycheck, just yet…
See the project from the University of Arkansas here.