Enterprise
Groove Jones
Editor’s Note
Groove Jones is one of those studios that really stands out. They’ve won over 180 industry awards and partnered with some of the world’s most famous brands. Their creativity has no limits. I recommend checking out their YouTube channel to get a feel for their skill and see some of their awesome work!
Bradley
ArborXR Team
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About Groove Jones
Groove Jones is a creatively led technology company. We are one of the oldest and most recognized XR studios in the world. Founded in 2015, Groove Jones has become one of the most award-winning XR (Extended Reality) studios in the U.S. – taking home over 180 industry awards, including multiple ADDYs, Event Marketer's EX Awards, Shorty's, Obies, and Clios for our work.
Our team of accomplished artists and thoughtful engineers leverage emerging technologies and proven processes to produce innovative and creative solutions for today's digitally connected brands and consumers.
We are best known for our award-winning work in AI (Artificial intelligence), AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), ML (Machine Learning), WebGL, and Web 3.0 development for advertising and marketing, experiential activations, sales enablement, and enterprise training.
GrooveTech™ is our proprietary group of technologies that we’ve developed as a base for many of our productions. Our platform is secure, reliable, and flexible – allowing our team to configure solutions that will support our client’s objectives. Our system is built upon best-in-class technology, providing a comprehensive and speed-to-market solution.
Use Cases
Toyota Role-Based Learning VR Program for Safety Training
Read the full case study →
At Toyota, safety is their priority, especially in a manufacturing environment surrounded by large, heavy equipment. To assist with this safety initiative, Groove Jones created a VR experience that utilizes Role-based Learning (RBL). Role-based training is important for employees to understand how to incorporate safety protocols into their daily work to avoid accidents.
The Toyota team had identified specific use case hazards in their work environment and different user personas. We then created these use cases in VR with various “choose your own adventure” responses to generate multiple outcomes.
The VR experience contains different work environments like a manufacturing plant, a parts distribution center, and administrative offices. The User confronts unsafe practices, allowing them to observe and interact with virtual coworkers engaging in unsafe practices, which can lead to accidents. The program helps users understand that their approach can make the situation safer.
- Module 1 allows the user to roleplay in a scenario where they must interact with another team member who is a manager engaging in an unsafe practice – like using their phone within a manufacturing environment. The choices you make cause the avatars in the experience to react.
- Module 2 puts the user in the position of a leader who observes a Team Member engaging in an unsafe practice – improper lifting techniques.
- Module 3 engages the user with a team member that has observed a potentially unsafe incident in the workplace. A Team Member approaches you with a complaint. How would you handle the situation?
- Module 4 highlights the importance of a safe work environment in an office environment and how to coach and correct team members who create unsafe environments for the rest of the team.
Different Work Environments
The Groove Jones team visited a Toyota manufacturing facility in San Antonio, Texas, to record audio and to capture photography and video of the environments. We also captured 3D data for some models we incorporated into the VR training modules.
Gamification and Scoring
The Toyota Cares team uses the VR program to engage with Toyota team members, managers, and administrative staff. This allowed team members to put themselves in different roles so they could see how the choices they make with others can create different results. Every choice you make is scored then calculated at the end to give you an overall performance score.
Different messaging is delivered to the user based on their results.
The VR training achieved 5 key learning objectives:
- Start conversations around safety
- Learn how to de-escalate situations
- Recognize others who are following safety rules
- Develop skills needed to create an open dialogue and promote safe learning
- See examples of good interpersonal communication
Be Pro Be Proud Uses Gamified Interactive VR Experiences to Recruit Students for the Next Generation Skilled Workforce
Read the full case study →
Be Pro Be Proud is a national non-profit spearheading the movement to bring a new generation of pride, progress, and professionals to a state’s skilled workforce. As the current skilled workforce is at or near retirement age, Be Pro Be Proud hopes to change how High School students think about these job opportunities by using exciting, gamified VR experiences.
The Be Pro Be Proud mobile tour is delivered through a 53-foot trailer, filled with interactive experiences highlighting skilled trades.
Groove Jones worked with the Be Pro Be Proud leadership team and state sponsors to create multiple VR experiences. Over 100,000 students have experienced the initiative.
Play, Learn, See What You Can Earn
The program highlights skilled labor jobs and what you could earn. Groove Jones created a series of VR experiences focusing on key jobs that give the student the chance to step into that job, challenge them with tasks, and see what they could have earned in the job.
The VR experience is gamified and has a leveling system that allows students to play and gain skills, improve their scores and earn more. Players receive scores based on how quickly and accurately they perform each task within a challenge. They are then given a ranking – Foreman, Journeyman, or Apprentice, which has an hourly pay grade. (Each pay grade is customized to the specific state where the student lives.) Their overall score, time, and ranking determine their overall score and total income for the job.
The job experiences focus on skills associated with Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical, Pest Control, and Carpentry. We transport students into a VR simulation world that could be from anywhere in the USA.
Most activities occur in and around a digital High School football stadium. Students can choose from various challenges to play, learn, and see what they can earn.
Challenge: Plumbing Repair in Disaster Plumbing
This module transports students into the coach’s bathroom with a broken pipe. Students face multiple challenges, like removing the drywall with a reciprocating saw, selecting the right pipe to fix, and cutting and replacing the broken pipe without flooding the room.
Challenge: Carpentry and Termite Control in Carpentry Calamity
This module has a variety of challenges, where students need to take care of a termite problem in the home team’s locker room. Students need to demo existing lockers where the termite problem is, exterminate the pests, remove drywall, replace a damaged stud and then install new wall lockers.
Challenge: Electrical Repair in Check the Fuse
To highlight electrical repair, we take the students above the football field, where they must repair the stadium lights.
Challenge: HVAC Repair in HVAC Havoc
In HVAC Havoc, the press box’s HVAC system is busted, and it is getting hot up there. Students must replace the unit, add a new thermostat, and caulk a leaking window.
About Be Pro Be Proud
Be Pro Be Proud is a national non-profit spearheading the movement to bring a new generation of pride, progress, and professionals to individual states with a skilled workforce. The program originated in Arkansas and is currently in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, with more in the works.
As the current skilled workforce is at or near retirement age, Be Pro Be Proud hopes to change how students think about these job opportunities. Students who go through the mobile tour workshops register and can learn more about the available careers in their state. The program currently has over 230 employers taking part in the program across five states. For more information about Be Pro Be Proud, visit https://www.beprobeproud.org.
Ideal Industries Launches VR Platform to Train the Next Generation of Students for Electrical and Communication Trade Skills
Read the full case study →
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), the United States is expected to have a shortage of electricians in the near future. Statistically, the number of retiring electricians is outpacing the rate of new electricians entering the field, with 10,000 electricians retiring each year and only 7,000 entering the field in return.
As a result, this is producing a knowledge gap in the electrical industry, which creates the need for additional training resources to prepare the next generation of electrical tradesmen.
IVRY Technologies is the start-up VR initiative created by Ideal Industries, an American company that produces tools and supplies for the electrical and telecommunications industries.
IVRY Technologies asked Groove Jones to develop an interactive training platform utilizing VR (Virtual Reality) to train electrical apprentices on how to wire homes and commercial premises. The program, named VET1 (Virtual Electrical Training) can be customized for training protocols, which vary across the field.
VR Training – Year 1
The first year of the VR training is designed to simulate the experience of an electrical apprentice training under the tutelage of a master electrician. The user is guided through the experience, first learning how to install a single-pole switch, and gradually advancing to more complex procedures, such as installing a three-way switch circuit.
Just like in real life, the master electrician will teach the user pro tips of the trade, such as troubleshooting techniques, how to use specialty tools, and industry code requirements. Following each lesson, the apprentice will have to demonstrate mastery of each skill before they are able to progress to the next level.
Groove Jones has packed the IVRY training program full of useful features that not only enhance a student’s ability to learn a trade remotely, it also makes it easy for educators to integrate measurable, metrics-based content into their learning curriculum.
The system allows students to log-in to their own personal accounts. Once logged in, they will see a dashboard with various learning modules set up by their school.
The training program is equipped with scoring metrics and data analytics for the instructors and training directors to gauge progress. Students can also review their own scores to understand their personal strengths and areas of improvement.
In these virtual training lessons, students are challenged with real-world problems that electricians face every day.
This virtual reality training program increases student motivation and confidence by enabling them to make mistakes without consequences learn about code, safety, troubleshooting, and best practices.
Access to this emerging technology will lead to higher student enrollment in the participating organizations and allows for increased testing capabilities with the growing demand for remote online learning.
Instructors can allow students to perform virtual installations multiple times without any material waste, ultimately saving schools money and unnecessary resources.
Tools of the Trade and Enhanced VR Tools
In VR, students use actual tools that they will use in the real world. We digitally recreated these tools so they could be used in VR. Special care was made to make sure they were accurate to actual tools. Because the experience is in VR, it actually gives us features and functionality that you could not have in real life.
Blue Pin Drops are used as indicators to guide the student to the next steps, making it easier to follow the demo and instructional sessions. The visual indicators are removed during testing sessions.
We created a Virtual Tablet that students can use during the demonstration and learning portion of the program. The Virtual Tablet served as a HUD (Heads Up Display) to assist the student in step-by-step instructions.
Their progress was displayed on screen in real-time, showing the % of tasks completed.
Each Lesson Module has advanced close-up animations to show detailed “Pro-Tips” to help provide more professional knowledge during training. These are highly detailed animations and motion graphics, used to highlight an insight that would be provided by a master electrician.
Real-Time Render and Fully Interactive Training Spaces
We used the Oculus Quest for the production and development. This allowed the team to create a fully interactive space. The Lesson Modules were focused within a 10’ x 10’ space, which resembled a commercial construction site.
Within the VR area, we could create numerous lessons and keep the user focused on the task at hand. Even though their world was large, they did not need to move too far from their tool and task areas. By keeping the space confined, we minimized the time for setup and prep.
The Oculus Quest is a wireless system that connects to the internet, so the data is trackable and dynamic. The real-time render interactions create a life-like experience, allowing the students to learn by doing. Repetition of steps increases muscle memory and adds to the overall learning experience.
VR Equipment and Kits for Schools
Everything a student needs is packaged in a customized box and includes an Oculus Quest, two hand controllers, and a simple step-by-step setup. Below is an image of the kits used to launch the program.
A Robust Platform Built for Scalability and Metrics
The entire platform is a powerful system that runs on the VR headset and includes a cloud-based system for user management, SCORM compliance, and analytics. It was built to scale as new training modules are added.
An online cloud-based dashboard and database is part of the program that allows schools to observe their students’ progress and administer the program.
Below is an overview of the existing Training Modules:
- Lesson 1 – Has users install a single-pole switch and a light fixture. The user interacts with a subpanel and will properly make up the junction boxes.
- Lesson 2 – Involves installing a duplex receptacle and reconfiguring a light switch circuit by adding new wires to control a half-hot outlet.
- Lesson 3 – Involves installing a new circuit that will feed across the virtual environment to two three-way switches and a light fixture.
- Lesson 4 – Modifies the three-way switch circuit to include a four-way switch. Additionally, the user will install a GCFI outlet to protect the standard duplex receptacle.
- Lesson 5 – The most advanced lesson involves troubleshooting an issue in one of the previous circuits. The user will need to safely and systematically determine the problem location and make the proper repair.
Testimonials
“Groove Jones surpassed everything. As a result of this collaboration, we’ve redefined the way we market, sell, and educate people about the product. We’ve eliminated print materials, brochures, quick reference guides, and training classes. It’s revolutionized our processes.”
– Toyota North America, Dave Kleiner, Portfolio Engineer
“Groove Jones fulfilled every responsibility on their end perfectly. Groove Jones produced a VR experience that has secured unanimously positive user feedback. It serves its purpose at an automotive event flawlessly. Despite unexpected challenges that arose internally, the reliable team provided critical support to see the project through to a successful completion.”
– GTB (Ford Motor Company), Marci Benson, SVP, Director Content HUB for Ford
“Feedback was phenomenal from both customers and employees. The VR platform added a new layer to our tradeshow presentation, improving lead generation by 50% over previous years. Groove Jones invested in the project. Responsive to change requests, they hit every deadline and took proactive steps to ensure satisfaction.”
– Rinnai America, David Federico, Senior Brand Manager
“This game gives us a unique consumer engagement tool that is sure to stand out in the on-premise with our Modelo and UFC fans. The Groove Jones team absolutely crushed it!”
– Constellation Brands, Field Marketing Manager – Modelo
“We came to them with the issue and problem. Then we described how we’d like to showcase our product. They handled all the technological work for our projects without our assistance. We let them manage the technical aspects because they’re the experts. It is an effective sales tool and has increased booth visitation at the first conference it was used by 20%. Groove Jones listens to client needs and offers consistent teams, ambitious timelines, and fair rates.”
– View Glass, Jaime Salinas, Senior Campaign Manager, Marketing
Additional Details
ArborXR Demo Available: No
Trial Period Offered: No
Regions Supported: North America, South America, APAC, EMEA, LATAM
Notable Milestones / Awards:
- We have received nearly 200 awards and recognitions in the XR space. Below are a few of these accomplishments.
- Event Marketer EX Award – 5
- Event Marketer Experience Design and Technology Award – 3
- Unity Award – 1
- American Advertising Awards ADDY – 21
- Shorty Awards – 4
- Clio Awards – 3
- NYX Awards – 21
- Muse Creative Awards – 24
- Vega Awards – 25
- Communicator Awards – 12
- AWE Award Nominations – 18
Type of Developer: 360 Video, AR, VR
Type of Content: Custom
Device Support: HTC, Oculus / Meta, PICO, Lenovo, Magic Leap
Industries: Energy / Oil & Gas, Food / Sanitation, Healthcare / Medical, Manufacturing, Marketing, Safety
Established: 2015
Headquarters: USA
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