Global virtual community takes cognisance of Naledi3d Factory

Relaxing after the conference are (ltr back) Hal Thwaites, President of the VSMM Society, Alice Reed (VSMM organiser), Scot Thrane, Executive officer of the VSMM Society and the Executive Director of the World Heritage Network and in front (ltr) Natalie Bibeau (VSMM organiser) and Dave Lockwood, CEO Naledi3d Factory.

The world's virtual community is taking notice of the Naledi3d Factory, a company that specialises in using Virtual Reality (VR) as a training tool in developing communities in Africa. The Naledi3d Factory is one of the companies participating in the high-tech business incubator at The Innovation Hub.

The unique application of VR by the Naledi3d Factory as a visually interactive training tool that overcomes language and literacy barriers, are drawing attention at major world events where the potential for impact on human society of these technologies are being deliberated.

The Naledi3d Factory is one of the companies participating in the high-tech business incubator at The Innovation Hub.

CEO Dave Lockwood has just returned from Montreal, Canada, where he participated in the 9th International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia (VSMM 2003) as an invited speaker. And next month, the Naledi3d Factory has been sponsored to exhibit in the Entrepreneurs Village at the ICT4 Development Platform of the UN World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva. About 20 000 delegates are expected to attend this global summit, which is the ICT equivalent of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, hosted in South Africa last year.

The VSMM conference was organised by the International Society on Virtual Systems and Multimedia, an organisation dedicated to the international expansion of research and technological developments in this fast developing field. Its executive and members are world experts from leading institutions such as MIT (USA), Gifu University (Japan), Concordia University (Canada), Universita' di Firenze (Italy), Zheijian University (China) and the Fraunhofer Institute (Germany) to name a few.

According to Dave, the international society (VSMM) accepts that the considerable progress in virtual and multimedia processing technology is likely to change human society extensively in the near future. The Society therefore seeks to address the concerns and issues arising from VR technologies and their application on the one hand, while also providing a foundation for integrating the human, technological and strategic aspects of VR under an umbrella of international exchange, co-operation and development.

The Naledi3d Factory is developing a global reputation in these circles, not only because of its unique application of VR in projects done with UNESCO and others, but also because the potential impact in developing world education is being recognised.

"What we are doing is unique globally and there is a lot of interest in our 'refreshingly different' application of VR. As a learning tool, visual content is effective and can have a significant impact on education as well as industrial training throughout Africa. In true Nepad-style, we have drawn the attention of the global community to this," says Dave.

The Naledi3d Factory is also developing a strong relationship with Prof Robert J Stone of the University of Birmingham, who is a world player in the global VR field, as well as Chairman of VSMM. He is a visiting professor within the Faculty of Medicine at Manchester University and the School of Computing within the University of Plymouth, and is well known for his work in the role of human factors in the implementation of VR, making regular contributions to VR projects in the fields of defence, surgery and engineering. An academician of the Russian International Higher Academy of Sciences in Moscow, he was credited by General Klimuk, Director of Russia's Gargargin Space Centre, with "introducing VR into the cosmonaut space programme". Prof Stone will be visiting South Africa in the near future.

For further information contact Dave Lockwood at the Naledi3d Factory,
Tel +27 12 349 0385.

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