Google's latest VR experiment is teaching people how to make coffee

(Image credit: Google)

Teaching with a simulation is no new concept, but Google's Daydream Labs wants to see exactly how useful virtual reality can be for teaching people practical skills.

In a recent experiment, Google ran a simulation of an interactive espresso machine in VR. From there, it had a group of people try their virtual hand at brewing a cup of java before being tasked to make the real thing.

Meanwhile, Google also had another group attempt to learn the same skill using a more hands-off tool — YouTube videos — to compare results.

According to the findings, those who ran through the VR simulation only needed around two practice runs before feeling confident enough to use a real espresso maker, while those watching a YouTube tutorial needed about three.

On top of that, those who ran the VR simulation made fewer mistakes and took less time compared to those who watched videos, implying that VR training was the more efficient teaching tool.

Virtual reality school

While able to teach a new skill in a relatively quicker fashion, Google's research found there were still some gaps keeping VR from being the perfect learning aid.

To start, the lack of proper haptic feedback made it hard for VR to teach finer, more tactile skills. In the case of brewing coffee, for example, details like proper tamping technique or knowing how not to burn yourself were more difficult to communicate using a virtual espresso maker compared to the real deal.

Additionally, finding the right place to put instructions can prove to be difficult in a VR environment. As a subject goes about an action in a virtual space, they might miss important written information or go too fast for verbal instruction, making an effective, uniform method of instruction a challenge for Google.

Shortcomings aside, it appears VR has the potential to help us learn new skills in a controlled environment, which could prove useful in everything from demonstrating life-saving medical procedures to off-site job training to simply learning how to cook or fold laundry properly.

Still, it appears that in the end, real-life experience is the ultimate teacher to beat — even with all the help from YouTube and bleeding-edge VR, Google's taste testers said both groups in the experiment had trouble making the coffee actually taste good. Practice makes perfect, we guess.

  • Will we learn to make tea next with the HTC Vive 2?
TOPICS
Parker Wilhelm
Parker Wilhelm is a freelance writer for TechRadar. He likes to tinker in Photoshop and talk people's ears off about Persona 4.
Latest in Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality
Project Moohan prototype at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, an XR goggles headset on display in a show area
Samsung's Android XR headset could avoid the Apple Vision Pro's biggest mistake, according to this leak
Vision Pro Metallica
Apple Vision Pro goes off to never never land with Metallica concert footage
The Ray-Ban Meta Coperni smart glasses
The new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses design is an expensive disappointment
The Meta Quest Pro on its charging pad on a desk, in front of a window with the curtain closed
Samsung, Apple and Meta want to use OLED in their next VR headsets – but only Meta has a plan to make it cheap
The new limited edition Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses show a translucent design.
Ray-Ban and Meta just teased new limited-edition smart glasses – but they'll be in frustratingly short supply
The Meta Aria Gen 2 with its sensors exploding out from the frame
Meta's new smart glasses come with some much-needed upgrades to their battery and sensors
Latest in News
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough
Brad Pitt looks over his right shoulder with 'F1' written behind him
Apple Original Films will take you behind-the-scenes of a racing cockpit in this new thrilling F1 movie trailer
AI writer
Coding AI tells developer to write it himself
Reacher looking down at another character from the Prime Video TV series Reacher
Reacher season 3 becomes Prime Video’s biggest returning show thanks to Hollywood’s biggest heavyweight
Finger Presses Orange Button Domain Name Registration on Black Keyboard Background. Closeup View
I visited the world’s first registered .com domain – and you won’t believe what it’s offering today
Image showing detail of the Leica D-Lux 8
Still can't get a Fujifilm X100VI? This premium Leica compact costs less, and it's in stock