How the TNA Project Brought Husson's XR Program to the World Stage

Published on: October 6, 2023

From mind-bending visual effects in movies and TV to immersive gaming experiences, extended reality (XR) has many applications in the world of entertainment. This dazzling technology has plenty of practical, real-world usages as well. As the understanding and availability of XR technology grows, more and more companies are discovering ways they can use it to better connect with their customers and demonstrate the value of their products or services. 

Students in Husson University's Bachelor of Science in Extended Reality (XR) program had the opportunity to witness a practical usage of XR firsthand. Husson partnered with TNA Food Processing and Packaging Solutions – an international company with more than 500 employees worldwide – on the "TNA Project," a unique XR experience that allowed customers to get up close and personal with TNA's products in a contained, tradeshow environment.  

This project ultimately not only showed how XR technology can be utilized for business but also demonstrated some of the unique qualities of Husson's XR program. Here's how it all came about.

 

What is XR?

Before digging in too deep on the TNA Project, let's take a moment to review exactly what XR is. To put it simply, XR – extended reality – is an umbrella term for three-dimensional, interactive computing environments created via augmented reality (virtual images, sounds, and haptic touch interacting with the real world) and virtual reality (a fully realized and immersive 3-d environment). Furthermore, there are three requirements for a true XR experience as well. These are: 1), it must be registered in a 3D space, immersing the user in an environment of sight, sound, and haptics; 2) it must be interactive in real-time, allowing users to interact with digital objects at the speed of real life; 3) it must combine the real and virtual.

XR has been a fast-growing technology field for years, and Husson University, home to the state-of-the-art iEX Center, has been a leader in preparing students to work in this area. Students in the XR program are required to take XR-177 - Fundamentals of Extended Reality. A student in this class, Dylan Avelange, helped to bring Husson and TNA together for this project. 

 

Getting Customers Closer With XR

Dylan is the son of Natasha Avelange, Global XR Manager for TNA. Working with a virtual reality platform created by Engage, TNA's XR team created a unique extended reality experience that allows customers to explore the TNA factory and give their customers from across the world a look at the products. This completely immersive experience allows the user to embark on an interactive journey around a production line, to be transported there, and to experience the sensation of looking at the environment through 360 degrees. And since those customers can see the factory without traveling across the world, the XR experience saves time, money and significantly reduces the carbon footprint.

TNA planned to bring their virtual experience to key tradeshows in Germany and Australia. But before doing so, they needed to test their program in a real environment. That was where Husson came in.

As one of few locations in New England with an immersive virtual production system, Husson was an ideal location to test and troubleshoot the XR experience. Brave Williams, Director, iEX Center and Associate Professor, taught Dylan in XR-177 and was immediately interested when the prospect of the TNA Project arose. Williams was especially pleased when Dylan revealed that some inspiration for bringing the TNA Project to life at Husson was inspired by a project Dylan completed in XR-177 that involved scanning rental properties so renters could tour them virtually. "The more I learned about the TNA Project from Dylan, the more I thought, 'this is a fantastic idea to push the connection between the real environment and the digital environment.'"
 

 

Bring the TNA Project to Life

Aided by Husson students and faculty, Williams and the TNA team built a temporary testing ground with a large virtual LED screen. Students got a firsthand look at the work that goes into creating and implementing a large-scale XR experience. For Williams, it was a terrific opportunity to impart some important lessons. 

"I make it clear to my students that with XR, you're working in a field of study, that is coalescing and developing as we speak, and there are bits of technology that change fast," Williams explains. "They need to be comfortable with the idea you're going to need to exercise critical thinking and collaboration skills and work as a problem solver."

With the TNA project, they got to witness that problem-solving firsthand as the engineers and developers from TNA and Engage worked to improve their XR experience in real-time. "They had a whole team working on this, but it's still essentially a demo, a prototype. After seeing how the pieces come together, I was able to point out a few things and the students were able to say, "'Oh ok, I get it.'"

Plus, seeing a real company working in XR to solve a problem for their clients helped solidify the importance and impact of XR for the students, and showed how they might build a future working in this field. As Williams explains, "Just walking in the room and seeing these people collaborating on an XR project, it became very real for the students."  

 

Get Hands-On With XR Technology at Husson 

Of course, the TNA Project is just one real-life application of XR technology, and this rapidly growing field is certain to yield countless more in the future. If you're interested in exploring the many opportunities in the XR field, request more info or apply to Husson's XR program today. You could be part of Husson's next project bringing an XR experience to life and can help lead this technology into the future.  

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