Imagine holding the human heart in your hand while learning anatomy or get a better perspective on the solar system by watching it from close quarters – this is what MERGE Lab offers students and educators via its flagship product Merge Cube.
Merge Labs, founded in 2014, is the company that produces augmented reality and virtual reality tools that help educators teach their students in the most creative ways possible.
Their product portfolio includes EDU Platform, Cube, Headset, and Miniverse. In the recently concluded ISTE conference, Merge Edu Platform won the “Best of Show” award.
Excited with the possibilities offered by the products from Merge Labs, users have been enthusiastically sharing examples of their experimental lessons as seen here:
Just used my new #mergecube & @DoInkTweets to make an intro for a biology lesson on cell organelles for use in @Flipgrid @Pride_Mustangs @misd_weRscience @McAllenISD pic.twitter.com/Vk11MccKDq
— Mark Rocha MEd (@d4entieducator) July 1, 2019
These products offer incredible possibilities for educators. They can now make STEM lessons fun for students by allowing them to experience “science” in an entirely new way – be it building cities or dissecting a frog.
- Merge Edu Platform: a subscription-based platform that supports with AR/VR tools for STEM education
- Merge Cube: this unique product allows students to “hold” the object in their hand thereby creating a unique learning experience
- Merge Headset: this rugged product provides “immersive AR/VR learning experience using smartphones.”
- Merge Miniverse: a platform that includes hundreds of games and applications which have been vetted to be safe for kids
The road ahead for Merge Labs
Steve Patti, the Marketing Head for Merge, sees education as the key revenue driver for the company. Merge recently partnered with Microsoft. They now supply to twenty countries.
Beyond schools
Educators, parents, and students are not the only ones to use merge products. Their technology is used effectively for sales demonstrations, product training, and so on. The makers claim that “just about any process that can be done in the physical world can be simulated in AR/VR.”
