The ENGAGE Platform
Last updated
Last updated
ENGAGE is a virtual communication platform with a focus on security, scalability, and professional use. It’s a place where you can have purposeful shared experiences with other people in immersive 3D environments, regardless of where they’re located or what device they use.
You can use the ENGAGE platform for any activity that requires communication between people, whether that’s a live discussion or a recorded message. Uses include training and development, onboarding, product presentations, education and learning, conferences, entertainment, team building, ideation, exhibitions, retail, and product launches.
You can use ENGAGE on a wide variety of devices, including Windows and macOS desktop and laptop devices; Android phones and tablets; iPhones and iPads; and the majority of recently released VR headsets.
Users of all devices can enter the same, shared environment and communicate with each other. However, the range of additional features that you can access is tailored to the capabilities of your chosen device.
For more information, see Installing ENGAGE.
Sessions form the core the ENGAGE platform. Similar to a conference call, they enable you to talk with other people, use collaboration tools such as whiteboards, and share documents. However, more like meeting face-to-face, you and everyone else in the Session share the same three-dimensional space. You can walk around in the virtual environment, see representations of other people, and interact with objects.
There are a variety of Session types for different use cases. The simplest type is a temporary space that you create as needed and use for a short period of time. Persistent Sessions retain changes between visits, while scalable Sessions accommodate hundreds of people through the creation of new duplicate instances on-demand. You can also use our Event system to schedule Sessions and choose whether people need to register in advance.
For more information, see Sessions.
Each person in ENGAGE is represented by a 3D virtual character called an avatar. You can customize your avatar’s physical features, hair, and clothing. You can also upload a photograph of your face and have that applied to your avatar for a realistic appearance.
If you use a VR headset and hand controllers, your avatar’s hands and head track your movements – enhancing verbal communication with body language and gestures.
For more information, see Avatars.
ENGAGE includes a rich suite of collaboration tools; the foundation of which is an advanced voice communication system. Users can engage in natural, overlapping speech without microphones cutting out. You can also enable spatialized sound in a Session, where volume realistically reduces with distance, to facilitate small group discussions within the same environment.
When granted permission by a Session host, users can share live, synchronized views of videos, websites, OneDrive and Dropbox files, or views of their computer desktop. Users can create shared drawings on whiteboards, add sticky notes anywhere in the environment, and users on VR devices can even draw in the air with the 3D pen tool.
ENGAGE also provides you with access to an extensive collection of 3D models, audio files, and special effects that you can load into your Sessions. These could serve as the central talking point of a discussion, such as a DNA strand used in a biology class or used to customize a location with an appropriate backdrop.
For more information, see Essential features and Advanced features.
There are many situations where some people take an organizing role in a group activity. For example, as a trainer, teacher, conference or event organizer, or scrum master. ENGAGE provides a comprehensive set of tools for people in these roles.
The person that creates a Session is assigned the host role. They have access to all of the features and permissions granted by their account type and device. They also have full control over the features and permissions that are available to other users that join the Session. Almost every feature available in a Session can be controlled for the whole group as well as for individuals. For example, a host can mute all users so that a presentation can begin, but also unmute a single user so that they can ask a question.
Hosts can trigger all users to be seated, summon users to a designated area in the environment, enable spatial audio for everyone but themselves so that they can always be heard, and use many other useful features.
A host can assign other users as hosts to share group management tasks, or assign everyone as hosts for less hierarchical meetings. For persistent Sessions, you can set all users to join as hosts so that there are equal permissions from the start.
For more information, see Host controls.
The ENGAGE application includes a variety of tools to create immersive content for educational, training, or entertainment purposes.
With the press of a button, you can create full spatial recordings of yourself and other users in a Session. This captures your movements within the environment, your voice, any media that you share, and any 3D models that you add or manipulate. When you play back a recording, you are immersed in the events that took place, as though you were there in the location at the time of recording.
The included Content Editor is a powerful timeline-based creation tool. You can create animations, play videos, add special effects and audio, incorporate spatial recordings, and control playback through user-activated triggers. You can use the Content Editor to create simple, linear animations, or complex simulations. You can then share your creations with other users to experience on their own or as part of a group.
For more information, see Recordings and Content Editor Overview.
The ENGAGE web manager provides complimentary functionality to the main ENGAGE application. You can use it prepare links to websites, videos, and online documents, which you can then access and load from within a Session. You can also use the web manager to update your account details, as well as manage your group memberships and PLUS subscription.
For more information, see Web manager.
