Birkbeck bets on 3D scanning and VR: digital models to make fieldwork and teaching more accessible

While the debate in France about performance levels, working conditions, and the impact of new technologies on teaching is gaining intensity, an example from England shows how universities are pragmatically integrating digital methods into teaching. The University of London’s Birkbeck has opened a new “Centre for Immersive Learning.” There, VR workstations meet 3D-capture technology to transfer real objects into virtual learning environments as digital twins.

“With the help of Artec Leo we were able to scan paving stones with fossilized ripple patterns with no trouble at all,” explains Steve Hirons, Professor of Geology at Birkbeck University. “It was the first time I had used a 3D scanner. I showed the results to the students, who were very impressed—even though it was my first attempt!”

At the core of the approach is a production chain that starts with 3D scanners and ends with ready-to-use models for VR applications. For this, Birkbeck uses two devices from Artec 3D: the wireless all-in-one scanner Artec Leo for fast captures, and the high-resolution Artec Spider II for fine details. The data is processed into 3D models in Artec Studio and then transferred into VR software. This allows geometries not only to be viewed, but—depending on the application—to be measured, annotated, and made available reproducibly for exercises. Such datasets are also a common basis when departments additionally want to produce physical teaching aids via 3D printing, for example tactile models.

“I scanned samples with Leo and Spider II. Now I’m going to create 3D models so I can enlarge them, carry out different assessments, and examine these samples under the microscope,” says Hirons. “That makes fieldwork more accessible and inclusive. Students can return to it and repeat things they might easily forget. This is particularly true for neurodivergent students who find it hard to remember technical terminology. I therefore hope that this can help remove a number of inequalities.”

“We have a VR room with 20 headsets where an entire class can discover a new form of learning,” a teacher summarizes. “I really hope that this, just like PowerPoint, becomes a familiar tool that you use as part of mainstream teaching. The production has a creative side, and that’s exactly where we see its potential.”

What is especially important to him is the pedagogical effect for field-trip locations in northwest Scotland that are difficult to access. Through drone captures and scans, students are meant to be able to review content—something Hirons says can help neurodivergent participants in particular, who may more easily forget terminology.

For the university, the center is less a showroom than infrastructure: it connects data capture, model preparation, and VR use in a workflow intended to make teaching more scalable.