Virtual Reality (VR) field trips are intended to create an immersive and realistic environment designed to encourage exploration. Users are supplied with a virtual field guide, and have access to various tools to make appropriate measurements and are guided to make the same observations they would in the field to develop their fieldwork skills. 

Outcrops from wide ranging geographical locations can easily be visited to provide a comprehensive understanding of particular depositional environments or structural features.

Trainees can experience field trips as part of classroom courses or workshops, as the VR modules can be integrated with other learning resources.

The information and field guides can easily be tailored to non-geoscientists.

VR field trips aren’t just a cost effective, risk free alternative to real field work. They offer unique opportunities to incorporate activities and features unavailable in the field, and deliver a more integrated and flexible learning resource.

This Virtual Reality Geology Field Trip will explore outcrop of a proven reservoir sandstone formation from the UK Continental Shelf. The user will be able to move around the high quality 3D imagery of the actual outcrop, and will be guided to examine all aspects of this low-sinuosity fluvial sandstone including grain size and sorting, channel architecture, cross bedding forms, clay interbeds, reactivation surfaces.

Benefits of Virtual Reality based Geology Field Trips:

• Learners are not exposed to any health and safety risks or concerns
• Learners face no downtime for traveling or incur high accommodation, transportation or insurance costs
• The learning is inclusive for all staff, irrespective of their fitness, mobility, work commitments and personal circumstances
• Learners can access the content at their convenience based on their individual work schedule
• The content can be viewed several times until the learning outcomes are understood by the group or individual
• Access to the field trip is not dependent on external factors like poor weather and available 24/7
• Learners have greater control in how they would like to view the outcrop as there are no physical limitations. Learners are able to ascend or fly over the outcrop for different viewing angles
• Learners will have additional information and data about the geological outcrop, as part of the learning content
• Learners from different business units across the same organisation can access the content, defraying the learning costs