The exploration of space has always captured the human imagination, and now a Chennai-based start-up, Skillveri, has harnessed this allure to create an innovative, educational virtual reality (VR) experience. Their simulation allows players to shoot hoops in conditions mimicking the gravitational forces of the Earth, Moon, and Mars. The initiative, demonstrated at the G20 Summit in 2023, was not only an entertaining showcase but also a tool to help children grasp the concept of gravity in varying celestial environments.
Inside Skillveri’s office, the demonstration begins once the VR headset powers on. Players are transported to a moonscape surrounded by ghostly white mountains under a star-studded black sky. Armed with virtual basketballs and digital enthusiasm, the players quickly discover that lunar baskets are a whole new ballgame. Without Earth’s familiar gravity, the basketball overflies the hoop, hurtling into space’s endless expanse. The challenge only diversifies when the scenery shifts to Mars, where the experience of shooting hoops is altered by another distinct gravitational pull and the simulation of billowing red dust.
While Skillveri branded the Celestial Basketball as largely entertaining, its primary mission is educational, creating mixed and virtual reality programs for practical, professional skill-building. Making its debut in 2012, Skillveri initially dabbled in developing their own VR headsets, striving to deliver a technology-fueled elevation in workforce skills. However, as Meta introduced and improved its Quest headsets – eventually dropping its price – Skillveri pivoted to harnessing Meta’s refined hardware, and focused on crafting expansive simulations.
Skillveri’s proprietary software targets skills training in diverse areas such as welding, spray painting, and the installation of HVAC and solar panels. It offers tiered learning levels and assessments, allowing workers to progress from foundational tasks to complex operations. Their impact spreads beyond Indian borders; the start-up has a presence in the U.S. and Europe with over 400 installations and boasts having trained 2.5 million people across these regions. Indian Railway, Tata Motors, and Hyundai are some of the many prominent enterprises utilizing Skillveri’s innovative solutions.
The venture emerged from the minds of founders, Kannan Lakshminarayan and Sabarinath Nair, who envisioned a future where skilled workers are well-equipped for the organized sector, benefiting from improved job protection and wages. Addressing the skill gap, Nair recognized that even with an ample workforce, Indian firms were outsourcing talent for large-scale projects, hindered by the prohibitive costs and time commitment of professional training courses.
Skillveri confronts this by condensing significant portions of standard training, shortening the route to employment in high-demand industries, with the potential for further upskilling over time. This is particularly relevant in a landscape where Mr. Nair observes that many engineering graduates shy away from hands-on work with machinery, a trend which contrasts sharply with American workers who typically augment their studies with practical experience.
In international markets like the U.S., Skillveri’s pitch is straightforward, with little need to persuade companies of the virtues of professional training or simulations. Their promotion focuses on the tangible benefits of their offerings.
Despite the recent surge in generative AI integration in tech ventures globally, Skillveri maintains that their products – grounded in physics and mathematical principles – do not currently hinge on AI. Nonetheless, the start-up is probing the potentials of AI, running beta trials for a predictive model that could forecast errors in new product lines, signaling enormous cost and time savings in manufacturing processes.
Meanwhile, Skillveri’s long-term vision involves gamifying its educational modules, using Unity 3D game engine to construct them. By combining gaming’s engagement with tangible skills, Skillveri aims to bridge the gap between entertainment and professional growth, offering an innovative path to employment and expertise in the modern industrial landscape.
