PolyU Wine Education with Virtual Reality

Digitalization of Wine Education with Virtual Reality: A Multisensory Learning Experience

Edutainment, the process of educating people through entertainment, is proven to be highly effective in enhancing understanding and recall. With the rise of virtual reality technology, immersive experiences are made possible where people can interact with virtual objects of a particular educational field and learn subtly as they play.

In the project “Digitalization of Wine Education with Virtual Reality” that we collaborate with PolyU, we transform some sommelier lessons into a cozy virtual wine cellar environment via Oculus Quest 2 the VR headset by Meta. Students are given different grapes (pinot noir, merlot, sauvignon blanc etc.) each round and are asked to pair them with the corresponding wines and flavors. To perform the task, they are instructed to use the touch controllers (the joysticks) to virtually grasp the wine bottles and food from the cupboards and then bring them to the dining table. Scores will then be calculated based on the pairing correctness of each round.

Multisensory learning experience strengthens students’ recall with the help of visual and motion memory. It also raises students’ interests in the subject. With the growing ease of access of VR technology such as Oculus Quest, it is believed there will be more immersive edutainment applications using mixed reality.

Special thanks to:
Project coordinator: Dr Anthony Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Collaborating schools: School of Design and School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Design and development team:
Leaf, YC and Yen