Aviagen: Synchronised VR tour of a New Zealand farm

Aviagen supplies poultry breeding stock worldwide. Its farms follow strict cleanliness, safety, bird-welfare and biosecurity standards. Bringing groups of customers onto a working farm would put pressure on those controls, yet seeing the facilities is a useful part of understanding how the business operates.

The company asked us to incorporate a synchronised VR presentation into its training academy so customers could see the facilities during a seminar.

A guided visit from Bangkok

In 2019, we supplied Oculus Go headsets and a synchronised presentation system for 70 attendees at short notice. From a conference hall in Bangkok, the group toured Aviagen's New Zealand farm together. Aviagen's experts guided the presentation, pointing out areas of interest while customers looked around the farm environment.

We worked with Showtime VR and our event staff to deliver the group session. Synchronised playback let the presenters guide everyone through the same material at the same time, while each attendee could look around independently inside the headset.

Keeping the presentation together

The pilot was called "Take a step into an Aviagen farm". It placed the farm environment around the viewer, so a presenter could point out a facility or area of interest and attendees could turn to examine it in context.

Aviagen's experts explained particular details while attendees looked around to see how they fitted into the farm.

Access to a restricted site

Customers could see the farm without entering biosecure areas or travelling to New Zealand. We could present the recording where the academy's customers had gathered, with local event support and Aviagen's experts guiding the session.

Feedback and further use

Attendees responded positively; some said it "really felt like being there." VR became part of an ongoing project for Aviagen customer seminars in Bangkok and across South East Asia, with further development planned after the pilot.

Project details