Unlocking the Future: Why the U.S. Govt Funded our Company VoxBox to Build an Educational 'Learn-to-Earn' World in the Metaverse

Hello and welcome to Tech On Mighty, exploring the fusion of God, technology and business, the show where faith meets innovation. I'm Al Ware, your host, today's topic what we are building for the US government and why it's important. Let's dive in For those of you who don't know what I do for a living, I'm the CEO and co-founder of a company called Boxbox. We're one of the top four thinking immersive metaverse design studios who has built for major celebrities, enterprise companies and now the US government. We're mainly focused on thinking outside the box and delivering solutions within digital worlds that people typically don't think of. Our innovative approach is why we are nominated for awards year after year and it's why the US government has taken interest in our company. Currently, we are building a virtual world funded by the US government. But before I break down what we are building and why, let me break down why our government is heavily invested into virtual reality.

The US government recognizes the transformative potential of virtual reality and augmented reality in education, leading to strategic investments in those two technologies to enhance learning outcomes. Immersive VR and AR experience have been shown to encourage higher engagement, improve memory recall for complex or abstract topics and offer personalized learning approaches that accommodate different learning styles and abilities. These technologies are particularly effective in subjects like STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As of right now, many of you are not aware that VR is being integrated into K through 12 and higher education settings to enhance classroom experiences, support remote and hybrid learning and offer new tools for students with learning disabilities. There is a possibility that we will face another lockdown and, if so, vr will allow education to continue outside physical classrooms with accessible tools, while allowing children to feel connected within a safe environment. To touch on this a little further, I know first hand here in Houston, texas, some of the school districts are creating pilot programs to implement virtual reality, extended reality, ai and other various technologies, and they have asked me to speak on some of these subjects. I'm not teaching the class. What they don't want me to do is just come in and talk about the technologies, of what we're developing and how we're implementing them, and they want me to give some insight to these children because, at the end of the day, they are the future, especially this alpha generation, and as technology grow, they are going to continue to grow.

Recently, our government announced significant funding through the education, innovation and research grants to support various educational projects, including those focusing on VR and AR technologies, such as our company, voxbox. These grants aim to address academic recovery and advanced educational equity and innovation. Now, the announcement didn't specify the exact amount dedicated to VR AR, but it is part of a broader $277 million investment in innovative educational projects such as ours. The White House has highlighted several funding opportunities for VR educational projects. These include grants and research funding aimed at developing commercially viable education technology products and supporting research that contributes to the school readiness and improved academic achievement. Specific programs offer funding for serious STEM games, immersive simulations that offer academic and technical skills, and projects that demonstrate media as art. This focused investment in VR and AR for education reflects a strategic effort to leverage cutting-edge technology to improve educational outcomes, making learning more engaging and preparing students for the 21st century workforce. The emphasis on education in VR reflects a broader understanding of its potential to revolutionize how we aim to teach and learn. So here are some facts the virtual reality market is projected to reach a size of $67.66 billion in 2024, with expectations to expand to $204.35 billion by 2029, showcasing a compound annual growth of 24.74%. This growth is driven by the increasing adoption of VR in commercial applications and a rising demand for VR setups across various end-user segments, including gaming, media, entertainment, retail, healthcare, military and defense, real estate and education.

Now that you know the backstory of our government stance in virtual reality, let's continue on with what we are building. I can't give details of the companies involved, who we're building for and the city that this will be implemented into, but I can talk about the type of build we are building in virtual reality and why we're building it, which is a learn-to-earn educational model for teenage kids for a nonprofit organization. This project was brought to my attention in December of 2022, and we didn't get the final approval from the US government until December of 2023, with the start date of January 2024. So, to answer your question, yes, you have to have a lot of patience when dealing with government contracts, because it is a long process in waiting to be awarded whatever funding you are granted, so you could begin the project Now. As soon as we started the project, which we are now in month three, it has been amazing. It has been nothing but nonstop fun, as if we're kids working on this project, and I can tell you right now this is something that I truly feel we are going to open so many doors for other companies, other entrepreneurs, other schools. I mean there's just so many things within this project that we're building that I'm beginning to see the bigger picture.

The goal for this nonprofit organization is to help the youth within their city, to expose them to technologies that they don't see on an everyday basis. Now, keep in mind, these are children who don't have access to opportunities that other children may have. These are children who have never been exposed to technologies in this type of setting, so what we are building for them is a learn to earn virtual reality world where they can socialize with their friends, play video games with their friends and learn alongside with their friends and never feel as if they're alone. The goal is to help them earn certifications within tech, and one of the things that we as a company had to think of is how do we keep them fully engaged and want to stay in and learn through these different modules that we create? So our CTO, ryan, who is also a co-founder of Voxbox, he has been thinking of ways how to implement an interactive game where they don't want to leave and they want to stay there and they want to talk to their friends, and the cool thing about this is that they can interact with their friends through mobile, desktop and virtual reality headset. Not only that, but we're also introducing a sneak peek of AI enabled avatars, which will be able to speak to the students whenever they're talking and trying to learn a certain topic within this world. And this is just a small peek to show what's coming in the near future, because we know that AI and the metaverse go hand in hand and you can't go without one or the other.

Besides all the cool things that Ryan is developing, in the back we have Orr, who is our lead spatial architect, and he's an actual architect in real life who has a master's degree, and I want to say his master's degree has an emphasis in sustainability. Now, orr, if I butcher that, please forgive me, but Orr is an amazing builder and he was tasked with keeping the children fully engaged in an environment where they will want to come back time and time again. So the approach was build a futuristic environment that had a mysterious looking feel, because we know, as humans, by nature, we are curious people and through curiosity we are going to explore this environment, and the only way we can explore an environment is if it has a mysterious look where it's going to trigger us to explore due to our curiosity. So we had to think of how do we build this environment in a way where people are going to look to the left, look to the right, look up and look down and be like, wow, like what is over there? I need to see why everybody is in this area and I need to see why there are certain elements in this other area. So there were certain things that we created, especially keeping it as an open environment to where people can typically see each other within this entire space, no matter how far they are. So those were certain little aspects that we were focused in on, because the overall picture is to help enhance these children's lives through this interactive virtual world.

We are three months into this project and we are launching on May 17. And the goal for phase one is to create the environment and introduce these modules within this learn to earn, model and get the kids accustomed to virtual spaces with AI enabled avatars. Now, through all that, we also have a financial system within this world we're creating to teach financial literacy. Now the goal is to meet or exceed the government's impact score. For those of you that are not familiar with how the government funding operates. An impact score is similar to a grading system, so if we exceed, if we meet or exceed this grading system, then it will open more funding to where we can initiate phase two. Now, the reason I'm telling you all this about what we're building is due to the fact that we also have another government build that we are about to start, which is police training and virtual reality. So keep in mind, these are two projects through the government that are educational based.

Based on this information, I know here in the United States, our educational traditional system is dramatically changing. If you don't understand what virtual reality is, or the metaverse, I highly suggest that you start educating yourself. There are so many things on Google for free that you can start learning what these virtual worlds are and how you can implement them into your business or your life. Not only that if you're a parent is good that you introduce this to your children as well, and most likely your children are already introduced and you don't even know it, because some of these schools are actually introducing children to the metaverse, and what's unfortunate is that some of these teachers are introducing the metaverse to their students thinking it's only an interactive, two dimensional educational video game, and it's not their fault, because when most people think about the metaverse or virtual reality, they automatically assume that you have to have a virtual headset, which is not true, and a lot of these interactive models that these schools are introducing to these students have metaverse elements.

As we come to a close, I want you to have an open heart and mind in regards to virtual reality.

I know that there are people out there that think somehow virtual reality is going to enslave them, but I want you to keep in mind that there is good and bad in everything we do in life.

It is up to us to decide which path we want to walk on, and that is one of many blessings that God has given us, which is the freedom to choose our own path. Now listen to this episode with a prayer. If you're in a place where you can close your eyes and focus, I invite you to join me. Heavenly Father, guide us as we explore virtual realities, granting us wisdom to use technology for good. Help us to learn, connect and grow in ways that honor you. May we always remember the real hearts behind every screen, using virtual spaces to show your love and kindness, protect our minds and keep our intentions pure. In Jesus name, we pray Amen. Thank you for tuning in to Tech Almighty. I'm Al Ware and it's been a blessing to discuss this critical aspect of what we're building for the US government and why it's important. Join me next time for more insights where technology, business and Christianity converge. Until then, keep striving for excellence in all you do, guided by faith.