Memory Palaces in Virtual Reality: New Educational Platform Reaches 100% on Kickstarter
Cambridge, UK: Macunx VR, a platform for building memory palaces in Virtual Reality, is now fully funded on Kickstarter, having launched on 20th June. Playing to the strengths of our visual and spatial memories, Macunx VR will make learning and remembering things easier than ever before.
The Kickstarter campaign will run until 20th July and rewards for pledges range from short memory courses to your very own custom-built memory palace.
Inspired by medieval monks, Aaron Ralby, founder of Macunx VR and CEO of Linguisticator, started researching the memory palace technique during his PhD at Cornell University. He has been teaching language learners how to build memory palaces to achieve full grammar and vocabulary retention since 2011. Recently he has been having great success using memory techniques to teach children with dyslexia how to spell complex words and retain long strings of numbers.
Macunx VR will allow people to use the power of their visual and spatial memories to learn new subjects quickly and easily. The demo released and available to view on the Kickstarter page shows how St John’s College in Cambridge can be used as a memory palace to remember the names of the first seven kings of England.
The Macunx VR platform will be free to use and open to anyone. Eventually, guided modules will also be available to walk you through building memory palaces for specific subjects, from the kings and queens of Britain to the entire anatomy of the body. Users will also be able to register as instructors and create and market their own guided modules. Online courses in memory and how to build memory palaces for various subjects – including several languages – are already available on Linguisticator’s website.
“Macunx is an exciting new platform that has the potential to revolutionise the way we learn”, says Dr Aaron Ralby. “As human beings, we are very good at remembering places we’ve been and things we’ve seen. Macunx will allow us to unlock the power of our spatial and visual memories, making learning both more fun and more effective.”
Macunx VR and Linguisticator hosted the Macunx VR and UKVR Launch: VR for Good event on 20th June at Barclays London Rise. The event celebrated the VR space in the UK, with a particular focus on the potential of VR, AR and mixed reality for education, life sciences and other non-gaming spaces. The event was held in support of the British Dyslexia Association, whose director, Dr Kate Saunders, spoke about how spatial and visual systems can aid memory.
To view the demo video, please visit our Kickstarter page. Photos available on request.