SoftBank Corp. and Keio Research Institute at SFC Unveil Virtual Campus Built on Metaverse Platform

Keio Research Institute at SFC (KRIS) and SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) established a “Digital Twin Campus Lab” in 2022 and have been collaborating on research and development of next-generation infrastructure, including Digital Twin technology. In July 2023, KRIS established the “Digital Twin Campus Consortium” to realize broader collaboration with various companies.

In December 2023, KRIS and SoftBank unveiled a virtual campus for the Shonan Fujisawa Campus of Keio University (Keio SFC), a research-oriented wing of Keio University located in Fujisawa City, which is located approximately 50 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. The virtual campus is now up and running on “MEs,” a metaverse platform run by a US- and Japan-based art technology studio, O Ltd.

Before opening the Keio SFC Virtual Campus to the public in December, SoftBank, KRIS and O Ltd. began conducting trials in September 2023. The virtual campus was designed to enable students to move about the campus and attend lectures freely. Students are also able to redesign buildings and class systems.

Virtual campus enables new possibilities for creativity

Accurate scaling data and photographs, along with aerial photographs and point cloud data captured and provided by SoftBank were used to replicate the campus digitally, and O Ltd.'s 3D computer graphics team modeled the buildings, combining the MEs Engine and the Unreal Engine to map the entire Keio SFC.

Accordingly, students can move around a highly detailed virtual campus at will and showcase their creations within the virtual space. Creative endeavors not possible in the physical space can be undertaken in the virtual campus to first observe the effects they may have in the physical space.

Syllabus presented in the metaverse

When conducting classes on the virtual campus, the syllabus is presented in the metaverse. This involves the creation of an exploratory and interactive syllabus experience for students, in addition to presenting the traditional syllabus in 3D textures. The experience provides interactions with various information sources such as reference literature, readings, 3D models of projects, and videos of assignments to actively engage students.

What’s student life like at the Keio SFC Virtual Campus? Watch this trailer for a sneak peek!