From 19th to 23rd January 2026, the SIMPLE project organized a technical training session for the two partner teams from Cambodia and Lao PDR. This training is key to building both foundational and practical skills in programming, simulation, and 3D asset creation. During the sessions, trainees learned how to set up Virtual Reality (VR) environments, manage movement and object interactions, handle user inputs, and build functional VR scenes.

Training was conducted during the initial development of Virtual Universes (VUs) for Cambodia and Lao PDR. Building on experience from designing, refining, and field-implementing multiple VUs in Thailand and Vietnam, the SIMPLE technical team aimed to give partners in Cambodia and Laos, who will develop their own VUs, a full understanding of the system architecture. Particular emphasis was placed on the technical connections between the GAMA platform middleware, and Unity, which together form the core framework of a SIMPLE Virtual Universe.

The training took place at the Cambodia Academy of Digital Technology (CADT) and was coordinated by Dr. Alexis Drogoul. Over five days, members of the SIMPLE core technical team, who previously contributed to the development of AquaDefender, BiodiVRestorer, the “Lũ lụt” model, and OZD (ÉVEIL), led a series of workshops covering Unity, 3D production, and the GAMA platform.

Dr. Arthur Brugière, Technology Development Officer of the SIMPLE project, led the training on GAMA, introducing participants to its syntax, basic modeling principles, simulation workflows, and experimentation processes. 

Nguyễn Hoàng Tùng, Unity Developer of the SIMPLE project, conducted sessions on setting up VR projects in Unity using the XR Toolkit, applying optimization techniques for VR applications, and teaching the technical connection between Unity and GAMA.

Éloi Landes, 3D Artist for the project, delivered training on 3D modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, and UX/UI design for VR. His sessions also covered workflows for importing and exporting assets between Blender and Unity, ensuring consistency and efficiency in the production pipeline.

In the next phase, CADT and BeDev Consulting, SIMPLE’s implementation partners in Cambodia and Lao PDR, will move forward with the development of their Virtual Universes, focusing on revising and strengthening the scientific content of each VU.

GAMA is an open-source agent-based modeling and simulation platform designed to create spatially explicit simulations in an accessible and user-friendly way.

Unity is a 3D engine for game development which allows developers to create video games across multiple platforms, including VR.

Blender is an open-source 3D creation suite used for modeling, sculpting, animation, rendering, simulation, and video editing.