This year, the education landscape has been fundamentally altered by technology, and confidence in the growth potential of interactive front-of-class tech has increased from 11% in 2016 to 36% in 2020 (The State of Technology in Education 2020/21, Promethean).
At Moonraker, we’re combining our experience in the visitor attraction and giant screen worlds, with our pedigree in visual effects for natural history and factual television, to take education even further into the 21st century - with an augmented reality app that houses content initially targeted at scientific subjects within the National Curriculum and for use by Higher Education institutions.
Through our work in visitor attractions, we’ve witnessed first hand the impact immersive technology can have on a student’s ability and willingness to learn, and we feel passionate about taking that technology into the learning environment and making it accessible to as many students as possible. Our app will provide never-seen-before levels of engagement to visual learners through aspirational and interactive content that is easy to access and peer reviewed. Schools will be able to access a wider range of digital resources, going beyond the current minefield of online videos which offer minimal levels of audience engagement.
Imagine students being able to hold up a tablet and visualise an historical globe showing the Earth’s tectonic plates moving in 3D space right in front of them? Or, imagine they could see a 3D model of the workings of the ear that they can interact with and zoom in and out of? The possibilities are vast and we are in the early stages of the R&D for this product, as well as starting to look at its commercial viability.
Our creative vision and passion for science and natural history has led us to work with many of the world's top directors and filmmakers in the creation of computer generated imagery for globally renowned broadcasters, including the BBC, National Geographic, History Channel, Discovery, Apple and Netflix. We’ve won Emmys, BAFTAs. RTSs. and TEA awards for our work.
We embarked on this new journey having stepped into the production of our own film, setting a new benchmark for quality licensable films in the visitor attraction market and immersive sector. This year, we have moved into the development of a prototype app after realising the potential, and educational benefits, of bringing this creative excellence to an unexplored market.
The global educational market is projected to be worth $325 billion in 2025 and student engagement with tech has grown by 29% in five years (The State of Technology in Education 2020/21, Promethean). Our early research shows us that our product could provide real value to more linear education resources, like Pearson, Edexcel and Dorling Kindersly, potentially collaborating with these organisations in the future to roll out this technology.
Alongside a prototype app, we would also fully research the relevant Key Stages in the UK’s National Curriculum as well as look beyond this to international markets.
We are ensuring we are concentrating on the development of clear IP alongside the prototype product to fully protect the potential for future growth and ownership of the technology .
Since 2014, Moonraker has gone from strength to strength growing from two full time staff to twenty with a capacity for forty overall. In this time, turnover has grown by over 400% with an average EBIT of 20%. In the next couple of months, we will be embarking on a Series A fundraise to allow us to push forward with our plans quickly and at scale.
We believe being a CIC CreaTech One to Watch company will be of huge benefit to us as we go out seeking investment.
