The system uses spatial learning techniques to create memory palaces in virtual reality Linguisticator

Want to learn another language but struggle with textbooks and apps? Virtual reality could help.

Elaborate memory palaces created in virtual worlds will soon be available via an app for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The system known as Macunx VR, could help people learn anything from a new language to all the countries and capitals of the world.


The system uses spatial learning, a trick that places hard to remember things such as German grammar or all the capital cities of Africa into a physical space. The brainchild of linguistics and memory expert Aaron Ralby, the project has already raised £6,600 on Kickstarter, more than double its initial £3,000 goal.

“Few people are familiar with the concept of a memory palace, and fewer still have actually built one,” Ralby told WIRED. “Explaining how it works can be tricky and relies heavily on the imagination of the listener. With VR, we can actually show people how memory palaces work in great detail.”

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Ralby hopes the combination of things being imagined and then seen in VR will improve retention. The software platform being developed will guide users through creating memory palaces and also provide pre-built courses.

Using images to help remember non-visual things isn’t new to the field of mnemonics, but the application of virtual reality is. Many of the world’s best memorisers use memory palaces or similar systems, placing items or ideas they need to remember in a familiar location.


Complex non-visual subjects such as German grammar rules can be laid out in a virtual, physical space Linguisticator

“You might put nouns in a house and verbs in a park. Adjectives could go in a garden and articles in a shed. You assign each part of a language to a physical space,” said Ralby. But while popular amongst experts, memory palaces aren’t widely known or used.

Macunx VR, which is being developed by Ralby’s Linguisticator firm, will comprise of three platforms: a free-build mode will let people create memory palaces of any shape or size for any subject; guided mode will help users organise complex subjects into images organised in a virtual space; and instructor mode, which will let experts create memory palaces for others to use.

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The platform will initially be available on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive and will let people create and move around virtual memory palaces Linguisticator

“With VR, we can actually show people how memory palaces work in great detail. With a software platform we can also guide users through the process of creating memory palaces for large and complex subjects,” he continued.

If you’re learning German, for example, you’d need to grasp declensions and gender rules – gender could be places in the garden and declensions in different rooms of a house.


The technology could also provide an alternative means of learning for people with dyslexia, according to Ralby. In trials of the technology, Ralby and his team have established that spatial memory techniques can be useful for those with dyslexia. “Most information is disseminated through text and number,” he said. “And it’s expected that we rely on textual information for learning in school and at work. Those with dyslexia can use memory palaces instead.”

The team behind the project also plans to develop a desktop version and mobile companion app, letting users create a memory palace on a desktop or laptop computer and then explore it in VR on a phone using Google Cardboard.

“The ultimate aim of the project is to change the way we learn large and complex subjects,” said Ralby. “Rather than watering subjects down to make them easier, we want to empower people to learn rigorous disciplines by unlocking the potential of their spatial minds.”