Why are spatial computing skills important for children and young people?

Spatial computing combines the physical and digital world, and it is changing the way humans (and robots and AI systems) make use of technology. It cuts across everyday life and industry. It is already a huge and growing sector, with implications for how we live, work, learn, design, build and make decisions.

Everyone is talking about AI skills for children and young people. That is really important, and I have a lot to say about it! But spatial computing is another significant shift, and it is not getting anything like the same level of attention. I want to draw attention to the need for spatial computing skills for children and young people.

Spatial computing is part of what comes next after the web. We need to think about safety, digital literacy and who gets power in these new digital-physical worlds. Spatial computing also has some very important applications in education. But, as always, I am most interested in how we give young people opportunities to create with modern technologies, not just use them. We need to get this right so that a much wider range of people can create spatial computing content, tools and infrastructure, and take part in the big decisions that will affect humanity and our environment.

Spatial computing integrates the physical and digital worlds to build extended realities where technology is seamlessly embedded in the world around us. It includes technologies like augmented reality, smart glasses and immersive entertainment, but it also includes delivery robots moving through cities, 3D printing, virtual fashion design, ‘phygital’ shopping, simulations and digital twins of automated factories. It changes how humans interact with technology, and spatial intelligence is increasingly important for robotics and AI systems that need to understand and act in the physical world.

Why spatial computing skills matter

Spatial computing is not just a new set of devices and software applications. It is a shift in how technology works and how we interact with it.

We are moving from technology that mostly lives on flat screens to technology that connects with places, objects, movement and 3D worlds. That changes what digital skills mean for children and young people.

Young people need opportunities to understand how digital systems can represent the physical world, simulate it, respond to it and be part of it.

That does not mean every child needs to become a robotics engineer, games developer or digital twin specialist. But children do need a broad enough understanding of modern technology to take part in the world that is being built around them.

This is already a big industry

Spatial computing is sometimes talked about as if it is only about bulky headset and smart glasses. Cathy Hackl explains that spatial computing is far more than mixed reality, hardware and AR/VR headsets.

My view of spatial computing includes augmented reality, virtual reality, digital twins, 3D modelling, 3D printing, robotics, simulations, geolocation games, smart glasses, architecture tools, education and industrial training and AI systems that need to understand the physical world. And lots more!

Niantic is a really useful example here. Many people know Niantic because of Pokémon Go. That was a playful, public example of digital content being connected to physical places. But Niantic’s current work shows how much bigger this area is. The same kind of spatial understanding that makes location-based games possible is also useful for mapping, simulation, robotics, AI and industry.

In fact Niantic has moved their spatial computing focus to industry. The photos that were taken by Pokémon Go players have been used to build a model of the physical world for spatial computing.

(Aside I’m a big Monster Hunter Now fan - practical, everyday spatial computing that puts monsters on my lunchtime walk.)

Young people as creators

When a technology becomes important, children should get to create with it.

Digital literacy matters. Safety matters. Understanding data, privacy and ownership matters. My focus is on making sure young people get to create with modern technology.

Spatial computing gives young people the chance to create worlds, model systems, design objects, build simulations, connect physical and digital inputs, and explore how interaction works in 3D space.

It is a much richer view of computing. It connects coding with design, physics, geography, art, storytelling, data, accessibility, engineering and environmental thinking.

Physical computing has long been recognised as motivating and engaging for young people. Spatial computing feels like the logical next step: physical computing connects code to things, while spatial computing connects code to places, systems and worlds.

It is creative. It is technical. It is social. It is real.

Spatial skills and who gets to make

Spatial skills are interesting. There is research linking spatial skills with STEM success, so it is definitely something to pay attention to.

But we need to be careful here. A lot of spatial skills research uses quite narrow tests, especially mental rotation tests. Girls sometimes do worse on those tests. That does not automatically mean girls are worse at spatial thinking. It may mean we are using male-biased ways of measuring spatial skills. Girls’ performance can also be affected by stereotypes and the value they place on the skills being tested.

In the words of Meghna Nag Chowdhuri when talking about girls’ underperformance in maths, “Let’s broaden schooling, not just make all the girls become boys.”

This matters because I really do not want spatial skills to become another way of deciding who “belongs” in technology. My own spatial skills are awful. I still became a computer scientist. (Thank goodness we didn’t have floor robots in my school!)

So the route into spatial computing has to be broad. Children should be able to build spatial understanding by making things, moving things, talking about what is happening, using code, using blocks, using physical objects, testing ideas and seeing what changes.

Some children will get it through 3D worlds. Some will get it through physical computing. Some will get it through drawing, modelling, sound, language or collaboration.

That is what good learning design should do. Give children more than one way in.

We need inclusive spatial computing education

Young people should be able to explore spatial ideas in different ways: visually, physically, verbally, through sound, through movement, through code or visual tools, through collaboration and through direct manipulation.

Some children will understand a 3D scene by looking at it. Some will understand it better by moving through it. Some will need language, structure, keyboard access or screen reader support.

Some will need concrete physical examples before abstract 3D concepts make sense. Some will light up when they make connections to their own interests and culture. Many will thrive through social interaction and shared experiences.

If we want a wider range of young people to create the future of technology, we need tools that accommodate differences from the beginning.

Flock XR as a route into spatial computing

This one of the reasons I have been buildingFlock XR.

Flock XR is a free browser-based 3D and extended reality creation tool for young people. It gives learners a way to create 3D spatial computing projects using blocks, 3D objects, interaction, physics, animation and physical computing devices including games controllers and the BBC micro:bit.

Many young people already bring knowledge and skills from games, digital worlds and physical play. Flock XR gives them a way to make things themselves.

Flock XR is designed to help young people to develop fluency in spatial computing. That means understanding objects, position, scale, movement, interaction, simulation and physical-digital connections well enough to create with them. But I think this happens along the way when they get to create projects that they value in a tool that gives instant feedback.

Who gets to shape the spatial future?

Spatial computing will affect how we design cities, train workers, model the climate, support healthcare, automate factories, build robots, make games, create art and understand the physical world.

If spatial computing is going to influence everyday life and major decisions about humanity and the environment, then young people need a way in. Not only the confident ones. Not only the already technical ones. Not only the ones with expensive devices at home.

All young people deserve the chance to create with the technologies of their future. If we want a wider range of views shaping how technology is used, we need to give all young people a way into creating with spatial computing.

I’d love you to try Flock XR and share with the educators and young people in your life.