Infosys and the Financial Times announced the digital revival of a pioneering piece of economic history—the Monetary National Income Analogue Computer (MONIAC) — courtesy of a groundbreaking new virtual reality experience, the ‘FT Money Machine'.
Infosys and The Financial Times have taken economist Bill Phillips' original invention, a hydraulic analog computer created in 1949 that used water to model and study economic systems, as the foundation for a unique Extended Reality (XR) project which revolutionizes how we learn about economics and ensures education at scale. Emphasizing on 'learning by doing', the new XR app, accessible through Apple Vision Pro and available in the Apps Store, faithfully recreates the Moniac's functionality while adding new, interactive features. This approach bridges the gap between historical analogue computing and modern digital learning, offering an unparalleled educational experience to the global student community.
Users of The FT Money Machine will not only experience the full operation of The Moniac but also can explore and create their own economic scenarios in free play mode. They will be able to interact with the machine using intuitive gestures such as eye tracking, hand movements, and voice commands, allowing them to adjust variables like consumption, taxation, and investment to see real-time impacts on the economy, as well as understand complex economic interactions, predict outcomes of various policy decisions, and enhance economic modelling techniques.
The FT Money Machine also incorporates the academic backing of the London School of Economics (LSE) and Cambridge University, home to one of the last working original Moniacs. It leverages the creative design and build expertise from WongDoody, Infosys' human experience agency, where WongDoody helped ensure that the FT Money Machine app exceeds user expectations in a seamless blend of historical significance and cutting-edge technology.
The FT Money Machine's three-dimensional interface will offer a comprehensive educational tool for students, educators, researchers, and economic enthusiasts, providing a hands-on learning experience that illustrates economic principles in a way that is both engaging and insightful. By embracing new immersive technologies, it will help transcend the limitations of traditional educational tools, making economic education more effective and accessible