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Immersive Digital Onboarding for the Irish Prison Service
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Entering a correctional system, whether as a prisoner or visitor, can create uncertainty, anxiety, and confusion. The Irish Prison Service sought a more accessible and human-centred way to prepare people before arrival.
Emagine developed an immersive digital onboarding platform designed to improve preparedness, reduce apprehension, and support clearer communication in a regulated public service setting. The project introduced two tailored pathways, one for prisoners and one for visitors, each structured to address different information needs while maintaining consistency and accessibility.
Using filmed environments inside operational prison facilities, combined with a custom CGI guide, the experience allows users to move through key stages of the process before entering the system itself. Rather than relying on passive information delivery, the platform places users within a guided onboarding experience designed to improve understanding through familiarity and context.
As a form of virtual onboarding for public services, the system supports multiple modes of deployment, including online access, onsite use, and presentation settings. This makes it a flexible digital communication platform, not simply a single-purpose project.
The result is an immersive onboarding platform that helps standardise communication, improve access to information, and create a more supportive user experience in a complex environment. It also establishes a scalable model for digital onboarding in other regulated public service settings, including courts, healthcare, housing, and social care.
Project Highlights
- Immersive digital onboarding platform for a regulated public service
- Dual-path user journeys for prisoners and visitors
- Real-world filmed environments combined with CGI guidance
- Flexible deployment across online, onsite, and presentation settings
- Scalable model for wider government and public sector use
- Developed in partnership with the Irish Prison Service for use across the prison estate
Q: What is virtual onboarding for public services?
A: Virtual onboarding for public services uses immersive digital tools to help people understand procedures, environments, and expectations before entering a service. It improves access to information, reduces uncertainty, and supports clearer communication in complex or regulated settings. In the Irish Prison Service project, virtual onboarding was used to support both prisoners and visitors through structured digital guidance.
Q: Can immersive onboarding be used beyond prisons?
A: Yes. Immersive onboarding platforms can support courts, hospitals, housing services, emergency services, and other regulated environments. The same model can be adapted anywhere users need preparation before entering a process, facility, or service, making it a scalable approach for wider public sector use.
Frequently Asked Questions
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