UTFacultiesETVRSI labVirtual Reality lab

Virtual Reality lab

The VR-lab is used to support decision-making in multidisciplinary design phases. Future situations and products can be experiences and assessed in such a matter that relevant feedback can be provided and processed. The VR-Lab and its contents allow for divergent virtual experiences. The VR-lab not only focusses on using these VR-tools in development trajectories, but also aims on developing new configurations of multiple VR-tools in custom made synthetic environments. The VR-lab functions in those situations as a workshop containing a continuous expanding selection of mixed reality devices, software solutions and use situations.

In realising the synthetic environments in which these experiences can be gained, the VR-Lab itself does not become the subject of observation. The VR-lab is concealed behind its practicability, it is able to merge in any desired scenario it is employed for, in order to become context instead of physical environment. While the behaviour of the people present can be purposefully influenced by its atmosphere. In multiple scenarios it is possible to reach the goals by employing the functionalities of individual tools and techniques. Communication and collaboration usually benefit from the availability of multiple large screens and the possibility to apply multi-user data input on the spot.

The equipment of the lab helps researchers and industry to identify and analyse aspects that are difficult to study with the naked eye in the physical world. Multiple new and experimental interaction possibilities allow for lowering the threshold of making changes (even unaware) to the virtual world, and can facilitate every stakeholder without any required prior knowledge. Data visualisation helps the user to acquire more (personalised) information from (shared) data sources, while the impact of changes can be communicated in the, at that moment, most appropriate form of visualisation.