The Virtual Reality lab (VR-lab) and Smart Industry lab (SI-lab) are equipped with the newest technology for visualization, interaction, collaboration and communication. The emphasis here is on determining, presenting and experiencing the consequences of choices made throughout different phases of development trajectories. Attention is also paid to insight into mutual relationships and dependencies between various disciplines. Both labs encourage and facilitate multi-disciplinary teams in various development trajectories. The synchronisation of stakeholder perception (inside or across the borders of an organisation), the visualisation of possible future scenarios, complex multiple stakeholder decision making, collective idea generation or impressing/overawing clients, are among the targets.
VR-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.
Smart Industry Lab
The Smart Industry lab supports a wide variety of research and development on the main topics discussed in the area’s of Smart Industry and Industry 4.0. One of the key technologies for this is the development of ‘digital twins’ (or ‘digital shadows’). By testing ideas or findings in connected real and virtual environments, researchers can employ the lab to gain results without the need to prematurely invest in real test environments. By virtually representing a product or environment in (close to) real size, initial tests can be done without the need to actually build physical prototypes. changes in e.g. configuration, assembly or functionality can be realised real-time, and their effects can be discussed immediately. These activities are also closely related to IoT (internet-of-things), collaborative robots, information driven design support and ‘war rooms’ (control cockpits). The areas of application are not determined on beforehand since they can range from initial design phases, up to production, maintenance and disposal. All phases are in the scope of the Smart Industry lab.
For more information on the VR-Lab or SI-Lab, please contact:
