18.05.2022

Study and research in the new "Ilmenau Interactive Immersive Technologies Center"

TU Ilmenau

The Technische Universität Ilmenau has launched the "Ilmenau Interactive Immersive Technologies Center (I3TC)". At the I3TC, innovative virtual and augmented reality technologies and their applications are researched - so-called immersive media, which are increasingly finding their way into practical industrial applications. In this process, users are immersed in virtual reality (VR) environments that they perceive as real through acoustic and visual stimuli, or reality is enhanced with additional information by means of augmented reality (AR). The focus of the new center is not only on experimental research into new audio and video technologies, but also on research-oriented, practical training of students and doctoral candidates in these future technologies. Information:https://www.tu-ilmenau.de/i3tc

The I3TC has just been founded at the TU Ilmenau. The I3TC is both a research center and a training facility at university level for state-of-the-art virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.

TU Ilmenau

In addition to already existing laboratories at the university, the I3TC includes the new VR lab rooms of the IT service center on the campus of TU Ilmenau, which is nearing completion. In the state-of-the-art laboratories of the I3TC, technologies and applications based on computer-generated VR, AR or Mixed Reality (MR) are researched, combining elements of virtual and augmented reality. These VR/AR/MR worlds are enabled, among other things, by 3D image and sound, the inclusion of user behavior in the exploration by users, and the possibility to interact, for example with the hands or by means of speech. In addition to the technological systems themselves, the impact on users will also be investigated. The key technologies VR, AR and MR open up great opportunities in many economic sectors, including media, communication and the computer games industry, medicine, architecture and industry, even applications in space are becoming possible as a result.

In the future, students will be trained in the use of the new technologies VR, AR and MR at the I3TC - especially in the study programs Media Technology, Applied Media and Communication Science, Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Mechatronics, Optical Systems Engineering, Computer Science and Computer and System Engineering.

TU Ilmenau

The bachelor's degree programs in Applied Media and Communication Studies and Media Technology, for example, offer lectures on audio and video technology, virtual worlds and digital games. In practical workshops, students can independently investigate and further develop modern immersive media systems, or create immersive audio and video scenes themselves. In the master's degree programs Media and Communication Science, Media Economics and International Business Economics, research and specialization modules are offered that specifically introduce students from non-technical programs to the use of such technologies so that they can conduct their own studies and corresponding practical work.

Master's students in Media Technology, Computer and System Engineering and Computer science have the opportunity to carry out project work, for example on technology development and the investigation of VR/AR systems, or on game development, i.e. the development of computer games. Students in the master's programs in Mechanical Engineering and Automotive Engineering and Mechatronics learn about industrial applications of the technologies, for example in product development, industrial production or fluid mechanics. To enable international students to participate as well, numerous master's courses are offered in English.

It is not only students in the relevant degree programs who benefit from the I3TC. Based on the new interactive, immersive technologies, innovative technical teaching tools are also developed at the I3TC, which benefit the entire university education. The new tools can then be used, for example, to present complex interrelationships and processes virtually or to convey demanding content in a novel, for example "playful" way.

The new I3TC offers all students at the TU Ilmenau state-of-the-art and future-oriented technological equipment, which in its entirety is unique on a university level in Thuringia and beyond the region. With the help of state-of-the-art technologies, students and doctoral candidates of the TU Ilmenau are made fit for future topics. The acquired knowledge and practical skills enable graduates to design and strategically develop future technical VR, AR or MR systems and their applications. The outstandingly trained specialists are offered the best career prospects in business or research due to the wide range of possible applications of interactive, immersive media technologies and applications.

 

Contact

Prof. Alexander Raake
Head of Audiovisual Technology
+49 3677 69-1468
alexander.raake@tu-ilmenau.de