It took nine years – from the initial concepts in 2017 to its completion – to build the CAVE, the centrepiece of the Visualisation Lab, one of the I3TC’s four major laboratories dedicated to the holistic research of immersive media and technologies. The high-end laboratory, a five-sided installation – with a floor measuring five by five metres and walls over three metres high – offers technical capabilities, in combination with force plates integrated into the floor, that are unique in Germany to date for rendering three-dimensional virtual environments for two independent viewers. This enables research into user behaviour and the ways in which users can interact with their virtual environment.
With the technical infrastructure at the I3TC, researchers can now carry out ambitious research projects, including in collaboration with industry, across a wide range of fields: human-technology interaction, virtual production, the industrial metaverse, visualisation, telepresence, digital twins, gaming and many more. At the opening of the CAVE, the President of TU Ilmenau, Prof. Kai-Uwe Sattler, expressed his delight at the new opportunities now available to the university: “This innovative CAVE not only allows for the visualisation of immersive virtual environments, but also enables us to investigate how people interact within such environments. At the same time, it offers our students from a wide range of disciplines the opportunity to work with tomorrow’s technologies today.”
The Visualisation Lab directly benefits a wide range of degree programs, including Computer Science, Media Engineering, Research in Computer and Systems Engineering, Applied Media and Communication Science, Engineering Informatics, and Media and Communication Science. In teaching modules combining research and practical experience, the state-of-the-art equipment at the I3TC offers the very best opportunities for high-quality, up-to-date education.
Contact
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Broll
Director of I3TC
+49 3677 69-4735
wolfgang.broll@tu-ilmenau.de
