Immersive Technologies

LITEroom - Lab for Innovation in Technology for Education

Location: UNSW Kensington Campus, Building F21 Main Library, Room 117C (Access via the walkway at the back of the main library near the post office)

An on-campus, digital space to explore, develop, pilot, demo and showcase technologies and experiences aimed at enhancing learning and teaching through innovation.
Staff and students are welcome to engage with the team here to get a taste for these evolving technologies from Virtual and Augmented Reality to interactive 360 media to streaming, sensors and artificial intelligence. Much of the gear is also available for loan, or can be transported to your learning context.

Get in touch for a tour of the space & demo the equipment.

The team engaged with a significant suite of immersive experience projects varying in size and complexity. Here is a quick sample of the breadth of these intiatives supporting immersive experience delivery.

Recreating Smart Sparrow virtual labs & learning objects	Virtual tours of the Museum of Human Disease	Masters of Visualisation, Simulation, and Immersive Design (MVSID) student mentorships & work placements
Aviation 3D drone zone training experience	Virtual tour created with Microsoft SharePoint spaces	Partnership with Transport NSW
Anatomy specimen and lab explorer	Development of the UNSW Immersive Editor for content creation	Mobile and Fixed VR/AR Classroom pilots

The Immersive editor is an in-house created application designed to empower academics and students to create their own immersive experiences. 

The editor allows you to bring in 360 photos/video or physical models, and add labels, hotspots, 2D video, text, links etc. to create an informative, navigable and interactive experience catering to the specific needs of the users.

Once created, the immersive editor experiences can be viewed through the browser on a computer, tablet or phone. The editor itself is also used the same way, but for the best user experience, it is recommended to be launched on a laptop or desktop.

Features:

As the editor was designed and created in-house, the Immersive Technologies team are here to support you in using it. They can help you get started with more targeted in-person or remote assistance specific to your requirements. They can also provide advice, feedback, answer questions or give guidance through Teams chat or email.

There will always be more features and refinements added to the editor, so please provide feedback to the team on what would make the Immersive Editor even better for you and your students.

Check it out:

Enter the Immersive Technologies server (where all VR/AR experiences are hosted)

Demo of the Immersive editor - this showcases what the editor can do (created in the editor itself!)

Immersive Technologies Moodle site
Student self enrolment key: immersive

Showcases:

• Actual live immersive experiences
• Full list of loan and demo equipment
• Technology guide – key terms, hardware & software 
• UNSW immersive experience exemplars
• Experience library – list of experiences created at UNSW 
• External inspiration – videos of immersive technologies & their use

The team work with students of all stages on immersive projects and initiatives. There are a variety of opportunities suitable to different skillsets and interests. Apart from supporting and delivering immersive learning experiences to students as part of their studies, they engage with HDR students as part of their research into VR/AR/MR and related technologies.

Types of student engagement

Modes of direct student engagement applicable to the LITEroom - there are examples of many of these running all the time at various levels.

Class Demos and Experiences
Deliver presentations on the theory and demonstrations of various technologies and experiences for classes and events that showcase where UNSW is at and heading in terms of Immersive tech.

Class Mentoring
Support classes, groups or individuals exploring media and immersive technology, giving guidance and direction to students and providing technical support where possible.

Research Project Support
Closer mentoring, guidance, support and assistance for individual research students at both HDR or undergrad level where they are using/developing media and immersive tech.
Possibility of working more closely on research linked to LITEroom projects and greater levels of support for projects more closely linked to UNSW education.

Work Integrated Learning (WIL)
Opportunities to work on real projects with the team as a formal part of a course including project supervision and knowledge sharing (often thesis, capstone and major projects).

Volunteers
Student Volunteer Placements allow students to contribute their time towards supporting the LITEroom and following a certain level of contribution the students will have this volunteering recognised on their testamur. The work is purely voluntary and flexible with the team endeavouring to also give students valuable experience.

Casual Employment
There may be funded projects in the LITEroom that can bring on students as casuals where they can then develop their skills in a work environment as employees of the uni.

Misc
Other cases like the Journalism students writing articles on Immersive Technology usage or where the LITEroom act as the 'client' for student projects.

PVCESE Media team

The Immersive Technologies team is closely aligned with the PVCESE Media team who are available to help with all aspects of creating and using digital media for education, with a focus on shooting and editing video.

• See full suite of media team services (including video shooting & editing)
• Media team services request form

Other immersive specialist units and centres at UNSW

• EPICentre (Expanded Perception & Integration Centre)
• iCinema (Centre for Interactive Cinema Research)
• Mining Advanced Visualisation Lab

 Collaborate with the Immersive Technologies team now

Meet the team

Get in contact: [email protected]