The day began early on Wednesday, September 25, for the IIIX employees, to spruce up the iXperience Lab. The institute's lab is a central location for the development of innovative technologies and the implementation of student ideas. It is home to a large number of pioneering projects that have been developed over the years by students and staff at the institute.
For the filming, which was carried out both for the Research Contacts and for the Institute's general external communication, the IIIX researchers prepared numerous of their own developed projects for use. At 2 p.m., cameraman Jan Holthaus from the Press and Communications department (PK) finally arrived to set the scene for the innovations.
The first scene of the shoot shows the Institute team in front of the 180° screen of the iXperience Lab. In the background was footage of the Enter the Hindenburg application, a VR experience developed by students that offers immersive insights into the construction of the famous airship. Despite some funny moments, this recording was quickly finished.
The presentation of a special technology developed by Simon Janzer as part of his bachelor's thesis took a little longer. Using an iPhone camera, Simon's facial features are captured and transferred in real time to a 3D avatar - a digital representation of a person in a virtual environment. Once the technology was running smoothly, Jan Holthaus was able to start filming.
After that, an AR application that was specially developed for the automotive industry was then filmed. Headlights and other visual effects are projected onto a clay model of a Mercedes using the HoloLens. This technology enables designers and engineers to visualize various vehicle components and lighting designs in real time. Marius Butz, HoloLens expert at IIIX, was in front of the camera for the presentation of this project. Other members of the institute contributed to the smooth running of the project by lighting the scene and providing technical support.
Another highlight of the shoot was the use of the embodied agent “Tom”, an interactive digital assistant that playfully encourages passers-by to move. Tom will also be present at Research Contacts on November 7. This trade fair offers a platform for exchange between science and industry. Here, the university's research institutes present their latest projects and innovations to companies and experts in order to initiate possible collaborations and joint research projects. Further information can be found here.
Some scenes were also filmed to present the VR Campus, an immersive learning environment that was specially developed at IIIX. This virtual platform offers students and lecturers the opportunity to experience and design learning content in a multi-user interactive and three-dimensional environment.
The filming was concluded with a demonstration of the virtual balloon flight “Super Nubibus 1834” over historic Karlsruhe. This application is not only a crowd-puller thanks to the impressive VR environment, but also due to the multimedia presentation. It has already been exhibited at several trade fairs and at the ZKM.
Unfortunately, the iXperience Lab, the birthplace of this and many other projects, will have to be closed until March 2025 due to renovation work. We very much regret this temporary closure, as it will temporarily affect our work, but we hope to be fully operational again soon. Until then, however, the dedicated work of the IIIX will not stop - and we look forward to continuing with even more motivation and creativity once the lab reopens.
A big thank you goes to Jan Holthaus, our cameraman, who impressively staged the IIIX projects with patience and creativity. We would also like to thank the Institute's employees, whose commitment and support contributed to the success of the shoot. Thanks to their active help, the diverse range of innovative IIIX projects could be captured perfectly.