The Data Experiences and Visualizations Studio (DEV Studio) is a research program exploring how novel interfaces between physical and virtual space can be used in research, teaching, art, and dissemination. The DEV Studio studies tools to recreate real-world objects virtually, interfaces that express virtual spaces beyond the screen, and visualizations that make abstract data relatable. It incorporates technology often found in VR labs, maker spaces, art studios, museums, data warehouses, and more.
The DEV Studio is a collaboration between staff, faculty, and students. DEV Studio staff are consultants drawn from learning designers, research programmers, data curators, disciplinary experts, and librarians who help scholars express their ideas in new technological modalities. The staff and faculty who participate in the DEV Studio apply their expertise on computational modeling of the physical world to a wide array of interdisciplinary questions. Students who commit to a multiple-term affiliation with the DEV Studio learn hands-on skills in 3D design, software development, multimodal interaction, and mediated communication.
The DEV Studio was created in response to demand for better representation of spatial data and assets in academic computing. Examples of these initiating projects include:
- Recreating historic sites that no longer exist in virtual reality
- Displaying real-time cartograms on a 3D globe
- Building accessible alternatives to site visits for geology students
- 3D printing housings for sensor interfaces
- 3D printing artifacts for biomedical and engineering study
- Visualizing large data sets as navigable spatial objects
Technologies being integrated into research and teaching by the DEV Studio include:
- Virtual and augmented reality
- Full-body motion capture
- Projection mapping and immersive displays
- 360 video and positional audio
- Photogrammetry, structured light, and LiDAR object scanning
- Haptic interfaces and wearables
Following a construction delay due to COVID-19, the DEV Studio is now launching its new space during the Fall term of 2020. While we all wait, the DEV Studio has been working on projects bringing XR into the classroom and lab; and more often, bringing the classroom and lab to you as we explore options for remote connections using XR platforms. We look forward to seeing you all in person as soon as it is safe to do so!
