‘Immersive Tech Week’ at The Digital Hub brings Virtual and Augmented Reality experiences to Dublin 8

The Digital Hub will this week be hosting an Immersive Tech Week from November 14th – 20th. Open to all, the events of this week will be focused on learning and gaining hands-on experience with the latest in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technology and how it can be applied to everyday experiences.

At the launch event taking place on Thursday evening 14 November in The Digital Exchange building at The Digital Hub, guests will hear a series of short talks about the past, present and future of immersive technology in business and the arts and experience VR and AR technology first hand.

Commenting on the Immersive Tech Week, Rodhán Hickey, The Digital Hub’s Technologist-in-Residence, who is spearheading the week’s events said: “Immersive technology is really taking off and will have a massive impact on all industries, on education, healthcare, the arts, entertainment – everything. The Digital Hub’s Immersive Tech Week will allow us to showcase the technology to everyone who works here, as well as to the local community and to the wider public.

“Of all the emerging technologies that I discuss with people in my role as Technologist-in- Residence, VR and immersive tech are the ones that excite people the most. I’m delighted that Immersive Tech Week will allow more people to experience and explore the medium and will hopefully inspire someone to go on and create something amazing.”

Throughout the week, visitors will have the opportunity to visit the public exhibit featuring the TiNK AR, an augmented reality treasure hunt game, which was developed by Stephen Coyle, a TU Dublin Creative Digital Media graduate and recipient of the Dept. Graduate Innovation Award. The TiNK AR game blends the virtual world with the physical environment around you, taking the fun of an old treasure hunt and bringing it to the 21st century. Using the game’s App, players must help the engineer who is trapped inside his machine by collecting the missing parts that are hidden around the building, getting virtual hints to where they might be along the way.

The exhibit forms part of The Digital Hub’s partnership with the Technological University Dublin based in Blanchardstown, which aims to showcase the work of emerging young artists like Stephen, providing a platform for them to engage with the public and others in the digital arts sector.

Speaking in relation to his work, digital artist Stephen Coyle said: “TiNK AR started as a project for my final year in college. Augmented Reality interested me because I liked the idea of creating an experience which could blend the virtual world with the physical world. Having no prior experience with AR, it was a big risk having to learn from scratch using online tutorials and forums but I wanted to challenge myself to create something unique, and I’m glad I did.

“It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to be part of Immersive Technology Week at The Digital Hub. Events like this encourage people to think outside the box and push the boundaries of what can be created using new tech like this.”

In addition to the TiNK AR Treasure Hunt exhibit, visitors to The Digital Hub’s Immersive Tech Week will also have the opportunity to don an Oculus Quest virtual reality headset and experience a range of VR demos from epic rollercoaster rides to fighting in heavyweight boxing matches, from journeys into space, right back down to earth to visit a refugee camp. To help users remember the experience, visitors can collect stamps in a “VR Passport” each time they complete an experience from a specific category including Getting Started, Adventure, Empathy, Gaming and Education.

Families from the local Dublin 8 community are particularly encouraged to pre-book and attend the exhibit on Saturday which will be open for the VR and AR experience.

Other highlights planned for Immersive Tech Week include a series of workshops that will be open to people of all ages and include:

— The Making of Look ARound, in association with Xcake

Xcake, the long-running meetup for the Apple developer community in Dublin, will be hosted by The Digital Hub this month where Rodhán Hickey will talk about the making of the Look ARound educational AR app which uses ARKit, machine learning and other advanced techniques to engage students and bring historical local landmarks to life.

— Intro to Immersive Technology for Business

Camille Donegan (Virtual Reality Ireland, XR Dublin) will present the latest information on what is currently hot in immersive technology and how you should be using it in your business today.

— First Steps in VR for Visual Artists

Digital Hub Artist-in-Residence Kate Nolan shares her research into artists using VR and her beginner steps getting started in the medium.

— Creating Virtual Worlds for the Oculus Quest

In this workshop, Hugh McCabe from TU Dublin will introduce participants to creating Virtual Reality (VR) content for the Oculus Quest. As well as getting to experience VR using the new Quest headset, participants will be introduced to a simple workflow for creating their own VR content using freely available software tools.

The Digital Hub is home to a growing cluster of creative digital media companies that are increasingly adopting VR and AR technologies to provide new and enhanced offerings to their customers.

To learn more about Immersive Tech Week and pre-book your VR experience on the Oculus Quest headset, please see: www.thedigitalhub.com/immersivetech