Carnegie Mellon University has opened a new space dedicated to the research and development of augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies thanks in part to financial backing from PNC and Fujitsu.
With the launch of the Extended Reality Technology Center (XRTC), researchers and industry experts will be able to enhance the development of this tech and provide curriculum materials for those looking to implement it. It'll also serve as a location to drive consumer and business adoption of these products, which are already being used across industries like communications, health care and entertainment, among many others.
"XR technologies will allow us to mix the digital world and the real world in ways that will improve how we work, play, learn, connect, and care for ourselves and others," Fernando De La Torre, one of three co-directors of the XRTC and an associate research professor at CMU's Robotics Institute, said in a statement. "This is happening now. The technology is not yet mature, but the breakthrough is going to happen in the next five to 10 years, and CMU will be there when it happens."
For now, the XRTC is based out of lab and office space within CMU's School of Computer Science on its Oakland campus. Eventually, the XRTC will be housed inside CMU's 150,000-square-foot Robotics Innovation Center in Hazelwood Green, which is set to begin construction before year's end. Upon its opening, the XRTC will include a large-scale capture space of 2,500 square feet and 225 square feet will be dedicated to an immersive experience studio, among other amenities.
PNC Financial Services Group Inc. is one such adoptee of this kind of technology and is using it for business and customer interactions. That's why it, alongside Japanese multinational firm Fujitsu, is backing the facility and will gain direct access to the space and its research as both companies serve as the center's initial sponsors. Sponsorships range in price from $50,000 one-year base level to the $400,000 three-year founding-level.
"Virtual reality has so many potential applications and is such an exciting space for those of us at PNC interested in the 'art of the possible,'" Michael Degnan, head of enterprise innovation at PNC, said in a statement. "As part of our ongoing efforts to work collaboratively with CMU to advance our headquarters city of Pittsburgh as a center of technological innovation, we see this investment in the XRTC as the establishment of a new, regional space for discovery that will help many."
In addition to De la Torre's leadership, the XRTC is also led by co-directors and CMU associate professors Kris Kitani and David Lindlbauer.
