University of Tasmania, Australia

Human Interface Technology Laboratory (HITLab) Australia 2010 Electives in Virtual Reality/Creative Media Technology

 

The new inaugural director of the HITLab AU, Associate Professor Aaron Quigley has announced details of four of the HITLab units which can be taken as electives in 2010. In welcoming applications for new enrollments, Associate Professor Quigley said "The HITLab draws from core academic disciplines and hope to draw students from a broad range of inter-disciplinary areas. We are shortly to advertise 5 new PhD student scholarships along with hiring new staff and announcing new funded international research projects we are involved with. To help grow our local cohort of students ready to take on the future research, development, employment opportunities we are now looking for undergraduates from across the University to join us in our taught units."

The HIT Lab in the School of Computing & Information Systems at Launceston is unique in Australia and one of only three similar teaching and research centres in the world including the HITLab US and the HITLab NZ.

Today computing has evolved from the notion of a computer as a single device into that of computing spaces comprising personal and peripheral computing elements and services all connected and communicating as required. As a result, one of the greatest challenges we now face is to teach, research and develop next generation user interfaces to connect the human mind with these spaces, both in terms of new inputs and outputs to and from them.

In 2010 the HIT Lab is offering four exciting units for undergraduates that are available as electives to students from any course:

• KXH141: Virtual Reality Technology (semester 1) This unit explores the field of virtual reality and other technologies for interfacing humans to complex machines. Our HITLab VisionSpace is used in teaching and consists of a three-screen immersive stereo projection system enabling groups of people to view and interact intuitively with virtual 3D objects and environments. This is an introductory unit with no pre-requisites and prior computing knowledge is not required.
• KXH241: User Interface Design (semester 1) KXH241 incorporates the teaching of both software and hardware aspects required to build tools that can extend both our bodies and minds. Here we cover topics including visual interfaces, acoustic and haptic modalities. Combining both lectures and laboratory experience students who complete this unit will be able to understand human and machine processes to realise user interface elements with advanced media technologies. This is an introductory unit with no pre-requisites and prior computing knowledge is not required.
• KXH142: Augmented Reality Technology (semester 2) This unit is an introduction to augmented reality technology – an emerging teaching and research field that involves creating experiences where virtual objects are seamlessly merged with the real world. Students who undertake this unit will develop the skills to develop their own AR interfaces. This is an introductory unit with no pre-requisites and prior computing knowledge is not required.
• KXH242: Fundamentals of Interactive Entertainment (semester 2) This unit first offered in 2010 provides students with an understanding and overview of interactive entertainment and new media from the perspective of the developer, storyteller, designer, artist and audience. Students who take this unit will be able to apply the theories, tools and techniques to create and analyse that can be told as digital interactive games, animated films, immersive experiences and mixed reality systems. This is an introductory unit with no pre-requisites and prior computing knowledge is not required.

These units provide exciting opportunities for students to explore creative and applied projects based on real world problems and utilising cutting edge technologies - technologies that can create a new virtual sensory experience for people without actually being in the situation, or augment the physical environment with virtual objects.

Our HITLab website provides more details on all our of units and degree programs along with our expanding research program. You can also hear what some of our 2009 students in Arts, Science, Education, Contemporary Arts and other courses said about their HIT study here.

Contact information: enquiries@hitlab.utas.edu.au URL: http://www.hitlab.utas.edu.au