Digital media design resources

Immersive Media Laboratory

Advanced digital, immersive visualisation resources to support creative ideation, prototyping and product development.

The Immersive Media Laboratory provides facilities for 3D scanning and motion capture as well as a black box space to experiment with augmented (AR), mixed (MR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. The space offers an opportunity for experimentation and interdisciplinary collaboration and is open to testing new games, products, immersive experiences, educational innovations and medical simulations to name a few uses. We welcome creative interdisciplinary collaborations from all sectors wishing to experiment with AR, MR and VR.

Discover our Digital Fabrication and Immersive Media Laboratories (DFIML)

IBM Smarter Planet Lab

The IBM Smarter Planet Lab is an innovative collaboration between the BA/BSc (Hons) Digital Media Design course, i-DAT (the Digital Art & Technology research group) and information technology giant IBM.

The Lab is the first of its kind and consists of a specifically developed software and hardware system to experiment in the new field of ‘The Internet of Things’, exploring how this is transforming our relationship with the world, building a more sustainable and stable planet. The system connects open source Arduino boards, radio-frequency identification (RFID) and sensor systems and the enterprise IBM server platform.

The partnership includes workshops (run with IBM visiting lecturers and experts), placement opportunities for DAT students, and the Smarter Planet Award Prize for the best final year project using IBM technologies in the context of the smarter planet vision.

Immersive Vision Theatre

See your projects realised in surround sound and vision.

Plymouth's old William Day Planetarium (built in 1967) has been reborn as a 40 seat Immersive Vision Theatre (IVT). The 'Full Dome' architecture now houses a powerful high-resolution projector fitted with a 'fish eye' lens to wrap data, models, video and images around its inner surface. A second, even higher resolution, ultra-high contrast projector focuses an intensely detailed cutaway. The 10 speaker spatialised audio system enables the modelling of acoustic environments as well as playback through virtual speakers - more speakers than physically exist. The IVT is used for a range of activities and projects, from cross-disciplinary teaching to cutting edge research in modelling and visualisation.

Arch-OS

Arch-OS is an ‘Operating System’ for contemporary architectures, which has been developed to represent the dynamic life of a building. The systems (integrated hardware and software) incorporate a range of embedded technologies to capture audio-visual and raw digital data from a building through a variety of sources which include:

• the Building Energy Management System (BEMS)
• computer and communications networks
• the flow of people and social interactions
• ambient noise levels
• environmental conditions

This data is then manipulated and replayed through audio-visual projection systems incorporated within the fabric of the building and broadcast externally using streaming internet and FM radio technologies. By making the invisible and temporal aspects of a building tangible, Arch-OS creates a rich and dynamic set of opportunities for research, educational and cultural activities, as well as providing a unique and innovative work environment.

Digital Print Hub and paper store

The Digital Print Hub specialises in high-quality printing from 6 inch (152 mm) photos from our self-service kiosk through to the 44 inch (1110 mm) large format printers covering an ultra-wide colour gamut.

The faculty paper store is housed next to the Digital Print Hub and stocks a wide range of paper, fabric, sign making vinyl, bookbinding materials and print sundries used in the adjoining print studios.