Immersive Technology through Arts and Humanities Research

Join us for an online event hosted by the AHRC, in partnership with AHRC’s Wales and South West Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) Cluster
The Lantern Room by Raucous being tested at Bristol+Bath Creative R+D Showcase, Photography – Jon Aitken
The Lantern Room by Raucous being tested at Bristol+Bath Creative R+D Showcase, Photography – Jon Aitken

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Join Professor Chris Bennewith , Executive Dean, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business and other leading researchers for insights on immersive technologies, impact and inclusion.
Learn more about what Arts and Humanities researchers in Wales and the South West are doing to support the immersive technologies through their AHRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) funded projects.
From digitally controlled immersive art, to AI Tools for Games and XR Storytelling, to using virtual worlds to transform learning in visual journalism, we will hear from a breadth of speakers who are using their research to have impact in the fields of immersive technologies throughout the region.
This is the second in a series of events on topics where we would like to celebrate some of the fantastic work supported through the IAAs and facilitate cross institution and interdisciplinary collaboration.
The session will be chaired by Paul Clarke, Associate Professor of Performance and Creative Technologies from the University of Bristol.

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We will hear short presentations from the following speakers, followed by questions:

R&D Pipelines for Creative Industries SMEs

Chris Bennewith, Executive Dean Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business, University of Plymouth
Professor Chris Bennewith has been working with Squidsoup, who are pioneers in the use of light, sound, technology and space to create cutting-edge immersive XR experiences, for over 20 years. Under the leadership of Dr Anthony Rowe, Squidsoup have successfully conceptualised and created multiple artworks which have been heralded as world leading in their field and have been exhibited internationally in esteemed galleries and festivals. Squidsoup’s work focuses on the creation of digitally controlled immersive installation art, but they also have a track record in using an arts-based approach in the development of new and novel experiences in the areas of live music and stage productions.

ViewfindR – using virtual worlds to transform learning in visual journalism

Savyasaachiu Jain, School of Journalism, Media and Culture and Daniel Finnegan, School of Computer Science and Informatics, Cardiff University
ViewfindR is a software teaching tool – a camerawork simulator for teaching creative decision-making skills to students of visual journalism and documentary. Developed as part of an interdisciplinary Journalism-Computer Science project, it is the first tool of its kind for students to develop their “director’s eye” in virtual 3-D environments. This initiative created the framework to allow potential users in HE and the creative industries to remotely access our innovative software-based camerawork simulator and discover the benefits of enlarged scope, improved learning experience and efficiencies that it offers for the teaching of creative decision-making in visual journalism.

Accessibility as a first principle in immersive exhibition

Verity McIntosh, Professor of Virtual and Extended Realities, University of the West of England, Bristol
Watershed and Verity McIntosh worked together in the build up to the launch of immersive gallery space – Undershed. Building on previous research, they explored the particular needs of artists and audiences in the presentation of immersive artworks. Together they developed an approach to experience design that centres access and inclusion for all users of the space.

AI Tools for Games and XR Storytelling

Harry Wilson, Bristol Digital Game Lab, University of Bristol
The rise in the accessibility of AI tools such as Large Language Models (GPT, Gemini, Llama) or text-to-image generators (Dall-E, Midjourney, Nightcafe, Stable Diffusion) poses questions for the Video Games and Extended Reality (XR) industries. Many existing AI Tools (such as GPT, Runway, Skybox AI) could empower creative practitioners from these industries to tell compelling stories in exciting new formats but these tools risk reducing the available work in these sectors, not to mention urgent debates around the ethical, political and IP implications of utilising AI tools to create new artistic work. This project seeks to bring together creative technologists, experienced AI artists and early career artists from the immersive and games industries to explore the possibilities and problems of collaborating with AI in the production of XR stories.
This event is organised by AHRC's S-West Impact Acceleration Account Cluster. The South West Universities in receipt of Arts and Humanities Research Council's (AHRC), Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAA). The universities in the Cluster are: University of Bristol, University of the West of England (UWE), Cardiff University, University of Plymouth, Bath Spa University, University of Exeter and Swansea University.
 

Event photography and video

Please be aware that some of the University of Plymouth's public events (both online and offline) may be attended by University staff, photographers and videographers, for capturing content to be used in University online and offline marketing and promotional materials, for example webpages, brochures or leaflets. If you, or a member of your group, do not wish to be photographed or recorded, please let a member of staff know.