The engineers of tomorrow will use virtual reality and other immersive technologies as routine tools in their work. Some of the most best-known schools of engineering are already adding VR and AR to their curriculum. At the same time, their students are already familiar with them through hands-on interactions.
A well-known engineering school, NYU Tandon, is sharing the best projects developed by its students at their annual event. The Integrated Digital Medial (IDM) Showcase has reached the 5th edition and will take place at the university campus in Brooklyn.
What Will Visitors See at the IDM Showcase?
For this year’s event, Tandon School of Engineering selected over 60 projects developed by students using immersive technology. These projects are not just theoretical examples of how XR technology works, but have practical, everyday applications.
Indeed, the spirit of the IDM Showcase event is to show visitors how engineers of tomorrow will transform our lives using the latest technologies. After all, the mission of NYU Tandon School of Engineering is:
“To generate ideas and build solutions for a healthier, safer, better-connected, and more sustainable world.”
Thus, participants at the 2019 edition of the Integrated Digital Media Showcase will discover projects that aim to improve life and create opportunities for people with special challenges.
Some of This Year’s Projects: Helping Visually Impaired People and Dealing with Death
Although the topics seem to have little to do with immersive technologies, a detailed presentation will show visitors otherwise.
For instance, Ankita Deshpande’s SeeUX project uses XR technology to help visually impaired people work in prototyping and product design. The blind-friendly prototyping tool uses immersive technology that enables the user to interact with a digital model and edit it.
On a more personal level, Debbi Litt developed a digital platform that aims to help people speak openly about death. She chose the name Mourning Routine for the platform. Using modern immersive technologies, the student wants to recreate the old tradition of dealing with the end of life in the intimacy of the family.
However, not all the projects at IDM Showcase deal with these kinds of serious issues. For instance, Silver Ratio, developed by Robert Ruth, will allow the audience to participate actively in a musical performance. Using touch-sensitive patch points, they can change the instrumentation and even the visuals of the performance.
What Do These Projects Say About the Future of Engineering?
The IDM Showcase is, first of all, a celebration of the students’ enthusiasm at creating engineering projects. Some of these projects may develop into real life products and services, some may not.
However, they show that the future of education in almost all fields is closely connected with the use of immersive technology. And the sooner students learn how to use these modern tools, the more proficient they will be in their work.
As NYU Tandon shows, students are eager to embrace the latest technologies and find creative ways to put them to work. As more engineers learn to incorporate AR and VR in their work, we can expect a safer world, with better products.
The NYU Tandon IDM Showcase is taking place today, May 17, at 6 pm, at the 2 Metrotech Center in Brooklyn. The students and professors who created these projects will be there to help you understand how it works.
Of course, we’ll be attending as well. See you there!
