Digital Catapult NETV Immersive Lab: 1 year on!

The Digital Catapult North East Tees Valley Immersive Lab was created as part of a network of cutting-edge innovation hubs, existing to support the learning, testing and showcasing of immersive tech solutions. As we approach one year since the opening launch, now seems a good time to reflect on the journey so far…

Originally based in the Northern Design Centre, Gateshead, the Immersive Lab welcomed over 70 attendees to the launch back in November 2017, which coincided with the hugely popular VRTGO conference and expo. The launch featured VR demos from some of the region’s top immersive content creators, including Animmersion, Coatsink, Hedgehog Lab, Luminous Group and Wolf & Wood.  

Since then the NETV Immersive Lab has engaged with over 130 organisations and 750 individuals - from academics to accountants, manufacturers to museums - supporting a diverse range of immersive project. The Lab is home to Reality Zero One’s capture platform, which was used by Northumberland National Park as part of a pilot project to create ultra-realistic, 3D versions of Iron Age pots and other artefacts, which can now be viewed digitally, in incredible detail by the public.

It was in August this year we made the big move (albeit next door) into PROTO: The Emerging Technology Centre, marking an exciting new chapter. As well as being part of Digital Catapult NETV and home to the Immersive Lab, PROTO boasts 188m2 of R&D space, motion capture stage, sound recording studio, 3D capture stage and film and TV studio.

More recently, the Immersive Lab supported the first Digital Catapult NETV Digital Manufacturing Programme, which supported a range of SME manufacturers to understand the application of immersive technologies in their own business, get hands on with demos and explore specific use cases.

The Digital Catapult NETV Immersive Lab is available for organisations of all sizes, sectors and existing knowledge to get involved, enabling teams to get to grips with the basics, experience content and understand applications relevant to their industry.

Interested to know more? We’d love to hear from you!

immersive-lab-netv@digicatapult.org.uk

@DigiCatNETV #ImmersiveLabNETV