Thuringia MOTIVation supports the establishment of CAVE with more than €660,000
Thuringia is so innovative: Scientists at the Technical University of Ilmenau are setting up a large-scale spatial visualization environment in the new university computer center building—known in professional circles as Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE for short).
By projecting images onto four walls and the floor of the room, a virtual environment is to be created that almost completely encloses the user and transports them into a new virtual reality. A room-spanning installation of loudspeakers also creates a spatial-auditory illusion that further intensifies the fusion of virtual and analogue experience. This enables new research projects such as the simulation of real situations or movement science investigations. CAVE should be able to start its work in spring 2025.
Thuringia is funding the equipment for this project with 662,400 euros from funds from the FTI-Thuringia Research programme (co-financed by the ERDF), which is part of the "Thuringia MOTIVation" funding umbrella brand. "With digitalization, the importance of virtual worlds continues to increase. It is therefore only logical that research on these topics is also gaining momentum. At the TU Ilmenau, where there is even a separate department on virtual worlds and digital games, this research is in very good hands," says State Secretary Dr. Katja Böhler.
"The new CAVE will be a laboratory that is unique in Germany in the research center 'Ilmenau Interactive Immersive Technologies Center (I3TC)' of the TU Ilmenau. This enables us scientists to research novel applications based on virtual reality and evaluate them with users. Through the use of forward-looking technology, the CAVE will be one of the most modern facilities of its kind in Germany," says Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Broll of the TU Ilmenau.
Background:
Thuringia is a leading location for innovation. The Free State has set itself the goal of consistently strengthening the topic of innovation. Thüringen MOTIVation, launched in May, is therefore a unique program in Germany that brings together innovation funding in the fields of business, science, and research. The package comprises funding of €850 million. This also includes co-financing from the European Union. It offers the opportunity to receive tailored funding from the initial research idea to the finished product. This allows scientific discovery and entrepreneurial activity to go hand in hand. More information is available online at https://wirtschaft.thueringen.de/innovationsfoerderung.