University of Portsmouth chooses Vicon’s leading VFX tracking solutions for its new ground-breaking Centre for Creative and Immersive Extended Reality
Vicon and University of Portsmouth partnership to support innovation in virtual, augmented and extended realities
Vicon, a world leader in motion capture, is pleased to announce that it has signed a contract with University of Portsmouth to help deliver the university’s new ground-breaking Centre for Creative and Immersive Extended Reality (CCIXR) — the UK’s first integrated facility to support innovation in the creative and digital technologies of virtual, augmented and extended realities.
This partnership will not only help students to build the skills needed for the rapidly emerging immersive and extended reality (XR) industries, but will also lower the barrier to entry for businesses who are looking to understand what XR is. The new Centre will be able to provide a compelling showcase for how these technologies — like virtual production, motion capture and location-based virtual reality (LBVR) – can benefit businesses, and will give organisations access to world leading facilities that would otherwise be out of their reach, or require significant budgets.
University of Portsmouth’s CCIXR Centre — a £5.2 million investment supported by Solent Local Enterprise Partnership and HM Government — will use Vicon’s flagship Vantage, Origin and Shogun tracking solutions, including 152 cameras across four of its 12 state-of-the-art XR laboratories for both teaching and commercial use. This includes the use of Vicon’s technology across its new motion capture, virtual reality (VR) and volumetric studios, as well as its LED virtual production stage.
Vicon’s tracking solutions will be used for a wide range of applications within the new Centre, including recorded and live performance capture for use in film, TV and games production and driving real-time characters and tracking objects and props for virtual production. In addition, the technology will also be used to develop location-based virtual reality (LBVR) experiences for entertainment and training purposes across several different sectors, including defence, maritime and construction.
Alex Counsell, University of Portsmouth, said: “Vicon has played a huge part in helping us to become the UK’s home of ground-breaking innovation in immersive XR technology. It’s important for us to be able to demonstrate to everyone coming into the Centre what creative technology can do for them in a rapidly advancing digital world. With Vicon’s technology at the heart of this project, the Centre will be able to become the very first establishment in the UK to bring the whole immersive pipeline together.
“We are very excited to continue working with Vicon to develop the future of XR — in all of its forms.”
Andy Ray, sales, marketing and support director, Vicon, commented: “The fact that one of the UK’s leading universities has selected our technology for this new game-changing XR centre is a huge testament to the strength of Vicon’s products.
“The University’s new facility will be central to the evolution of how emerging technologies like virtual reality and motion capture can be used, and we’re excited to be a part of helping students to learn new digital skills and support businesses to transform how they use XR technology in the future.”
Solent LEP Board Director SJ Hunt said: “The situation created by Covid-19 has seen an increased currency and a new resonance around digital skills and technologies. The University of Portsmouth’s CCIXR project is extremely relevant in supporting business agility going forward.
In recent months we have seen businesses becoming increasingly reliant on the digital world: Its relevance is firmly established in the minds of consumers. The services provided by the CCIXR are vital for businesses, especially whilst working remotely remains a theme of the economic recovery. The technological skills will help drive innovation and enhance businesses based in the Solent to be resilient to future shocks.”
The CCIXR will open officially in October 2021.
Vicon press contacts:
UK & ROW: Wildfire | [email protected] | +44 (0)208 408 8000
Americas: Walker Sands | [email protected] | +1-312-267-2939
CCIXR contact: [email protected]
Read more about the CCIXR here: https://www.port.ac.uk/research/research-centres-and-groups/ccixr
