We were delighted to have a full building at the WORKSHOP DISCUSSION on the topic of Virtual & Augmented Reality. Representatives from companies in the region spent the afternoon at the HSZG learning about the theory and practice of this new technology.

The event was hosted and organized by Matthias Schwarzbach from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and Tom Schneider from the Chamber of Crafts (HWK), in cooperation with staff from the Saxony⁵ knowledge transfer project.

Presentations by invited experts explained the fundamentals of various applications. Not only did Steffen Waurick from the IHK Dresden and Dr.-Ing. Philipp Klimant from the Technical University of Chemnitz give presentations on the topic, but so did Benjamin Wirth from Umwelt-Lufttechnik (ULT) AG in Löbau. Experts from the HSZG—Prof. Sophia Keil from the Faculty of Economics and Engineering and Steffen Härtelt from the Institute for Process Engineering, Process Automation, and Measurement Technology (IPM)—also contributed their expertise.

Afterward, participants were invited to grab a controller or a shovel, put on their VR headsets, and turn on their tablets. Using the VR headsets and accompanying controllers provided by Tom Schneider (HWK), they could playfully toss objects around in various virtual spaces. A sandbox-augmented reality combination invited participants to dig. In Egmont Schreiter’s (HSZG) sandbox, participants built not only high mountains but also volcanoes, which were then projected with contour lines and colored.
The VR headset by Steffen Härtelt (IPM) is very practical, as it grants access to the virtual Zittau power plant laboratory. Virtual industrial components, such as valves, piping systems, and much more, could be taken apart and put back together to be admired in 3D.

Matthias Herrmann’s VR headset also allowed users to view machine components. Some even had time to dance with a robot through both the virtual and real spaces.

A big thank you also to the custodians for their help with setting up and taking down the event!

Text: Kristin Wappler