• Charles Sturt’s eXtended Reality Centre (XRC) hosts first-ever industry consultation session in Wagga Wagga
• Session covered how the virtual reality capabilities can benefit external organisations and businesses
• Sixty delegates attended the session on Wednesday 11 December

Charles Sturt University’s (Charles Sturt) eXtended Reality Centre (XRC) demonstrated its cutting-edge abilities to 60 delegates at the centre’s first industry consultation event.

The XRC is spearheaded by the School of Communication and Creative Industries and involves using virtual and augmented reality to create simulations for training and research.

Charles Sturt students, staff and academics are already seeing how the centre can benefit research projects in terms of real-world testing simulations.

The industry consultation event explored how the centre can benefit external organisations.

Representatives from Pork Australia Ltd, Wagga Wagga City Council, Health and Arts Research Centre, Think Digital, Deakin University and Mercy Connect spoke about current research projects within their organisations.

XRC project lead Professor of Creative Industries in Wagga Wagga Professor Eleanor Gates-Stuart said the centre has the ability to take Charles Sturt “into the future” and organisers wanted to extend the opportunity to other businesses.

“We thought of how we could describe the kind of things we are doing and encourage partnerships to see what they want,” Professor Gates-Stuart said.

Professor Gates-Stuart said the centre is designed to operate on an interdisciplinary level, using immersive technologies and virtual reality to align research outcomes with the overall outcomes of the University.

“Creative industries tell stories and now we have the technology to take that story anywhere,” she said.

“We want to show that technology is a key factor in human life.”

Charles Sturt Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Michael Friend said collaborating with participants from a wide variety of reputable organisations presented exciting opportunities for the University.

“University staff and students are engaged in a variety of projects that will benefit from the capabilities of the XRC,” he said.

“Collaborating with industry, governments and community groups presents unique opportunities to increase the impact of projects by including different perspectives and expertise.

“I am excited to see the outcomes from today’s industry consultation and look forward to working with numerous agencies.”

The eXtended Reality Centre industry consultation afternoon was held at the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 11 December.