Laboratory

Virtual & Augmented Reality

About the Laboratory

The aim of the laboratory is to develop and apply virtual and augmented reality and the related innovative technologies, work methods, tools and equipment in various fields of industry, science, education and social life in Bulgaria and other EU countries.

Activities

Current Activities
  • Training, research and correction three-dimensional models of products and equipment in true to scale immersive environment using natural interaction techniques for visual verification of the structure and properties of objects and integration of tactile feedback and sound effects for the purposes of rapid development of systems and support in decision-making.
  • Development and practical application of methods for collaboration and integration of systems for virtual reality in the overall life-cycle management of the product directly into virtual reality systems and implementation of an effective information exchange between CAD software and systems for virtual and augmented reality.
  • Development and practical application of methods for virtual prototyping based on the collaboration of software for engineering analysis and simulation systems for virtual and augmented reality.
  • Development and practical application of the methods for virtual video conferencing services and virtual product presentation.
  • Using an artificially created multimodal virtual learning environment (arena) with different levels of immersion along with the development of relevant scenarios and narratives.
  • Multi-modal presentation, exploration and extraction of information from big data mining, 3D screenings of presentations, videos and simulations.
  • Development and practical implementation of virtual videoconferencing and virtual product presentation methods.

Services and Equipment

Services
  • Overall development of interactive XR applications (including system, UXUI and software design and implementation)
  • RD activities in XR, visualization and interaction paradigms
  • Design and construction of XR systems (including multi-component systems)
  • Integration of XR applications with existing systems
  • Content creation (3D model development, rigging and animation, 3D reconstruction, environment and lighting design, and more)
  • Training and courses
Equipment
  • Immersive stereoscopic wall with breakable wing and optical tracking system
  • Passive stereoscopic monitor with optical tracking zSpace
  • XR standalone and PC devices, see-through and pass-through MR devices (Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro, Pimax Crystal, HoloLens2, Magic Leap 2, HTC Vive and HTC Vive Pro, Pico 4)
  • Interface devices – Kinect v2, LeapMotion
  • Stereoscopic camera ZED-Mini
  • Photographic equipment for photogrammetry
  • iOS and Android devices with AR support

Scientific Publications

Related Scientific Publications
No related scientific publications found.

Management

Dimo Chotrov, PhD

Technical University – Sofia
Head of the laboratory

Scientific Areas:

Virtual and Augmented Reality, Human-Machine Interaction, Software Engineering

History:

PhD in the field of virtual application integration reality (VR) and computer-aided design (CAD).

Teaches courses in Programming, Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality at the Technical University of Sofia.

Participant in numerous international and national research and applied projects.