ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
For the city , that heritage lingers in the imagination and in the landscape , as if Professor Moriarty – the criminal mastermind created by Doyle – haunts the city still and the chase to find him continues .
Recently , that heritage inspired a new way to explore the city . It takes the form of an augmented reality that lets you work with a fictional constabulary to seek out the wily Moriarty on a chase that is disguised as a guided tour of the city .
Dr Garner defines extended reality ( XR ) as the umbrella term for all the technology that allows an interplay between the real world and the power of computers to simulate worlds .
“ The delivery of this augmented reality only requires smartphones and GPS tracking of the participants ,” Dr Garner explains .
“ It allows a fascinating way to explore the intersection of Doyle ’ s biography , his storytelling and the city ’ s landscape and sounds . The innovation is not about technology , but how it is applied and the knowledge that is bundled into it ,” he says .
In redefining how XR is used , Dr Garner is abiding closely with CCIXR ’ s core remit : as the centre ’ s Technical Director , Alex Counsell , explains , innovation at CCIXR is not technology led . Instead , it focuses on exploring the technology ’ s creative possibilities and how that creativity can solve real-world problems .
“ One of our goals was to enable the broader community of content creators to have access to a full suite of XR technology and expertise – all housed under one roof ,” Counsell says .
“ Innovation then occurs by solving the various needs , goals and aspirations of the creators . The more diverse their needs , the better , as it will help build a deeper , more sophisticated set of capabilities around XR technology .”
Already partnering with CCIXR are artists , museums , heritage and preservation associations , education and training service providers , the defence sector , the R & D sector , medicine , film studios , theatre companies , gaming companies and industry , as well as community and cultural organisations .
In charge of facilitating access to CCIXR is Pippa Bostock , the Centre ’ s Business Director .
“ When you get past the technology ’ s links to gaming , there are a myriad of potential applications , from defence through to medicine and space science ,” she says .
“ We ’ re here to help organisations explore how the technology can enhance what they offer the world . That ’ s why we offer collaborative partnerships in which we work through the process of creating and delivering content in ways that meet their needs .”
Even then , that amounts to just half of the Centre ’ s overarching ambitions .
Training unicorns
The other half relates to opportunities for the University ’ s students to engage in the Centre ’ s various creative activities . Training covers the full complement of technical hardware and software that CCIXR has assembled to create XR content .
That includes facilities to capture performances using a blend of the real and the simulated , such as motion capture , volumetric video and photogrammetry technology . There are facilities for virtual reality and game development as well as digital communication and meeting spaces . Sound capture has its own facilities and the Centre houses a wide range of virtual reality headsets and haptic equipment .
ISSUE 04 / 2022 19