Formerly the HPC Lab, University of Salento

Imagine a way to see, sense, and share the intangible. It’s what happens when images become insight. And when experiences come to life. That’s what Barco is all about. In a world where data and rich content are expanding exponentially, we empower you with impressive visualization and innovative collaboration solutions to help you make meaningful connections. Barco's range of display systems for Virtual Reality, from Powerwalls, Immersive Cave environments, curved and reconfigurable displays, allow multiple people can access Barco's immersive environments at the same time, discussing ideas and taking decisions. Barco is a global technology leader that develops networked visualization solutions for the entertainment, enterprise and healthcare markets. Barco was founded in 1934, with global presence in >90 countries, +3.500 Employees are at the heart of Barco´s success. We help you get the most out of what you do every day. So together, we can create brighter outcomes, around the world.

As one of Ireland’s longest-running communications companies, Carr Communications has become a household brand name for media, public relations, communications, and business / management training and development. Its reputation for handling media crises and preparing people for media has become such that other Public Relations companies bring their clients to our TV and radio studios to help them prepare responses for difficult issues and interviews. The company's reputation for Career Development Services, including job interview training, is unparalleled. In recent times, the company established its Design and Digital Media unit, recognising the changing global landscape in communications.

One of three institutes which comprise CEA Tech, the List institute is committed to technological innovation in digital systems. Its R&D activities - driven by major economic, societal and industrial challenges - encompass four main themes: advanced manufacturing; embedded systems; ambient intelligence; and healthcare, including radiotherapy and imaging technologies.

CIRA, the Italian Aerospace Research Centre is a research company mainly of public ownership (Italian Ministry of Research - Italian Space Agency) with 370 employees, 200+ researchers, and a 167-hectars plant area in Capua (Caserta). CIRA deals with Aeronautics, Space, and Environment, and has world-unique testing facilities and labs among which the Plasma Wind Tunnel (hypersonic), the Icing Wind Tunnel (low-speed + ice). Its Virtual Reality Lab deals with the development of Virtual and Augmented Reality techniques, tools, and applications in relevant fields of the aeronautics and space sectors such as: • Human-centred design, ergonomics & comfort; • Design-for-maintainability, maintenance training, field assistance; • Human planetary exploration, familiarisation with harsh environments. R&D topics include: • Collaboration in a common VE; • Wireless, markerless, multi-person full-body tracking; • Physics-based realistic world behaviour and interaction.

CNR-STIIMA is the Institute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies and Systems for Advanced Manufacturing of the National Council of Research in Italy. The Institute’s strategic mission is the growth of competitiveness and sustainability of manufacturing in Italy and Europe through industrial innovation. The RTD activities of the institute aim at innovating products, processes and organisations in several research areas, by focusing on: mechatronic knowledge-based systems, robotics, multilayer adaptive control systems, microsystems, virtual prototyping, supply chain management, management and business paradigms. CNR-STIIMA acts as a strategic player in the continuously updated definition of the European, National and Regional vision on the manufacturing sector, through the participation in initiatives and platforms devoted to the formulation of new paradigms in the area of Manufacturing. CNR-STIIMA is in fact among the contributors who inspired the creation of the ManuFuture platform and is a founding member of the European Association for the Factories of the Future (EFFRA), which aims at the creation of a Contractual Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) within Horizon2020; under this respect CNR-STIIMA is among the authors of the EFFRA Strategic Multiannual Roadmap outlining the guidelines for European research and innovation activities in the manufacturing sector. CNR-STIIMA is also founder and is part of the management body of the National Cluster of Intelligent Factories in Italy (www.fabbricaintelligente.it) and of the Lombardy Intelligent Factory Cluster (AFIL - Associazione Fabbrica Intelligente Lombardia). Key-personnel of CNR-STIIMA is responsible for strategic roadmapping activities of both Clusters. CNR-STIIMA has active more than 20 EU projects in the areas of FOF, NMBP, ICT, SPIRE and CIRC and more than 10 national projects.

The Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) established in 1983, is one of the largest and most prestigious research centers of Greece with well-organized facilities and highly qualified personnel. It consists of six research institutes located in the periphery of Greece and over the years it has become one of the top European research centers. The Institute of Computer Science (ICS), one of FORTH’s institutes, has a long tradition in conducting basic and applied research, developing applications and products, and playing a leading role in Greece and internationally.

Fraunhofer IAO works together with companies and public-sector bodies and institutions to develop strategies, business models and solutions for digital transformation. The objective is to systematically optimize the ways in which people, organizations and technology interact. IAO focuses on the following key areas: Holistic approaches to work design and organization and corporate cultures; Pioneering solutions for human-machine interaction; Development and implementation of innovation and technology strategies; Application of virtual and augmented reality; Cognitive systems and artificial intelligence; Sustainable solutions for tomorrow’s mobility; System innovations for livable and adaptable cities.

G-SCOP is a multi-disciplinary laboratory to face scientific challenges driven by industry change. The laboratory acts on product design, production system management with a focus on optimisation capacities. Within the scope of industry 4.0 evolution it has a special focus on VR/AR deployment within industrial practices. The VISION-R platform is dedicated to research and teaching activities in the VR/AR domain. It supports partnership with companies to investigate practical deployment in professional practises.

The company Haption is a high-tech SME based in France, founded in 2001 as a spin-off of the French research center CEA LIST. We propose hardware and software solutions for physical interaction with force-feedback, with several application domains: Virtual Reality, virtual prototyping, medical training, as well as remote control. In the domain of Virtual Reality, our products reproduce the sense of touch, and thus contribute dramatically to the immersion of the users. Applications range from the simple exploration of virtual environments to the understanding of complex laws of physics (e.g. Van der Waals forces, special relativity), including psychophysical experiments as well as molecular docking and scientific visualization. Our customers include INRIA in France, KIT in Germany, the University of Birmingham in the UK, the University of Southern California in the USA, NAIST (Nara Institute of Science and Technology) in Japan, Beihang University in China, and many more.

Catapults are bridging the gap between business and academia, helping to turn great ideas into reality, by providing access to world-class research and development facilities and expertise that would otherwise be out of reach for many businesses in the UK. The HVM Catapult is the catalyst for the growth and success of UK advanced manufacturing. Our 7 centres offer access to world-class equipment, expertise and collaborative opportunities. We work with manufacturing businesses of all sizes and from all sectors. We help turn ideas into commercial applications by addressing the gap between technology concept and commercialisation.

I-SENSE, Intelligent System Engineering and Novel Simulations Environment Group is one of the Research Groups of the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) that consists of more than 30 researchers of various ranks. The I-SENSE Group is very active in a number of scientific and research areas with main application areas the Intelligent Transportation Systems, the Virtual Environments, the Assistive Technologies and the Smart Integrated Systems & Communication. Specifically in the areas of Virtual and Augmented Reality, I-SENSE interest and expertise lies on the VR/AR architecture development with extensive work in designing and implementing versatile anthropocentric applications for industrial use and training. I-SENSE group participates in National and European research initiatives and projects as well as in industrial projects and has a significant presence in the organisation of international Conferences in several areas of research including VR.

STIIMA-CNR continuously supports the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector by bringing innovation in the factory. The research and innovation activities on enabling technologies of STIIMA-CNR are organised in core competence areas, mastered by seven Research Departments. Such Departments cover complementary and synergic research domains, whose integration allows the definition of innovative factories, considering all the different aspects involved: from business model to logistics, systems, machines and devices. The enabling technologies and tools developed by the Research Departments are used to realise physical pilot factories, at the moment four, which represent valuable platforms to support industrial research and the transfer of research results to companies.

A Technological Centre dedicated to guiding and helping companies, institutions and individuals to take a step towards excellence through innovation and technological development that was previously unimaginable. ITAINNOVA is the Technological Institute of Aragon, a public Technology Centre whose mission is to help companies, technology leaders, institutions and anyone who shapes our society towards achieving a new future through innovation and technological development.

Irish Manufacturing Research exists to assist manufacturers adopt new technologies, typically TRLs 5 – 7. IMR allows businesses to take advantage of the outputs from academic research whilst minimizing the risk, though our state-of-the-art facilities in Ireland. IMR works closely with SMEs through to multinationals, across all manufacturing sectors, pharma, med-tech, electronics and precision engineering. If you have a footprint in Ireland, and are looking to implement new technology into your facility, we would love to hear from you.

Swing:It (SEITA), an IT SME born in 2010, specialized into high-level design and development of innovative software solutions. SEITA is devoted to cutting-edge activities to address most advanced R&D tasks fulfilling forefront needs of industries/scientific communities. Main field of operation is integration of Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality, 3D, Visualization solutions to Earth/Life Science, e-Health, tele-medicine, Transports, Virtual Museums/Cultural Heritage, Space and Satellites, ICT innovation. The company regularly contributes to EU funded projects (FP7, H2020, COSME) like EarthServer, Indigo Data-Cloud, EMSODev, EMSO-Link. It also provides Web 2.0 Applications/Portals, GIS, Native (iOS/Android) and cross-platform Mobile Applications, Networking, Virtualization, Grid/Cloud. SEITA also contributes to design, training, management, administrative, organizational activities. Company HQ is located in Catania (Italy). Main customers: Metropolitana Milano, Jacobs University, Moravia Consulting, University of Foggia, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Consorzio COMETA, University of Catania, INFN, Spacearth Technologies, INGV, ... SEITA patented VBrain, cognitive training system based on fully-/semi-immersive 3D VR.

Tallinn University of Technology (TTÜ), the only technological university in Estonia, is the flagship of Estonian engineering and technology education. Here the synergy between different fields (technological, natural, exact, economic and health sciences) is created and new ideas are born. TTÜ is to become one of the leading technological universities in the Baltic Sea region. Study and teaching is based on internationally recognised research and the graduates are highly rated on the labour market. The University’s approximately 70,000 alumni have shaped the economic landscape of present-day Estonia. TTÜ is in charge of nurturing the next generation of engineers and advancing engineering culture in Estonia, contributing to the sustainable development of the society and increased national prosperity with its innovative services. Our vision is innovative Estonia in a sustainable world.

The University of Malaga is located in the south of Spain and it was founded in 1972. Since then, it has grown quickly and nowadays it counts with more than 2400 professors, 35.000 students, 62 degrees, 53 Master's Programs and 278 research groups. The University of Malaga is an organisational member of EuroVR at a lab level, being the DIANA Research Group the involved team. They have been working for almost 20 years in in Virtual reality and 3D interaction in the following key areas: Immersive Virtual Reality, 3D interaction, 3D interaction with reduced DoF (web, portable devices), Binaural 3D audio rendering, Haptic interaction, Brain Computer Interfaces. The team has been involved in a number of national and European research projects, and they also participate in the steering committee of the Spanish association of human-computer interaction (AIPO).

The University of Twente (www.utwente.nl) works on themes with a large societal impact: health, water, green energy, safety and education, combining technological knowledge and innovation with behavioural and social academic research. In total UT employs more than 3000 persons and has about 10.000 students in 37 Master programs. The University of Twente has five powerful research institutes that convert scientific excellence to economic industriousness and social applications. In realizing the university’s ambition to connect ‘hi-tech’ to ‘human touch’, design plays an essential role in making technology available in a useful, efficient and meaningful way to individuals, organizations and society at large. By considering design as the interface between people and innovative technologies, design research at the University of Twente not only aims for societal acceptance of such new technologies, but also recognizes that design adds value by contributing to economic and technical progress. In hosting technology-based faculties and a behavioural sciences faculty (unique among the Dutch technical universities), the University of Twente harbours the ideal, multidisciplinary environment for connecting people with technology.

The entire academic cummunity’s commintment will help to enhance the Poznań University of Economics and Business’ high standing in research and education. As a leading economic school in Poland, the Poznan University of Economics and Business will strengthen its position in the international arena. In 2020 it will be a modern and a widely recognisable university which creates favourable conditions for conducting academic research and teaching undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students. Priority will be given to those research projects and those fields and forms of educational activity which boost the University’s PRESTIGE, provide a considerable opportunity to access sources of finance, and improve alumni’s chances in a competitive job market.

The Virtual Dimension Center (VDC) is Germany's leading competence network for virtual engineering. Technological suppliers, service providers, users, research facilities and multipliers work together in the VDC network along the entire value-added chain of virtual engineering in the fields of 3D simulation, 3D visualisation, product lifecycle management and virtual reality. The members of the VDC rely on a higher level of innovation and productivity through information and cost advantages.

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is the biggest multitechnological applied research organisation in Northern Europe. VTT provides high-end technology solutions and innovation services. From its wide knowledge base, VTT can combine different technologies, create new innovations and a substantial range of world class technologies and applied research services thus improving its clients’ competitiveness and competence. Through its international scientific and technology network, VTT can produce information, upgrade technology knowledge, create business intelligence and value added to its stakeholders.