Facilities
Each lab in HCI@Viz has its own research space. Shared facilities infrastructure and equipment are listed below.
T.Make MakerSpace
The T.Make facility features three prototyping/Making capabilities: 1. Physical computing with electronics prototyping and testing; 2. 3D fabrication; and 3. Wearable and fabric-based construction.
- Electronics Prototyping: The physical computing facility supports 3 electronics construction stations with soldering, rework, prototyping boards, and power supply. The facility also supports electronic design and testing with a suite of signal generator, oscilloscope and digital analyzer capabilities.
- 3D Printing: The 3D fabrication capability is facilitated by a pair of Ultimaker 2 3D printers and a Glowforge 3D laser cutter. A Stratycys 3-material printer that is co-purchased with the College of Architecture through a CRI grant is housed in the woodshop just downstairs from the main 1,700 main lab. The laboratory infrastructure also includes standard small-scale woodworking and material working capabili- ties in the form of a Dremel, bench drill, and portable table-saw that is backed up by full access to the full-fledged woodshop downstairs.
- Fabrics Prototyping: The Fabrics prototyping and construction facility features a digitally-controlled embroidery machine, a high-end Serger sewing machine, and sewing supplies and accessories. This supports the construction of wearables with stretchable and conductive fabrics and the ability to embroi- der conductive fabric/thread patterns.
Motion Tracking Space
A 1000 sq ft facility in the Emerging Technologies Building houses an ‘enactment space’ that sports a motion capture suite with an 8-camera Optitrack system and a large screen for studies that involve motion tracking.
Data Capture Equipment
Several research labs in HCI@VIz maintains a data capture suite that includes 21 GoPros/SJCAM 4000 cameras, 28 Zoom H2 Quadraphonic voice recorders, and 21 camera tripods for data collection in user studies. Equipment can be checked out by students upon request for research studies.