We were delighted to welcome a full house at the WERKSTATTGESPRÄCH on the topic of virtual & augmented reality. Representatives from companies in the region used the afternoon to learn about the theory and practice of this new technology at the HSZG.

The event was invited and organized by Matthias Schwarzbach from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and Tom Schneider from the Chamber of Crafts (HWK) in cooperation with employees from the ^Saxony5 knowledge transfer project.

Presentations by invited experts explained the basics of various applications. For example, not only Steffen Waurick from the Dresden Chamber of Industry and Commerce and  Dr.-Ing. Philipp Klimant from Chemnitz University of Technology, but also Benjamin Wirth from Umwelt-Lufttechnik (ULT) AG in Löbau spoke on the topic. The experts at the HSZG, Prof. Sophia Keil from the Faculty of Economics and Engineering and Steffen Härtelt from the Institute of Process Engineering, Process Automation and Measurement Technology (IPM) also contributed their specialist knowledge.

Afterwards, it was time on site: controller or shovel in hand, VR glasses on, and tablet on. Using the VR goggles and corresponding controllers from Tom Schneider (HWK), visitors could playfully throw objects around in various virtual rooms. A sandbox-augmented reality combination invited visitors to dig. In the Sand Box by Egmont Schreiter (HSZG), volcanoes were built alongside high mountains and provided with contour lines and colored by projection.
The VR glasses by Steffen Härtelt (IPM), which give visitors access to the virtual Zittau power plant laboratory, are very practical. Virtual industrial components such as valves, piping systems and much more could be taken apart and assembled in 3D.

Matthias Herrmann's VR glasses were also used to view machine components. For some, there was still time to dance through virtual and real space with a robot.

A big thank you also to the janitors for their help in setting up and dismantling!

Text: Kristin Wappler