XR (extended reality)

XR is a developing technology in diverse fields. From education, research, medical education to defence is using XR. What are the possibilities, opportunities, and applications of extended reality for education and research?

XR can be a very good way to create special learning experiences for students.

From the publication XR in Education

XR Developer Network

Are you working on eXtended Reality (XR) within education or research? And would you like to take your knowledge and experience of XR to the next level or share your knowledge with others? Then join SURF's XR Developer Network.

The XR Developer Network is a community of people who are interested in the topic of XR within education and/or research and want to exchange technical knowledge with each other. This group focuses on the technical side of XR to complement the existing communities around eXtended Reality.

The aim of this network is to bring people together to share knowledge and exchange experience so that we raise the technological knowledge level of XR. In this way, we want to take the use of XR for education and research in the Netherlands to a higher level. The network is not tied to a specific application domain or sector. Nor do you need to have technical knowledge to participate.

We feel there is much to be gained by coming together, learning from and inspiring each other, discussing (shared) challenges related to technology, XR developments or even developing together. In short, we are building a thriving community, currently the network has about 50 members from different institutions and sectors.

Activities

The XR Developer Network organises a series of meetings each year, both online and on-site. On-site meetings allow you to meet in person and provide opportunities for demos. Keep an eye on this page for updates.

28-02-2024	Responsible XR workshop (John Walker, SURF) Try-a-device (Lenovo ThinkReality VRX, REAL Air 2 Pro, Magic Leap 2)
25-05-2024	The Godot game engine and XR (Bastiaan Olij, Lead XR Developer Godot Engine)
01-11-2024	Can My WiFi Handle the Metaverse? A Performance Evaluation Of Meta's Flagship Virtual Reality Hardware (Jesse Donkervliet, VU) Results of the brainstorm sessions on the Npuls AppStore (Jeroen Kelder, Npuls) Try-a-Device (Lynx R-1, Varjo XR-4)

XR Innovation Forum

To stay in touch, share knowledge and discuss outside the meetings, we use the XR Innovation Forum.

This is an online discussion platform that you can log in to with SURFconext, even if you are not a member of the XR Developer Network.

Want to become a member?

You do not need to have a technical background to become a member! The only condition is that your institution is a member of SURF. Join and mail to xr@surf.nl to join the network. We will then keep you informed of future activities.

Would you like to contribute?

We aim to announce the topic of the next meeting(s) some time in advance so that we can find appropriate speakers. If you would like to present on a planned topic, or have other suggestions for topics, please get in touch.

Apart from that, there is always room to introduce other types of activities (such as a demo session, a hackathon, etc.). We would love to hear your ideas and discuss them further.