University of Rochester students are innovating with augmented and virtual reality in exciting ways. As highlighted in an article by Luke Auburn, Director of Communications for the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences:
Could augmented or virtual reality be the key to debugging robotic systems for medical procedures? Can AR/VR help improve classroom engagement and interaction? Can it be used to teach piano?
This semester, dozens of University of Rochester students set out to answer these questions—and many more—as part of the Introduction to Augmented and Virtual Reality class taught by Daniel Nikolov, an adjunct professor and research engineer at the Institute of Optics.
Spanning optics, computer science, brain and cognitive sciences, and other disciplines, the students not only received a holistic look at the rapidly developing technologies but also got a chance to use the latest hardware including Meta Quest headsets and Snap Spectacles. The immersive experiences that emerged were then presented in a transdisciplinary showcase at the Mary Ann Mavrinac Studio X.
Students developed creative applications using Meta Quest headsets and Snap Spectacles, such as language-learning tools that label real-world objects, piano tutors, medical object trackers for operating rooms, and VR-controlled robotic arms for remote ultrasounds.
One student, Anakin de la Cruz Flecha ’25 (biomedical engineering), shared:
The Snap Spectacles are obviously very new and cool, and you can do so much with them. Before this class, I didn’t know anything about AR, and it’s been fun to learn about it and apply it to medical devices.
Read the full article here: Student-created AR/VR tools help everywhere from the classroom to the operating room
