XR Lab (formerly Virtual Reality Lab)
From 2015 – 2017, TimeWave launched and ran XR Lab (formerly Virtual Reality Lab), a 3 to 4-month program that provided media creators and technologists with an opportunity to create VR/AR/MR prototypes, brainstorm and explore complex formats using immersive technology, and collaborate with like-minded members of the XR community.
In partnership with the Media and Games Network (MAGNET) at the NYU Game Center, the lab was supported at various times by TIME Inc., Hearst Technology, Samsung Global Innovation Center, NYC Media Lab, NYU ITP and Oculus/Meta.
Advisors included Ken Perlin, a professor in the Department of Computer Science at New York University and directs the NYU Games For Learning Institute, and Clara Fernández-Vara, a game scholar, designer, writer and an Associate Arts Professor at the NYU Game Center.
The XR Lab Team consisted of J Dakota Powell (founder), Jackson Tam, Talal Choudhury, Angelique Anderson, Matthew Cornelius, Maxwell Foxman and Will Wurtzebach.
Highlights of XR Lab Projects
Presented in the VR Jubilee, hosted by TIME Inc. (NYC) &
Demo Day, hosted by Hearst Technology (NYC)
"All That Is Solid Melts into Air" (Rift) by Matthew Gantt.
"Bug Jazz Club" (Cardboard) by Lisa Beth Kovetz
"Continuous Movement" (Cardboard) by Claire Mitchell
"Deconstructing 5Pointz" (GearVR, Cardboard) by Maxwell Foxman, So Sun Park
"Humpty Dumpty and other Goosey Tales" (Cardboard) by Angelique Anderson
"Interacting with 4D Virtual Objects" (Vive) by Prof. Ken Perlin and Wenbo Lan from NYU Future Reality Lab
"Pathways" (Rift, GearVR) by Andrew Leitch, Ryan Silbert
"Shockwaves" (Rift) by J Dakota Powell
"Skyglow" (GearVR, Cardboard) by Jesse Ryan, Aashish Kumar
"SMAKK Down" (Rift) by Talal Choudhury
"The Myth Machine" (Rift) by Clara Fernandez-Vara, Matthew Weise
"Unboxed" (GearVR) by Jackson Tam
"Breach" by Dorian Dargan, Christopher Hill, Rehmat Qadir, Matthew Cornelius
"For the Queen VR" by Jaye Moore
"Angry Jenga" (Vive) by Ollie Rankin, Will Wurtzebach, Sean Hyland, Zhen Cao
Highlights of Audiences at XR Lab eventsÂ
Johann Rodriguez, GM Hearst Labs, Annie Malarkey of Made in NY Media Center, Lisa Beth Kovetz, CUNY TV
“rePLAY” - John Benton’s Vive demo based on an award-winning graphic novel
Multiplayer VR Game - Attendees line up to play “Angry Jenga” with three phones and a Vive.
“Collage” - Evan Harper turned Hearst Tower into a stunning interactive VR experience.
“Unboxed” - Jackson Tam's VR experience about the early history of video game consoles.
Former pilot for US Armed Forces, Peter Warren, samples VR demos.
Jeanine Kim, Yale alumnus, and son view J Dakota Powell’s VR demo of Terra Cotta warriors.
A lively crowd at Samsung Studio!
Rob Ruffler from Viacom Lab checks out Bracey Smith and Chris LoBello’s “Bamboo Forest”.
Australian and ITP/NYU student Tommy Payne presents a cardboard demo about a dystopian future.