News and Stories
Envisioning the Campus of the Future: The 2023 XR Student Design Jam
Held at the new EXP, seven Northeastern University undergraduate student teams recently showcased the innovative spirit of its students in a captivating XR Jam. These diverse groups came together, each armed with the power of extended reality (XR), to reimagine the...
What does it mean to ‘learn how to learn’? Northeastern fireside chat explores the role of technology, virtuality in experiential learning
by Tanner SteningMarch 2, 2023 What does it mean to “learn how to learn,” and how does one go about it? The ability to learn is a core part of what it means to be a human being. But precisely how educators go about fostering learning environments amid the rapid...
What is XR?
Extended Reality (XR) is an umbrella term covering the three domains of virtual reality (VR). augmented reality (AR). and Mixed Reality (MR). It is a term commonly used to discuss the broad range of technologies and applications relating to artificial environments...
Video games might be better for balance rehab than conventional physical therapy
New research from a team at Northeastern University found that active video games––like Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution––are more effective for improving balance than conventional forms of physical therapy.
MIE’s Moghaddam Awarded $2M for Intelligent Extended Reality Research
Mohsen Moghaddam, assistant professor, mechanical and industrial engineering (MIE), has been awarded a $2 million grant from the Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier Program, one the 10 Big Ideas of the National Science Foundation (NSF). With this funding,...
Data privacy is already a challenge–and the metaverse could make it worse
by Ian Thomsen December 22, 2021The metaverse is more than the latest obsession of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. It’s a three-dimensional world of virtual and augmented reality that we will be exploring—via our digital avatars—over the next decade. Amid the...
Protecting Indigenous Languages Using Automatic Speech Recognition
by Tanner SteningOctober 8, 2021 Photo Illustration of Kwak’wala text written by Northeastern clinical instructor Michael Running Wolf. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University Michael Running Wolf still has that old TI-89 graphing calculator he used in high...
Why is Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse failing?
by Cody Mello-Klein November 3, 2022Celia Pearce has fond, vivid memories of living a Second Life. The online non-game virtual world “Second Life” launched in the early 2000s attracted people, like Pearce, who were looking for, what developer Linden Labs calls, a...
They’re using virtual reality to ensure patients get safe and effective drugs
Not all drugs are created equal. Biologics, produced from living organisms, such as proteins, vaccines, and blood components, are some of the toughest drugs to concoct. Their complex molecular structures make them difficult to produce, especially when compared to...
Play as Vecna from Stranger Things in this VR game created by Art + Design professor Samantha Gorman
Fans of the hit Netflix show Stranger Things will soon get a never-before-seen perspective in a new game from VR storytelling studio Tender Claws co-directed by Samantha Gorman, a professor in the department of Art + Design. Coming to major VR platforms Winter 2023,...
DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL?
If you would have an XR related story that showcases collaboration and impact in our network, connect with us at extendedreality@northeastern.edu