Lab facilities in the DAF Technology Lab
The DAF technology Lab is comprised of two CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environments) systems. Each CAVE Room provides a 360 degree virtual environment projected onto four walls by four laser projectors. The walls are covered by projector screen material that provides high resolution projection, yet also allows for sound transmission of the speakers behind the projection screens.
An OptiTrack Motion Capture System monitors movement in the lab and allows for adapting the simulations according to the user. Forty-four Genelec professional studio monitors provide an accurate fully immersive 360 degrees sound reproduction with outstanding clarity, definition, and neutrality in. A bird’s eye view camera monitors activities in the lab.
Virtual reality systems
The DAF technology Lab has different virtual reality headset systems, including
- HTC Vive VR headsets with (SMI) eye tracking integration
- HTC Vive Pro with Vive wands that (compared to the HTC Vive) has higher display resolution, spatial audio support, and improved ergonomics.
- Oculus Rift Consumer edition with Touch controllers + tracking cameras. It provides intuitive interaction with virtual worlds in large tracked space. The tracking camera’s enable large scale movement in HMD VR (>4 m2).
- Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 headset provides interaction with confined virtual worlds. No support for games that use motion controls.
- Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 headset with SMI eye tracking integration.
Various behavior measurement systems:
The DAF Technology Lab is a scientific research environment. Not only do we provide virtual reality simulations on a VR headset or CAVE environment, we also measure the behavior of the user experiencing these virtual worlds. We do this by measuring neurophysiological, behavioral and cognitive variables. The equipment the DAF Technology Lab has to its availability include measurements for:
Acceleration
Accelerometers measure movements of participants along X, Y and Z axis of both legs and arms (with sensors placed on the body) in neurophysiology lab.
Brain activity
Electroencephalography (EEG) is measured by a B-Alert BIOPAC system that measures brain activity, while Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIR) is measured by a fNIR Devices LLC system.
Eye tracking
The DAF technology Lab has different eye tracking systems to its availability, including an SMI REDn 30, 60Hz eye tracker and a Tobii Fusion Pro 30, 60, 120, 250Hz eye tracker. In addition, we have SMI Eye Tracking Glasses Devices and VR glasses with integrated eye tracking possibilities.
Heart rate
Heartrate and heart rate variability are monitored by photo Plethysmogram (PPG) (BIOPAC BioNomadix PPGED / EDA) that measure via measuring light emission of the blood vessels [indirect measure of heart rate], as well as electrocardiogram (ECG) (BIOPAC BioNomadix RSPEC / ECG) that measures heart rate and heart rate variability (via electrical activity of the heart).
Myography
Muscle response or electrical activity in response to a nerve's stimulation of the muscle is measured using electromyography (EMG) (BIOPAC BioNomadix EMG).
Respiration
BIOPAC BioNomadix RSPEC / ECG measures the Respiration and Electrocardiogram (RSPEC), the abdominal or thoracic expansion and contraction while breathing.
Skin conductance
Electrodermal activity (EDA) is measured by BIOPAC BioNomadix PPGED / EDA
Miscellaneous wearables
Biovotion Everion sensors measures heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) by photoplethysmography (PPG) and skin temperature.
Using lab facilities
I am a researcher who would like to investigate VR, AR and XR
The DAF Technology Lab at the Tilburg University can be used by Tilburg University researchers. Given the number of requests we receive, we will review proposals based on time and effort needs. Priority will be given to researchers who have allocated funding resources to compensate for lab use, followed by academic staff without such funding opportunities, followed by PhD, Master and Bachelor students.
Note that we would like to understand what research you would like to do, how much lab time is needed, and how much time is needed from our programming staff (building a simulations costs considerable time and effort and not every VR simulation can be used in a CAVE environment).
The lab offers VR glasses, two CAVE systems, and a range of behavior measurement systems – EEG and fNIR, ECG (electrocardiogram), eye tracking, GCR (Galvanic Skin Response). The equipment can be used for research purposes if it is used in the DAF Technology Lab for the goals of the lab.
For more information on borrowing equipment and booking a lab, please go to the DAF Technology intranet site.
I am an instructor who would like to teach in the CAVEs
We are happy to accommodate instructors who would like to teach (a) class(es) in the CAVE. We have done so in the past with instructors from different schools at Tilburg University and will continue to do so. Please get in touch with us early, as it takes considerable time and effort to build a simulation that fits your educational needs.
When thinking about using the CAVE for your education, make sure that you have an estimate of the number of students you expect to give the CAVE experience. We recommend that a maximum of 7-10 students at a time use a CAVE.
For more information on borrowing equipment and booking a lab, please go to the DAF Technology intranet site.
I am a company, non-profit, or government organization and would like to collaborate
We love research and would love to collaborate on research projects. We have extensive experience partnering on externally funded research projects, and look forward to talking to you about new research opportunities.
I have a corporate event and look for some entertainment
We are the first to agree that the lab is cool and exciting. Yet we cannot provide inspirational sessions, orientation days, or company events. We would certainly like to, but the lab is often in use, and is intended to be used for research, education and training. If you think it would be worthwhile for you (and for us) to visit the DAF Technology Lab nevertheless please feel free to contact us.