Review DIVR Science Award 2018 & 2019
This year again, the DIVR Science Award will be presented in Gelsenkirchen-Ückendorf. Together with the German Institute for Virtual Realities, we are looking for university projects that produce real innovation in your research.
The first Places _ VR Festival in 2018 was also the occasion and location of the first award ceremony of the prize. Back then, it was called the DIVR Award. The search was on for VR applications that provide a positive impact on the public interest. The team around Prof. Chris Wickenden of the skip institut at the Fresenius University of Applied Sciences Cologne, was chosen as the winner. The purpose of the winning project “DIP – Digital Integration Project” was to research how VR can facilitate access to language and culture for refugees in Germany.
In 2019, the DIVR Science Award was presented at a separate event at the Gelsenkirchen Science Park. The event was combined with a major networking event organized by Medien.NRW. More than 50 applications from all over Germany and 20 shortlisted projects, which came to Gelsenkirchen with their VR application, have shown, that the award offers a valuable platform for students, PhD students, professors as well as universities. Besides the award ceremony, especially the exchange and the networking factor are enormously valuable for researchers in the field of VR and AR. In 2019, the award was presented in three categories:
best concept
Space Walk
Universität Hamburg
FB Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction Playful VR application with new locomotion approach
best impact
ViTraS
Universität Würzburg & Universität Bielefeld
Mathematics and computer science Virtual Reality Therapy through stimulation of modulated body perception
best tech
HIPS
Technische Universität Chemnitz
In cooperation with the University of Bremen, FAKT Software GmbH in Leipzig and CAT Production GmbH in Munich faculty of mechanical engineering
VR simulation of a hip operation.
