Mehring: World-Class Research and Development
– 2 min read
At the opening of the Summer Expo 2024 at the Julius-Maximilians University in Würzburg, Bavaria's Digital Minister gave a positive review of the XR Hubs in Würzburg and Nuremberg, which were initiated and funded by his ministry. They would help secure Bavaria's competitiveness in the future.
The XR Hubs were created under his predecessor Judith Gerlach, but Fabian Mehring has also been supporting and funding the XR Hub Bavaria initiative with its three locations in Würzburg, Nuremberg and Munich since he took over the Ministry of Digitalisation in Bavaria. At the opening of the Summer Expo 2024, where projects and dissertations by talented students are presented and scientific lectures are held at the Julius Maximilian University in Würzburg, Mehring took the opportunity to sum up the initiative.
"XR technologies are gradually adding digital layers to our reality, which will expand our perception and find countless applications - for example in education, modern sales or industrial production through to existential questions of ensuring internal and external security. XR technologies unfold their full potential especially in combination with AI. The projects at the XR HUB Würzburg demonstrate this in an impressive way," said Mehring in his speech.
It is no coincidence that Mehring chose a date in Würzburg for the conclusion. The XR Hub is based at the Chair of Human-Computer Interaction. Under the direction of Prof Dr Marc Erich Latoschik and Prof Dr Carolin Wienrich, it has been researching multimodal virtual and augmented reality systems for over 25 years. This makes it one of the oldest working groups with decades of continuous research expertise at the interface of XR and AI.
However, the second XR Hub in the Franconian districts of Bavaria, the XR Hub in Nuremberg, was also mentioned. "With the XR Hub in Nuremberg, we are simplifying market access for regional companies from the XR sector and related industries, initiating new projects and supporting the exchange and networking activities of players from Nuremberg and the surrounding area," said Mehring. One of the XR Hub Nuremberg's flagship projects is the XR Classrooms, where school classes and teachers learn how to use XR and how they can integrate this technology into their lessons.
The fact that a seven-figure sum has been channelled into the various XR Hub projects over the years is an important building block for Mehring: "This tax money is an important investment in Bavaria's future. After all, the XR hubs in Würzburg and Nuremberg can now conduct world-class research and development - and thus ensure Bavaria's competitiveness tomorrow and beyond."
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Stephan is Editor in Chief
