Your say / UWE Bristol
‘Bridging the gap between creative industries and technology’
The merging of technology and creative arts is changing the face of industry and pushing the boundaries of what is possible, making it a dynamic and rich space for research and innovation.
Now more than ever, we need to explore the opportunities that the intersection between tech and creativity can bring, to capitalise on the rapid pace of evolving technologies for the benefit of creative arts and design fields.
The opportunity to find novel ways to solve societal issues through the blending of these disciplines only adds to the significance of research in this area.
is needed now More than ever
At UWE Bristol, our ambitions are to be at the forefront of research and innovation across creative disciplines and technology and extend our ongoing research even further with the launch of a new lab space on our Frenchay campus.
Tom Mitchell, professor of audio and music Interaction, wearing the MiMu gloves
The Bridge Studios will bring together creative arts, design and technology to pioneer interdisciplinary research using the latest, advanced technologies in both the virtual and physical realm.
The £3.6m laboratory, which includes £2.3m funding from the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), will provide a multi-disciplinary space for researchers, entrepreneurs and businesses across the West of England.
The new lab will use AI, VR and extended reality (XR) technology, as well as the latest advanced robotic technology for research into data-driven art, craft, design and architecture. A robotic fabrication lab within The Bridge Studios includes a 6-axis three-metre robotic arm which can be used for large-scale fabrication, including 3D printing for architectural components and a wide range of new design and manufacturing applications.
Another standout feature within the facility is an immersive studio with a 7x4m LED screen which is at the core of the lab’s advanced research capabilities in virtual and immersive technologies. Motion capture technology will provide highly accurate tracking of humans and objects for use in animation, interactive artworks and performances.
The extensive equipment pool will be used to drive innovation and industry collaboration. Our vision with the new lab space is to build upon the West of England’s rich creative and cultural environment and bring together two growth-driving sectors – creative industries and digital and technologies – which have been identified by the government’s new industrial strategy.
Another aim with the lab is to provide a collaborative space for artists and businesses from outside of the University to work with academics and technicians, to break down the barriers between technology and the creative industries.
The new interdisciplinary studio at UWE Bristol – Bridge Studio
Some of the exciting research projects set in The Bridge Studios include the further development of gestural music gloves which use motion capture and AI to enable wearers to create music with hand movements, led by Tom Mitchell, Professor of Audio and Music Interaction, and Dr Dominic Potts, research fellow. MiMu gloves, a wearable musical instrument, allow artists to expressively create music through hand gestures and not be restricted to sitting behind laptops or keyboards when producing music – instead, controlling this technology through the gloves.
Elsewhere Dr Gytis Bernotas, a research fellow in machine vision, will build upon the emerging use of XR technology in live music performances which allows audience members to watch a live performer through XR headset technology and view augmented 3D visuals within the performance setting.
Gytis will use contemporary machine learning techniques and a motion tracking system to allow the performer, who will appear as an advanced avatar to the audience, to enhance and control the visuals for the audience. The aim is to also allow audience members to enhance their own experience through interactions with the immersive visuals on display, developing a new type of entertainment performance.
Along with other pioneering projects like Immersive Arts, a UK-wide research, training and grant funding programme led by UWE Bristol to support over 200 artists to engage with immersive technologies, we’re working to close the knowledge gap between ‘real world’ and virtually immersive environments.
With the establishment of this dedicated research environment at UWE Bristol, we now have a unique opportunity to bring together skills from diverse research disciplines and explore how knowledge from creative arts and design practices can fuse with research and innovation in fields of science and engineering.
This is an opinion piece from Tavs Jorgensen, an associate Professor at UWE Bristol and the academic lead for The Bridge Studios.
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All photos: UWE Bristol
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