Construction is slated to begin over Thanksgiving break on a new virtual capture and production facility on the fourth floor of University Libraries’ Newman Library, adding new spaces for research, teaching, and student creative work in immersive technology. Jonathan Bradley, University Libraries associate director of innovative spaces and technologies, said the timing is especially exciting because it should allow the project to be completed and fully set up in time for the start of the fall 2027 semester.
Funded by gifts to the Library Excellence Fund, the project reflects the collective impact of donor support. The new facility will expand University Libraries’ existing immersive reality and virtual capture and production capabilities. The space will include a large room combining motion capture, room-scale virtual reality, and spatial audio services; a smaller room dedicated to volumetric capture and Gaussian splatting; a suite of high-end computers for development; and a virtual production stage with LED panels on three walls and the ceiling.
For Todd Ogle, executive director of Applied Research in Immersive Experiences and Simulations (ARIES), the project’s significance comes down to both access and capability.
“Dedicated spaces will allow us to do a higher level of work more efficiently and with fewer time and technology conflicts,” said Ogle. “More broadly, the facility will bring industry-standard tools and affordances to faculty and students across the university that are currently unavailable.”
One signature feature will be the virtual production stage, which is a specialized film studio that uses massive, curved LED walls and real-time game engines to display realistic digital backdrops live on set. Ogle said Virginia Tech currently lacks a virtual production stage for research or teaching, and placing one in the library will make that capability available for classes, research, and student projects across the university.
Virtual production, volumetric capture, and motion capture are revolutionizing the entertainment, simulation, and gaming industries. Virginia Tech faculty and students will now have access to research tools and facilities, better preparing them for the job market now and in the future.
“By providing free, flexible access through the University Libraries to cost-prohibitive tools and technologies for immersive environments, Virginia Tech student and faculty innovators will have what they need to explore, discover, and push the limits of what’s next in the field,” said Patrick Tomlin, vice dean of University Libraries. “This production studio significantly enhances the possibilities for foundational research in fields such as cinematography, performing arts, motion sciences, computer science, human-computer interaction, building construction, the life sciences, and multiple engineering disciplines, while inspiring new and emerging research yet to be imagined.”
“Access, access, access, right? That’s what we provide in the library,” Ogle said.
That broad access is expected to directly affect student success. Ogle said students and faculty across the university will have opportunities not only to use the technology but also to gain experience with tools becoming more common in entertainment, simulations, and training.
Bradley said that experience can help prepare students for the job market they are entering.
“Giving Virginia Tech students direct experience with these technologies will give them an advantage over others they are competing for jobs with,” said Bradley. “They will be better prepared to meet the challenges of these new modes of production in the industry right now.”
The facility also builds on a strong foundation of immersive technology work already underway in Newman Library. Since late 2017, the Virtual Environments Studio and its staff have provided more than 2,000 faculty and students with access to immersive environments equipment, accepted more than 200 consultations on virtual and augmented reality technology, and taught more than four dozen workshops. As a primary user of the Virtual Environments Studio’s facilities, the ARIES program has provided paid experiential learning and course-credit-based experiences to more than 100 students, supporting immersive environments research involving more than 60 faculty members across every college at Virginia Tech.
Ogle said the new space also creates opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.
“I’m passionate about creating opportunities for students, and then seeing what they can come up with from it,” he said. “I hope students and faculty from different disciplines use the space together to create work that is both interesting and impactful.”
For library supporters, the project offers a visible example of how collective giving can shape student opportunity.
“We greatly appreciate your support,” Bradley said. “The reinto the Virginia Tech student population, to help them learn and grow, to remove the obstacles that might stand between them and the education they are seeking, and to give them a chance to obtain experience that puts them miles ahead of their peers from other institutions.”
Ogle said the result will be tangible.
“This is an example of a real and tangible impact,” he said. “It will be a real place with real facilities that you can walk into and see where those dollars have gone and the impact that it’s had on the students themselves.”
