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ABOUT US

"DAE-Research offers an attractive information service for organizations facing challenges, for which game technology might offer a solution"

DAE-Research is the research cell of the bachelor study program Digital Arts and Entertainment of Howest Kortrijk, where both demand-driven applied research projects and applied research projects on its own initiative are set up.

The research projects are oriented on exploring new game, VFX, animation & film technology (hard- and software) and transferring that knowledge to the bachelor program as well as companies in different sectors. Besides entertainment purposes, technology can be used in multiple ways to stimulate innovation tracks in companies, social-profit organizations as well as a partner in research consortia.

What is applied research? Scientific findings from university and other research labs, combined with experts’ experiences in the respective professional field and expectations of the envisioned end users, are creatively translated into innovative solutions and prototypes. This offers a surplus value for achieving the goals within the industry and/or social impact.

In addition to projects on demand, DAE-Research also conducts exploratory research on its own initiative. Hereby, the potential surplus value of new technology, whether this is hardware or software, is mapped out to work out innovative solutions for the various sectors.

Recent research topics are linked to our 6 majors within the DAE bachelor program: game development, game graphics production, independent game production, interactive sound production, VFX and 3D animation.

Research topics include immersive technology (VR/AR) and metaverse, spatial computing, applied games, artificial intelligence, conversational AI, motion capture, immersive sound, pose estimation and body tracking, procedural 3D content and automation (Houdini, photogrammetry, …)

Do contact us for more information on project ideas.

OUR LATEST REEL

HIGHLIGHTED USE CASES

Automatic house division
There are already many examples of implementations that can create houses in a procedural way. It often concerns houses where only the outer walls and the roof are generated. Within level design of games or buildings in the background, in many cases it is not necessary that the interior is also built. When a player has to enter and explore the houses in a game, there must of course also be interior walls and doors that connect the different rooms. The goal of this use case was to create a tool with which different building layouts can be generated in a quick and easy way.
Virtual Reality Training: Picanol Case
Together with Dana, Picanol, CNH industrial, Barco and Cronos aan de Leie, game technology was brought in to investigate a new form of training. A combination of a scanned working environment, cad models and an interactive game engine made it possible to prototype a Virtual Reality Training framework. Employees can learn to assemble virtually using a ‘digital twin’ of the production line. Here you can see a video of the VR training framework in action based on a part of a loom at Picanol.
Interactive Musical LED Wall
The core idea behind Revibelize is to create brief, spontaneous musical encounters in a shared space. Designed for 5–10-minute interactions, the installation invites passersby to step in and become part of a reactive world, even if just for a few minutes. Set in a surreal alien garden, the environment is watched over by a Gorillaz-inspired rockstar guardian—a visual character that adds narrative flavor and personality to the scene.
Genetic mutations
As the subject of the test case on which we could test a mutagen tool, we chose a simplified parametrically constructed creature blockout in Houdini. Creature block-outs are a simple geometric representation of a creature that can be worked out at a later stage for use in a game or movie, for example. The block-out largely determines the creative view. A mutagen tool can be a very useful way to quickly generate variations of a procedurally constructed model with a minimum of user input while still retaining sufficient control over the results. The method guarantees unique results because the values are randomly generated. In addition, the method is very fast.

CONTACT US

Vicky Vermeulen – Research manager
vicky.vermeulen@howest.be

Jan Pauly – Project manager
jan.pauly@howest.be

Howest Campus The Level
Digital Arts & Entertainment

Botenkoperstraat 2
8500 Kortrijk
Belgium

Howest Campus The Square
Digital Arts & Entertainment Research Lab

Luipaardstraat 12A
8550 Kortrijk
Belgium