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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

LikeMe Roblox Concert
Credit to VRT for the behind the scene video and still of their final product of the LikeMe Roblox show. This show was also recorded in our motion capture studio in Kortrijk by the actual cast of LikeMe.
Virtual Reality Collaborative environment
With this concept we want to demonstrate the added value of collaborative training. Again using the Unity game engine, we can have two players, regardless of their physical location, working together in one virtual world. For the prototype, it was decided to let the users assemble a LEGO car together on the basis of a step-by-step plan and productivity tools. Within a professional context, remote training could be provided via this method, independent of the physical location of the users.
Leaf material for 3d production
Simulating plant growth has had social and scientific relevance for a long time for various purposes, mainly for agriculture. This takes into account the biological research that shows the influence of the plant hormone auxin on growth. This knowledge has been converted into a mathematical model for the simulation of leaf growth. In addition, a growth function, which is influenced by auxin maxima on the leaf margin, determines the shape of the leaf. The literature describes techniques that are biologically accurate, but are not intuitive due to their complexity and are also time-intensive. Simplified models can be found, but often lack identifying characteristics, such as serrated edges around the blade and true-to-life veining. For this use case, the mathematical model of leaf growth and shapes from Runions et al. was used in combination with a simplified leaf shape.
2D to 3D: Building environments using photoshop input
Often only 2D data is available from buildings, machines or environments that contain information about how something is constructed. When creating a 3D environment, it is also faster to draw a floor plan than to build an environment yourself in 3D. The purpose of this case was to explore the possibilities and workflow regarding the construction of a 3D environment based on 2D input.

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