Project – DAE Research

Future Music Hubs

Future Music Hubs is a VLAIO COOCK+ project running from February 2025 until February 2027. In this project researchers from DAE Research and PXL-Music Research will join forces to research, experiment, develop tools and empower the industry. The goals are to explore the integration of audiovisual technologies in live performances, music production and distribution & marketing; and to empower artists & their entourage to experiment with technology in physical hubs across Flanders.

EXERCHAIR

EXERCHAIR: Accessible exergames designed with and for wheelchair users — combining inclusive technology and co-creative design to make physical activity fun, motivating, and truly for everyone.

Avatalk

Whether you are a manager, nurse or service desk helper, interpersonal skills are crucial in many roles, but they are hard to train. Training programs are intensive and require personal coaching, which makes them costly (one-to-one contact). That is why at Howest we are experimenting with an innovative prototype of a virtual training environment, to train conversation skills with digital humans.

Virtual Production

In 2024 we upgraded our greenkey studio to an in-camera VFX LED studio. In our internal PWO research project we continue to learn and improve our virtual production workflows.

Media XR & 5G

The objective of the Media XR and 5G project is to introduce Flemish media companies (TV, radio, print, online), XR and advertising agencies, event organizers and telecom operators to the possibilities of new XR content ( “extended reality”) and advertising and cross-media formats made possible thanks to 5G. The 3-year project proposal (2023-2025) thus responds to the strong changes in the consumption behavior of media users, especially among young people (generation Z) and new media audiences. After all, various media companies want to rejuvenate and expand the viewership, which is why it is important to appeal to Gen Z through, among other things, formats that use new digital technologies.

MimiQgame

With MimiQgame, we aim to develop a technical proof of concept (TPOC) of a facial retraining game as a support in the rehabilitation of individuals with facial palsy.

Blue Balance

The general public is often insufficiently aware of and involved in the sustainable transition of the Flemish coastal area. That’s why the BLUE BALANCE project is aimed at creating public support and facilitating a comprehensive dialogue between stakeholders.

AI-UPD8

Inspiring and advising on the use of AI in game, film, media, communication and marketing contexts.

OASIS

Innovating Film and VFX workflows through technologies like AI, virtual production, motion capture and photogrammetry.

Testerep

The Flemish coast has a long and complex history. The modern landscape is the result of the interaction between both natural processes and human interventions. Although research into the history of this region has already provided us with a lot of information, many detailed questions still remain, for example, exactly how the coastline evolved over the past 5000 years.

Virtual Music Experiences

In the international music industry, there has been a significant growth in experiments with new technology in recent years. For example, hybrid concerts enriched by the use of AR/VR and LED screens, immersive music on streaming platforms and in concert halls, virtual concerts in so-called ‘metaverse’ game platforms, image and sound generated by artificial intelligence, silent discos, productions on radio and TV with virtual studios or avatars, and much more. The industry is increasingly reaching out to adjacent sectors such as the gaming industry and the IT sector to join forces.

SPACE 2.0

Using Large Language Models to create a virtual client for psychology students at Howest to practice their conversational skills.

Sport Good Governance Game

The Sport Good Governance Game (SG3) Erasmus project consists of 3 parts: the elaboration of an awareness game, a workshop and an action plan to inspire European sport managers (to be) and help them become better ethical leaders. Participants in the SG3 program learn to recognize various elements that can threaten the integrity of their sport and they learn the basic principles of good governance and ethical leadership that they can apply in their own organization.

AI in Production

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a buzzword that has become hard to ignore lately. Despite much attention to the subject at conferences and in the media, it can remain vague what the realistic possibilities are today. In recent years, we have had AI breakthroughs in the field of self-driving cars, voice technology and playing various games. However, a clear picture of how this game, VFX and animation can improve production pipelines is still lacking.

Scan4Stories

Today’s heritage visitor is looking for unique experiences. To shape these experiences, strong stories and technological innovation are essential. However, there is no clear frame of reference for how to successfully combine both elements. Scan4Stories tries to provide an answer to this challenge. Scan4Stories is a TETRA project in which HOWEST’s Tourism and Recreation Management and Digital Arts & Entertainment programs collaborate. The project builds knowledge about Storytelling and explores the technical possibilities of Immersive technologies such as Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality.

Procedural 3D

Creating a 3D model using a procedural workflow starts with a simple shape just like classic 3D. Manipulations are then carried out to achieve the intended result after a number of steps. Based on an existing model, a similar model can be obtained by adjusting the parameters associated with those manipulations. The advantage lies in the fact that a large part of the work to create a 3D model can be reused.

Procedural Textile Generation

For a renown Belgian carpet textile manufacturer, we created a workflow for procedurally generating a photo-realistic carpet. We used Houdini, an innovative software package mainly used in the VFX industry to procedurally render and create 3D content, for example special effects in movies. Houdini allows a technical game artist to predefine how the content should look and act by means of scripts and algorithms. This allows great flexibility in rendering a variation of similar but unique visuals of 3D objects.

SIVAR

With this “Sector Innovating Virtual & Augmented Reality” project, partners and external organizations are guided in defining this added value in their current workflow. The project consists of two parts: a first part aimed at developing concrete proofs of concept where VR and AR technology is applied within the industrial sector and a second part aimed at a broader knowledge transfer for partners from other sectors.