Fachhochschule Vorarlberg

This university of applied sciences features a media program that includes interactive and broadcasting sequences. For a full description of the school, see their web site, or go directly to their Media Design program page.

Here are photos that I took on a visit to their campus in the summer of 2007.

Dornbirn, Austria

Fachhochschule is located in a beautiful small town surrounded by the edge of the Alps. Dornbirn has an old town area that comes alive at night with restaurants and bars. There are plenty of hiking opportunities just outside the school doors.

Facilities

The school has first-rate faclities -- very cool class rooms with views of the mountains. The buildings are all new, or newly remodeled. The computer labs are stocked with the latest Macintosh computers. There are a number of broadcast editing stations too, and a sound studio. There are also two "project rooms" which are large rooms reserved for a specific class project. These are more like lounges, because there are sofas and comfortable chairs in each.

Usability Lab

The school has a research lab that focuses on usability. Although they do focus on web usability, the lab also has clients that are not web based. Below, you'll see some photos of the testing lab for an eyetracker test. The test, though, includes more than just eye tracking, it also tracks heart rate and muscle tension, so as web sites are being testing, the software captures not only where the eye looks, but also the level of anxiety that a user is experiencing with the site.

Photos here.

Virtual Reality Lab

Fachhochschule Vorarlberg has a virtual reality research lab where staff and students work with real clients to prepare a number of reality simulations. In the slide show and videos below, you'll see examples of 3D simulations, tracking gloves, weight wands and more.

Photos here.



Video No. 1 of Weight Wand


Video No. 2 of Weight Wand


Video No. 1 of Glove Control


Video No. 2 of Glove Control