By Áine Allardyce
Scotland’s largest city will today position itself as the UK’s 3D content creation capital with the launch of a groundbreaking industry-academic partnership.
The University of Glasgow (UofG), The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) and City of Glasgow College (CoGC) are joining forces with key industry partners Float Digital, ISO Design, Lateral North and Soluis to establish the 3D Content Creation Working Group.
3D content creation – encompassing the design and production of immersive digital environments, animated visuals, and interactive experiences – is a rapidly expanding field with applications across sectors including film, Cultural Heritage, gaming, architecture, education and healthcare.
This new Glasgow initiative builds on years of successful collaboration in the city and aims to strengthen economic opportunities across Glasgow City Region, leveraging the area’s critical mass of local 3D content creation industry and deep talent pool.
The new working group will identify key commercial challenges and opportunities in this rapidly growing field, co-developing innovative solutions that leverage UofG, GSA and CoGC strengths in research, innovation and skills development to drive sustained economic growth in Glasgow’s creative economy.
The launch of the partnership is bolstered by the recent announcement that Los Angeles-based Halon Entertainment, specialists in animation and visualisation technology, are establishing a state-of-the-art studio based in Glasgow. At the time of the announcement, Halon said they were attracted to Glasgow by its computer graphics, animation and digital technology as well as its thriving creative and digital economy.
Professor Pauline Mackay, Co-Director of Realities and Immersion Glasgow at the University of Glasgow, said: “The city of Glasgow punches above its weight in terms of quality 3D content creation, with local studios winning major global contracts on a regular basis. The arrival of California-based Halon Entertainment in the city is further evidence of the potential of Glasgow to lead in this area of the creative economy.
“This working group will explore the opportunities to further align industry, academia, and government in support of 3D content creation in our city.”
Professor Gordon Hush, Head of the School of Innovation and Technology, The Glasgow School of Art said: “The 3D Content Creation working group combines the creativity, skills and academic excellence of The Glasgow School of Art, the City of Glasgow College and the University of Glasgow to highlight the importance of our city to the global economy and culture of the future – a future that marries technological innovation, the power of the imagination and international research collaborations. Glasgow is preparing for a twenty-first century industrial revolution.”
Alison Bell, Dean – Faculty of Creative Industries, City of Glasgow College said: “Glasgow has long been a creative powerhouse, and the emergence of this new working group is a timely and exciting step forward for the 3D content sector. At City of Glasgow College, we are committed to equipping the next generation of talent with the hands-on skills and industry insight needed to thrive in this fast-evolving space. By collaborating across education and industry, we can ensure that Glasgow continues to lead in creative innovation, attracting global investment and creating high-quality jobs for the future.”
UofG, GSA and CoGC have, over a number of years, been collaborating on a range of projects focussed on 3D visualisation including:
- UofG’s Innovate UK funded Project Mobius where City of Glasgow College’s 3D animation students supported the development of Virtual Reality(VR) applications which enable teaching interventions that would simply not be possible without immersive technology.
- A Masters programme in Medical Visualisation and Human Anatomy jointly delivered by The Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow.
- The EU funded EMOTIVE project where 3D animation students from the City of Glasgow College recreated the life of the slave Verecunda contributing to The Hunterian Museum’s Verecunda VR experience.
- A collaboration between The Hunterian Museum, Historic Environment Scotland and the City of Glasgow College ‘Rediscovering the Antonine Walls Distance Stones’ where 3D animation students from the College were involved in a competition to make 3D models from scans of the distance stones which then went on to be used by the College’s stonemasonry students to produce to-scale reconstructions which are now in-situ along the Antonine Wall.
- UofG’s Innovate UK funded Museums in the Metaverse project has created a two-sided Virtual Reality platform for the curation of, and interaction with, virtual 3D museum objects, in partnership with Soluis Tech, National Museums Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland and The Hunterian, with the collaboration of Float and Lateral North.
Museums in the Metaverse
The Museums in the Metaverse (MiM) platform is supported by funding from the UK Government’s Innovation Accelerator programme, led by Innovate UK on behalf of UK Research and Innovation. The MiM project is a two-sided Virtual Reality (VR) platform created for the curation and interaction with virtual museum objects. The project was carried out in partnership with Soluis Tech, National Museums of Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland and The Hunterian, with the collaboration of Float and Lateral North. https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/museumsmetaverse/
Realities and Immersion Glasgow (RIG)
Realities and Immersion Glasgow (RIG) is the centre for research, teaching and innovation in Immersive Realities. Learn more about this new research centre here – https://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/rig/