MediaLab, Belfast

Description

Queen's MediaLab is an interdisciplinary research facility at Queen's University Belfast, based in the School of Arts, English and Languages, focused on virtual production and immersive technologies. It brings together the University's strengths in film, drama, storytelling and immersive sound with expertise in computer science, computer vision, machine learning and engineering, working at the intersection of digital design, virtual world-building and game technology. The lab supports research, industry-led R&D, skills development and horizon scanning for the screen, broadcasting and wider creative industries in Northern Ireland, and extends virtual production techniques into sectors such as health, engineering and manufacturing simulation. It operates three specialised labs: the CaptureLab, a virtual production studio combining an LED volume with precision motion and performance capture for in-camera VFX, XR content creation and real-time rendering; the HCILab, a human computer interaction and spatial computing space for VR, AR and MR interface research, room-scale and multi-site XR testing, green screen work, and volumetric capture and photogrammetry; and the RenderLab, a fifty-seat Virtual Desktop Infrastructure built on NVIDIA Grid and Omniverse for real-time 3D application development, digital content creation, cinematic data visualisation and simulation. The lab delivers undergraduate and postgraduate provision in games and creative games technologies, runs virtual production training for independent filmmakers and creative professionals, and collaborates with academic, industry and cross-border partners on projects spanning the screen industries, artificial intelligence in screen content, the metaverse and digital-twin manufacturing.

Currently active

Yes

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

Founding year

2025

Contact details

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Categorisation

Type

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University affiliation(s)

Queen's University Belfast
Belfast

Partner Universities

Ulster University

Additional Partnerships

Future Screens NI; Northern Ireland Screen; Screen and Media Innovation Lab; Studio Ulster; Digital Catapult; Belfast Harbour Studios; BBC Northern Ireland; The Lyric Theatre; Creative Technology; AAB Consultancy; Queen's Community and Place; Amplify XR; InterTradeIreland; Eirmersive; Dundalk Institute of Technology