It’s happening! Our kick-off for the project “HistoVeaR”
On June 11, 2025, the time had finally come: the official kick-off event for our exciting research project took place! We met for a big in-person get-together at the start-up office space of our partner World of VR in Cologne.
The main goal? Clear as day: bringing all project partners together at one table. Just as important, however, was building a shared understanding for this transdisciplinary project and learning from one another’s previous experiences – especially by directly exploring similar XR (Extended Reality) projects.
Welcome & Setting the Stage
After a warm welcome from Timon Vielhaber, CEO of World of VR, things immediately got official. A representative from the project management agency Jülich (PTJ) provided a valuable overview of the project, clarified the framework conditions, and prepared everyone for the tasks ahead.
From there, we dove straight into the preliminary work and expertise of each project partner:
Cologne Game Lab (TH Köln): This team are experts in digitizing reality. With extensive experience in 3D and scan-to-3D projects, especially in gaming, they know exactly how to bring real objects into virtual (gaming) worlds. In this project, they are responsible for the output formats for the appropriate game engines and for “fitting” the digital clothing into the application scenarios.
The Computer Graphics Group (TH Köln): These colleagues contributed impressive experience from various clothing simulation projects. Their expertise lies particularly in realistic representation and parameterization (i.e., “tuning” digital fabric). Real-time animation and the automated generation of different levels of detail for digital garments are their central tasks.
Die Kulturwissenschaft der Mode und des Textilen (Universität Paderborn): Von hier kommt die unverzichtbare historische Expertise in Bezug auf Materialien, Schnitte und Kleidungsverhalten. Anhand eines originalen Kleidungsstücks aus dem 18. Jahrhundert konnte ein erster Eindruck gewonnen werden und Beispiele anderer Forschungsgruppen zeigten die Komplexität von Stoffsimulationen.
World of VR GmbH: As our hosts, they presented their central work packages. With experience from hundreds of XR projects and industrial scanning processes, they are the perfect candidate to take on the core tasks. They will lead the scanning of the original garments and the development of the “integrated pipeline” – the system that ultimately brings all components together.
Lunch Break with a Twist: Hands-On XR
During lunch, things got truly hands-on! Instead of simply talking theory, all participants had the chance to try out a range of demos and applications developed by World of VR. This wasn’t just fun, it was incredibly helpful in building an intuitive understanding of what the technology can do:
AR app for hairdressers: Participants could scan their own heads in real time. The app then simulated different hairstyles in 3D and AR – an impressive prototype.
VR showroom for workwear: We stepped into a virtual showroom where static items of clothing could already be simulated and tried on in real time.
VR workplace safety training: Finally, we experienced a dynamic training session in an interactive VR environment, demonstrating the powerful potential of VR simulations for training purposes.
Next Steps
After this inspiring and interactive lunch break, we wrapped up the day by summarizing key points and clarifying the administrative tasks necessary for the project’s launch.
We look back on an extremely productive and motivating kick-off. The team is ready, the expertise is incredibly diverse, and we’re truly excited about the collaboration in the coming years!
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