Cutting-edge expertise and facilities in emerging visual technologies – CIVIT celebrates its 10th anniversary
The Centre for Immersive Visual Technologies (CIVIT) at Tampere University was founded in 2015 to serve students, researchers and companies by providing cutting-edge expertise and facilities in emerging visual technologies.
Today, CIVIT stands as the largest infrastructure facility in the Nordics specialising in immersive imaging and continues to push the boundaries of science together with academic and industrial collaboration teams in Finland and abroad.
“Ten years ago, we recognised the need to create a shared space where researchers could access state-of-the-art equipment—from sensors to displays—to streamline cutting-edge research in the exciting field of immersive imaging,” says Director of CIVIT, Professor Atanas Gotchev.
Core research area: immersive imaging
Over the past decade, CIVIT has actively supported several Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITNs) focused on immersive visual technologies.
These programmes deliver world-class doctoral research training through international collaboration across Europe.
“As a result, dozens of doctoral students have become research leaders in their fields, contributing to advancements ranging from safety-critical applications for improved situational awareness to pioneering work in plenoptic imaging,” says Assistant Professor Robert Bregovic, Project Manager of the PLENOPTIMA EJD doctoral programme.
Immersive imaging has long been a core research area at CIVIT, enabling users to perceive visual scenes at the correct scale and from the appropriate perspective as they move.
While recent years have seen remarkable progress, further innovation is needed to enhance immersion and improve visual comfort.
“CIVIT has been actively driving this development by supporting advanced approaches such as co-optimised learnable optics and bio-inspired neural computing, to make the related technologies not only more powerful but also energy-efficient, paving the way for their widespread adoption,” says Senior Research Fellow Erdem Sahin, who runs CIVIT’s Plenoptics Lab.
Impact through active industry collaboration
CIVIT is committed not only to advancing fundamental research but also to creating a real-world impact through active industry collaboration. One key focus has been the mobile work machine sector, which greatly benefits from visual sensing technologies that enable remote vehicle operation. These can add, for example, to the productivity and safety of work.
Furthermore, CIVIT plays an integral role in the Tampere Imaging Ecosystem fostering innovation in digital imaging products, services and solutions.
Recently, CIVIT and DXOMARK established a joint laboratory for image quality assessment and sensor profiling of different camera products.
“This partnership strengthens local industry and academia alike by integrating cutting-edge research into practical applications and teaching,” says Dr. Jussi Rantala, Staff Scientist at CIVIT.
New developments underscore the growing need for immersive visual technologies
Looking ahead, CIVIT will continue to provide state-of-the-art facilities and expertise to drive research and innovation in emerging visual technologies.
The range of imaging applications keeps getting broader, including surveillance systems, drone cameras, body cameras, and automotive cameras. At the same time, advanced display technologies are evolving through novel optical designs and intelligent software.
“Together, these developments underscore the growing importance of immersive visual technologies, and CIVIT is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of academia and industry in the years to come,” Gotchev says.
CIVIT 10th Anniversary Workshop
Join us to celebrate the 10th anniversary of CIVIT on November 27 with a workshop featuring expert talks, demos, and networking!
