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Cross-disciplinary Study in HITFrom HIT Lab AustraliaCreate your own 3D world in virtual reality!Sounds fantastic? That’s just one of the many hands-on experiences that students will have studying at the Human Interface Technology Laboratory Australia (HIT Lab Australia). Human interface technology (HIT) can be studied as a full degree major in a number of courses and individual units can also be taken as electives or a minor in many other courses to complement a range of interests:
The two introductory HIT units (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality) are available to students from any UTAS course – they have no prerequisites and prior computing knowledge is not required.
But why undertake cross-disciplinary study?Because exposure to a range of disciplines enhances students’ critical thinking and their ability to live and work in the modern world – as graduates and professionals in any career area and as citizens, leaders and decision makers. Interdisciplinary study crosses traditional boundaries between academic disciplines as new needs and professions emerge. Its goals are to connect and integrate several academic schools of thought or technologies – along with their specific perspectives – in the pursuit of a common task. Interdisciplinary approaches typically focus on problems that are too complex for adequate understanding with a single discipline.
And why study in human interface technology?Digital technology has brought new media to the modern world for creative expression in almost all fields of study, enterprise and entertainment. Unfortunately, at the same time traditional training and education at university level still tends to deconstruct and separate the world into disciplines that do not integrate and make use of these media. There is a gulf between the ‘push’ or potential empowerment that technology can provide and the ‘pull’ that applications really need (such as solving the pervasive problems in the world). The HIT major and units have been designed to build a bridge between the disciplines of science and technology with those associated with the arts, design and professions in medicine, business and law with a focus on engineering experiences for people that enlighten, delight, inspire and empower. HIT Lab Australia provides students with a project-based, multidisciplinary environment in which to learn and grow, using virtual and mixed reality technologies that focus on creative design, visualisation, simulation and interactive entertainment. These cutting-edge technologies can create new virtual sensory experiences for people without them actually being in the situation, or augment the physical environment with virtual objects. Students have exciting opportunities to undertake creative, applied projects based on real-world problems, and to have access to cutting-edge technology including the VisionSpace: a threescreen immersive stereo projection system enabling groups of people to view and interact intuitively with virtual 3D objects. There are many current and future HIT applications in fields requiring users to have virtual sensory experiences without actually being in the situation. These applications include design and creative arts, interactive entertainment and games, medical treatment (for example for pain abatement), as well as in training and simulation.
But don’t just take our word for it!To see and hear feedback from students from a range of courses (including education, business, architecture, contemporary arts and arts/social science) who have studied in the HIT Lab Australia, visit our Student Profiles page.
HIT units available
HIT study options in UTAS courses from 2010
Download the HIT Study FlyerAn electronic version of this document is available for download in PDF format (1.5 Mb).
HIT courses availableIf you are interested in studying more than just one or two HIT units then you might be interested in enrolling in one of our courses. |
