The VAR Lab is pleased to announce that it has moved to a new space that is better suited to the needs of the organization. The original location of the VAR Lab was Business Suite 218 of the Merwin Building in Knowledge Park. However, the space was relatively small for all the ideas and initiatives of the organization. It consisted of a small lounge area, some tables, and two cubicles, and did not have lockable storage or a closet to keep the equipment in an organized manner. The Director of the VAR Lab, Dr. Chris Shelton, had to use a cubicle as his workspace. As a result, whenever he received sensitive calls, he had to ask everyone else in the room to leave and work in the building’s lobby, as everything said in his cubicle could be heard by others in the room. 

To make matters worse, despite being a Virtual/Augmented Reality Lab, Suite 218 could only accommodate two VR user spaces simultaneously when all the furniture was pushed towards the walls and out of the way. As a result, the space became too small to sustain all the initiatives of the organization, and in Spring 2022, the VAR Lab moved to the recently vacated 214/215 suite next door, which is double the size of the original space. 

The new space features a lockable closet, two lockable office spaces, two cubicles, a conference area, two large VR user spaces, and a lounge area that will house the XRcast Studio. Also, the space can be divided with a floor-to-ceiling divider in the center. The Penn State Behrend administration understood the needs of the organization and was able to work out a solution to help the VAR Lab move to the new space. And the move process was aided in large part by Behrend’s IT Services and Maintenance departments. The new space provides the VAR Lab with breathing room and builds its capabilities for the years to come!