HIVE Merges Creativity, Global Collaboration, and Technology

Photo: From left to right are NYIT's Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Rahmat Shoureshi; President Edward Guiliano; Associate Professor Terry Nauheim Goodman; College of Arts and Sciences Dean Jim Simon; and HIVE Director Matthew Cornelius.

The NYIT community celebrated the opening of the HIVE (Home of Innovation, Visualization, and Exploration) facility on March 17 with a ribbon-cutting event at the Manhattan campus. Attendees included NYIT President Edward Guiliano, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Rahmat Shoureshi, Ph.D., Dean Jim Simon, Ph.D., of the College of Arts and Sciences, Isabel Walcott Draves, founder of Creative Tech Week and Leaders in Software and Art, and various members of New York City's digital arts community.

Located on the ninth floor of 16. W. 61st St., the new lab features motion capture technologies such as FaceShift Headgear and Synertial Gloves, Oculus Rift virtual reality software, and 3-D printers and scanners that allow students and faculty members to create and collaborate on projects using the same technology as professional digital designers.

"NYIT is all about educating the next generation of students for the next generation of creativity," said Guiliano. He added that 3-D printing has been part of NYIT's digital learning tools for more than a decade.

In addition, Guiliano described how the new facility helps NYIT students in Manhattan and China to remotely direct motion capture shoots in real time at the 3-D Motion Capture studio in the Midge Karr Fine Arts Building on the Old Westbury campus. "NYIT's DNA is about innovation, technology, and access," he added.

The HIVE's resources have drawn the interest of neighborhood partners such as Drave, whose Creative Tech Week from April 29 to May 8 in New York City welcomes more than 25,000 attendees from the digital arts industry (and the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway will serve as its "industry hub").

"This kind of research facility is essential," said Drave. "I hope to see lots more exciting creative technology coming from NYIT."

Though today's event marked the official opening of the HIVE, the new center has already been buzzing with activity:

• In conjunction with the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District and CITYArts, NYIT students produced more than 100 ornaments for the Lincoln Square Holiday Tree using 3-D printers, CNC milling machines, die cutters, vinyl cutters, and laser cutters.
• In collaboration with the Viscardi Center, NYIT student teams created a driving simulator for a power wheelchair, a cooking video game, and a wireless remote.
• The HIVE is currently collaborating with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its MediaLab to research ways people can use technology to interact with and discover art.
• HIVE is working with Haddington Dynamics to help design and develop tools for its 5-Axis Robot, "Dexter."