From nntpusr@festival.ed.ac.uk Fri May 19 06:19:15 1995 Return-Path: Received: from mx4.u.washington.edu by stein2.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.33 ) id AA29862; Fri, 19 May 95 06:19:15 -0700 Received: from hitl-new.hitl.washington.edu by mx4.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA10440; Fri, 19 May 95 06:19:15 -0700 Received: from ben.britain.eu.net (ben.Britain.EU.net [192.91.199.254]) by hitl.hitl.washington.edu (8.6.12/8.6.12) with SMTP id GAA29473 for ; Fri, 19 May 1995 06:19:12 -0700 Received: from haymarket.edinburgh.ac.uk by ben.britain.eu.net via JIPS with SMTP (PP) id ; Fri, 19 May 1995 14:18:52 +0100 Received: from festival.ed.ac.uk (festival.ed.ac.uk [129.215.128.24]) by haymarket.ed.ac.uk (8.6.10/8.6.10) with SMTP id OAA18426 for ; Fri, 19 May 1995 14:18:48 +0100 To: sci-virtual-worlds@britain.eu.net Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds Path: rych From: Rycharde Hawkes Subject: Re: UK VR Research Centre X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Message-Id: Organization: Edinburgh University Date: Fri, 19 May 1995 13:16:48 GMT Lines: 88 Sender: nntpusr@festival.ed.ac.uk Status: OR Shortly after I made the original post I received a phone call from InSys and since they are having problems with their Internet access I offered to post the following two documents. Firstly, the original press release and secondly, a fax to Computer Weekly asking for the information in the article to be corrected. Rych ----------------- Press Release ================= National Centre for Virtual Environments Announced ================================================== The University of Salford and the Virtual Reality Division of Intelligent Systems Solutions Limited (InSys), are to form the National Centre for Virtual Environments on Salford University Campus. The close partnership between the University and InSys has already attracted well over 2 million pounds sterling of research and development grants for academic VR projects. Research into Virtual Reality (V.R.) began at Salford in 1988, when the company operated the National Advanced Robotics Research Centre. InSys is now recognised as one of the European leaders in both VR and robotics, with several world firsts accredited to the team. Since 1993, the company has welcomed postgraduate students from Salford and other universities to work on projects for the VRS Initiative - a scheme where business partners share the cost of the development of commercial VR applications. This proved to be an intensely symbiotic relationship, as InSys benefited from the pure engineering and scientific knowledge which the students brought to their projects, and the students received a first class commercial VR training which gained most of them distinctions in their postgraduate degrees. The success of this scheme led Prof. Bob Stone, Head of the Virtual Reality Division at InSys to discuss ideas with Prof. Peter Brandon, Pro-Vice- Chancellor for research at Salford University. They decided to focus on three broad areas - engineering, the built environment and bio technology, the results of which will be made available for commercial and industrial explotation. Earlier this year, the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Councial endorsed the Centre by awarding a grant to Salford totalling over 320,000 pounds sterling to fund the aquisition of the very latest VR technologies. Prof. Peter brandon commented: "At our National Centre, industry will drive academic research thereby ensuring that the U.K. stays ahead in the global thirst for VR advance. We intend to continue Salford University's pioneering links with industry by offering a Masters Degree in VR, to provide the future skills base so badly needed by the industrial VR community. Prof. Bob Stone who wil head the new Centre, explained: "We will act as a magnet drawing VR skills not just from Salford, but from many other Universities and the leading British VR companies. An international network is also evolving. We are in close discussion with a wide variety of other Centres in places as far dispersed as the United States, Italy and Russia." ------------------------- Letter to Computer Weekly ========================= Dear Karl, I guess it's probably too late to repair the potential damage done, but can I point out that it is NOT the aim of the National VR Centre to channel central government or academic council funds. We would never be so arrogant as to suggest that was outr role, and I'm sure that one paragraph in your item is going to cause us quite a bit of trouble. Our aim is to coordinate industrial and academic research already under way within our company and the University, liasing with other respected universities who have complimentary skills in order to share information/ projects, apply for collaborative and joint funds and work together for the good of the UK. Of course VR funds will go to other universities - we have not the God-given right to say who gets what in VR. I would be grateful if somehow, a correction could be printed, or this fax included in a letters page, if you run such a thing. Regards, Bob Stone. ----------------------------------------------