Metropolia’s new Immersive Sustainability Lab accelerates future sustainability with emerging technologies
Metropolia’s new research, development, and innovation (RDI) platform, the Immersive Sustainability Lab, focuses on sustainable innovations and applications through emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, extended reality (XR), and digital twins. The Lab is located on Metropolia’s Arabia campus as part of the Helsinki XR Center.
The Immersive Sustainability Lab offers a meeting point for projects that engage residents, businesses, and communities. It also serves as an exhibition and development space for the latest technological innovations and a platform for development projects involving businesses and the public sector that utilize extended reality technologies. The aim of the operations is to promote sustainability, especially in urban environments, and to provide developers, residents, and decision-makers the opportunity to experience various future scenarios immersively.
Tiina Vuorio, who coordinates the lab’s operations, sees the platform as an important step in promoting Helsinki and Finnish expertise and values internationally.
“The Immersive Sustainability Lab enhances international collaboration in networks of cities, emerging technologies, and companies and other actors focusing on sustainability. The lab’s inspiring environment enables collaborative experiences in designing and implementing sustainable cities”, Vuorio explains.
The Immersive Sustainability Lab was inaugurated at an opening ceremony on Metropolia’s Arabia campus on November 18, 2024 by Ilona Lundström, the Chair of Metropolia’s Board, and American inventor, VR technology pioneer and a professor at the University of Washington, Dr. Tom Furness. Furness is the Chair of the Virtual World Society, with which Metropolia signed a collaboration agreement in the summer of 2024.
"Immersive Sustainability Lab is an excellent example of how we can combine sustainable development and cutting-edge technology. This platform enables a new kind of collaboration between companies, cities, and universities, bringing Finnish expertise to international arenas. It is inspiring to see how students and experts are working together to create future solutions that support sustainable and smart urban development”, Lundström says.
"Technology is amazing and a critical part of the process, but at the heart of it all are people. As part of the process, it’s also important for us to take off the VR headset and look at the real world to think about how we can make it better. The Immersive Sustainability Lab offers us the opportunity to create something great", says Furness.
Experts and students collaborate to develop innovations
Metropolia students play a key role in the Immersive Sustainability Lab, learning to create innovative content for virtual and extended reality environments. They design virtual environments, concepts, and solutions using tools like 3D modeling software and game engines.
“XR productions are projects born from the collaboration of experts across different fields. The Helsinki XR Center provides students with valuable work experience and helps them develop their professional skills in collaboration with partners”, says Vuorio.
According to Vuorio, the Immersive Sustainability Lab and Metropolia’s Smart and Creative City innovation hub are preparing several projects funded by Business Finland and the EU. These projects focus on utilizing digital twins, engaging urban residents, assessing environmental impacts, and using open data. Plans are also in place for collaboration with Urbanfarmlab, based on Metropolia’s Myyrmäki campus, to develop immersive solutions for urban agriculture and vertical farming.
More information:
Tiina Vuorio
Manager, Helsinki XR Center
tiina.vuorio [at] metropolia.fi (tiina[dot]vuorio[at]metropolia[dot]fi)