Delving into the Human Mind in Multiple Dimensions

At the new Extended Realities Lab, or “TAU XR,” researchers from across campus can use immersive, augmented and mixed-reality environments for conducting experiments spanning all disciplines as well as for enhancing students’ learning experience.

When subjects wear virtual reality (VR) goggles at the lab, they plunge into a three-dimensional space that appears and feels completely real. It can be a maze with endless corridors, a museum, a busy intersection, a courtroom, a theatrical production or an airplane. The virtual reality environment can be enhanced by real objects added to the mix.

“These are data-rich environments, where every minute detail can be measured: the eye, head and body movements of a person, their reactions. We can now quantify this data and obtain unique insights into the human mind, cognition, intelligence and many other subjects in more naturalistic settings,” says Prof. Tom Schonberg of the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience. He directs both TAU XR, which is located at the Sourasky Central Library, and the new Minerva Center for Human Intelligence that the lab serves.

Head of the Library Dr. Naama Scheftelowitz leads the learning and outreach activities at TAU XR, the renovation of which was supported by Victor Constantiner.