THRIVE: 09 T e c h n o l o g y On 25 August 2022, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) School of Tourism and Hospitality marked a key milestone by launching the Extended Reality (XR) facility, through the support of the Erasmus Plus SUCSESS Project. FERL Director, Dr. Hema Kesa unpacks how the facility will enable cutting edge research and training In August 2018, what was once a dream turned into reality when we launched the Food Evolution Research Laboratory. Through this virtual laboratory we have come to fondly refer to as FERL, we had a specific focus to conduct research on nutrition transition, the evolution of food and how to enhance the lifestyles of individuals, and communities, who recognise the importance of health and nutrition. At the time, the big idea was to establish a virtual lab that will promote the use of the research through innovative and critical thinking mechanisms, which would in turn be transferred through immersive technologies including virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality – technologies which are collectively referred to as Extended Reality (XR). Reimagining research and education through Extended Reality “In August 2018, what was once a dream turned into reality when we launched the Food Evolution Research Laboratory”.
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