Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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AKPIK: Arbeitskreis Physik, moderne Informationstechnologie und Künstliche Intelligenz

AKPIK 3: Research with AI: Hardware, Software, Tools

AKPIK 3.5: Invited Talk

Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 12:15–12:45, BEY/0127

Virtual Reality Gamification for Photonics, AI and More — •Arash Rahimi-Iman — I. Physikalisches Institut and Center for Materials Research, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, 35392 Gießen, Germany

Amazing mixed or virtual reality (XR/VR) tools can boost excitement for various science topics across age groups. VR-enhanced lectures can visually address topics such as photonics or artificial intelligence, illustrate what space travel or a visit to periodic lattices of solids might be like, allow learners to play with beams and particles to solve quests, and do much more.

Game-like exploration environments can support self-paced learning and collaborative training, including multiplayer modes. This not only brings immersion, but also interaction and fun. Moreover, VR worlds can help circumvent typical limitations of traditional labs, such as access, safety, or resources. They promote an extraordinary variety of designs and implementations, such as toy experiments mimicking, for instance, laser optics, quantum and nanophysics, and more.

Here, I present in VR one example of a digital learning environment enabled by powerful computer game engines like UE5. Like a lab-on-a-chip combining several laboratory functions on a single integrated circuit, hence on a chip, my VR analog ``lab-in-a-chip'' (the virtual lab world) could bring together different virtual experiments and learning scenarios, with user-group--oriented gamification making them more tangible for learners and non-experts.

Keywords: Virtual Reality; Gamification; 3D Visualization; Photonics and AI; Edutainment