Regent College London
THE EXPERIENCE
This installation at Regent College London represents the UK’s first immersive LED VR Powerwall in higher education, and a transformative leap in academic visualization capability. Delivered by Virtalis, the system replaces traditional projection technologies with an ultra-fine pixel pitch SiliconCore LED display, a significant shift that brings major benefits in resolution, reliability and operational efficiency.
The new Transformative Educational Digital Laboratory, designed for the School of Engineering and Computing, introduces students to the same advanced immersive visualization technologies used by global enterprise leaders. By adopting LED over projection, the college now offers greater brightness, contrast and interactivity with fewer calibration requirements and lower ongoing costs. The result is a more accurate, responsive and future-proof platform for teaching and discovery.
Complex datasets are brought to life in real time, allowing students to engage with 3D virtual environments at a 1:1 scale. This hands-on approach ensures they develop immediately transferable, industry-relevant skills, bridging the gap between academic study and real-world application.
BEHIND THE SCENES
At the heart of this breakthrough is a 4.86m x 2.39m SiliconCore LED display with a 1.2mm pixel pitch. Compared to projection, this delivers a higher resolution visual experience, greater color accuracy and superior brightness at up to 1200 nits. This high refresh-rate, high-brightness screen lets you run at 120 Hz+ (60 Hz per eye) using 3D shutter based glasses and hitting higher brightness specs for smooth motion while cutting down on flicker-induced eye strain.
SiliconCore’s patented Common Cathode IQ driver chip technology powers each individual LED with dedicated voltages. This enables fast 240Hz clock speeds, reduces power consumption and cuts heat dissipation at the PCB level by up to 50%. The result is a cool, fanless installation with minimal operational noise and no need for additional HVAC, ideal for the snug alcove where the display is installed. By switching to LED, Regent college also regains additional real estate for their lab.
The immersive system also integrates Advanced Realtime Tracking (ART) for multi-user interactivity. As users move within the space, the virtual environment dynamically responds to their perspective, creating a seamless and intuitive experience.
Active 3D head-tracked glasses, combined with an array of motion tracking cameras, ensure accurate spatial alignment for each participant. These elements work together within Virtalis’ proprietary Visionary Render software, enabling the creation of true-to-life 1:1 scale VR scenes.
Students can now interact with detailed virtual models across a range of real-world applications, including engineering and design reviews, digital prototyping, and layout planning. This immersive highly collaborative environment also supports manufacturing operations and maintenance simulations, offering a dynamic platform for experiential learning. This enables truly ‘hands-on’ virtual training, allowing students to build practical skills in a safe, scalable, and highly engaging setting.
This LED-powered solution allows teaching to evolve in line with the technologies students will use throughout their careers, raising the department's appeal to teachers and students.
“The advancement from projection to an LED solution means that we are operating at the very cutting edge of what is currently feasible, resulting in a world-class advanced visualization facility.”
— Professor Ilias Oraifige, Head of School of Engineering and Computing, Regent College London
ABOUT THE DISPLAY
