Kent State University's Blank_Lab integrated Scalable Display Manager to power a reconfigurable 360-degree projection environment for AR, VR, and XR research — enabling group immersive experiences for up to 15 participants without headsets, with automatic calibration that adapts as the space is reconfigured.
Kent State University, one of Ohio's leading public universities, is home to over 25,000 students across more than 300 degree programs. Established in 1910 and consistently ranked among the top public universities in Northern Ohio by U.S. News & World Report, Kent State has invested in facilities that push the boundaries of experiential and immersive learning.
At the center of that investment is the Blank_Lab — a reconfigurable black box environment designed to support cross-disciplinary collaborations in augmented, virtual, and extended reality. Unlike dedicated CAVE environments or static projection rooms, the Blank_Lab was designed from the outset to be flexible: a hung grid ceiling allows curtain walls, projectors, cameras, and other components to be repositioned as projects require, supporting group experiences of up to 15 people with or without headsets.
"It's a maker space with a range of AR, VR, and XR technologies," said J.R. Campbell, Executive Director of the Design Innovation Initiative at Kent State. "Rather than creating a dedicated cave or a static projection environment, we created a larger one with a hung grid ceiling to allow for a hung curtain wall and support reconfiguring of supporting cameras, projectors, and other components."
The flexibility of the space created a significant calibration challenge. A fixed projection system can be calibrated once and left alone — but a reconfigurable environment where projectors and screens move requires a calibration solution that can adapt quickly and accurately every time the space changes. The team selected Scalable Display Manager for exactly this capability.
Campbell noted that Scalable's software enabled the lab to deliver seamless 360-degree projection regardless of how the space was configured, with recalibration fast enough to support the pace of academic projects and demonstrations. Automated recalibration means the lab can be reconfigured between sessions without requiring a specialist to spend hours re-aligning the display.
The Blank_Lab supports a broad range of research activities — from immersive data visualization to motor behavior studies to interactive art — and has become a hub for cross-disciplinary collaboration across Kent State's colleges. Scalable's calibration software provides the visual infrastructure that makes the space work for all of them.
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