Immersive Lab Collaboration Spaces

The Immersive Labs are new to the College of Engineering and are a collaborative effort between Microsoft and Steelcase. Watch the short 1-minute video below to see a brief overview of how this collaboration has been used by others and how they can be used in the Immersive Labs.

One of the most creative aspects of the Immersive Labs is how flexible the rooms are. These spaces support various learning and teaching activities and team collaborations. Watch the 2-minute video below for some insights into the functionality of the furniture and technology in the Immersive labs.

Next, let's take a look at what's included in the Immersive labs. Below you can see two possibilities for how they can be set up based on your needs and group activities. We strongly encourage you to set up and re-design the Immersive Labs in whatever way works best for you! As you look at the schematics of these designs think about the types of activities you will use the Immersive Labs for, including working on group design projects, practicing for presentations, and brainstorming ideas. Think about how you might use the flexible furniture and technology in these spaces to collaborate with your teammates. Next, read through the descriptions of each design to familiarize yourself with all the room offers.

Design 1 description: The collaborative space on the left is centered around the wall-mounted Surface Hub with a camera. The large tall tables are standing/tall-stool height to encourage interaction and sharing on the Surface Hub. This room is designed into 2-3 flexible zones which encourage virtual in-person and collaboration. The space on the right shows a high perching bench with stools and an integrated table with power for easy laptop charging near writable boards on the walls. The Surface Hub on Roam cart is mobile and can move throughout the room for students and faculty to interact. They can synchronously share and develop ideas in real-time whether together in the room or connecting remotely on the Roam cart. Writable and tackable boards on the walls also encourage ideation. A wall-mounted document camera captures and shares whiteboard and tackboard content with remote students. The assortment of carts and stands hold supplies, equipment and the writable boards/tack boards which can be easily moved to create openness or division if 2 separate groups are meeting. The Surface Studio 2 is in each room on a height-adjustable table which can be rotated into a studio mode. The black Flex Mobile Power (cheese grater-like objects) provides charging power to users wherever they sit. They have a proprietary charging base to discourage theft.

Design 2 description: The wall-mounted Surface Hub with a camera on the left wall can become the stage for the entire room.  Most of the furniture in the room is on wheels and mobile so everything can be rolled and turned to face the left Surface Hub for presentations or share-fairs. The room easily converts from 2-3 zones into a tiered seating arrangement and hosts virtual or in-person presentations or collaboration no matter how the presenter is making themselves present. The Surface Hub on Roam cart is mobile and can move throughout the room for students and faculty to interact. They can synchronously share and develop ideas in real-time whether together in the room or connecting remotely on the Roam cart. The assortment of carts and stands hold supplies, equipment and the writable boards/tack boards become wallpaper for information persistence as a reminder of where the build-up of thinking left off. The Surface Studio 2 is on a height-adjustable table which can be rotated into a studio mode.  Content can be shared on all connected devices for live demos. The black Flex Mobile Power (cheese grater-like objects) provides charging power to users wherever they sit.  They have a proprietary charging base to discourage theft.

This page includes some guidance on using the Immersive Labs. Please read through these guidelines carefully, and reach out to the College of Engineering support resources if you have questions.

• All equipment, technology, and furniture must remain in the room at all times (including Surface Hub styluses, portable whiteboards, etc.)
• The Immersive Labs are open 24hrs a day, but are reserved during certain blocks of time. You can view the reservation calendar and make a reservation by filling out an online reservation form, or you can access the link through the Check Immersive Lab Availability. Note, if there is no one in the room you are free to use them on a first-come first-served basis
• While you are free to redesign/setup the space in a way that best suites you and your groups needs please keep the room neat and tidy and refrain from eating or drinking in the Immersive Lab spaces
• For IT assistance, please contact: Christopher Steffen chris.steffen@unl.edu
• For guidance on how the Microsoft technology can be used to support your team's collaboration, please contact: Yaoling Wang yaoling.wang@unl.edu or Nathan Pindell npindell2@unl.edu
• For all other questions, please contact: Amie Sommers, asommers2@unl.edu

Item 1: The Steelcase Roam Cart

Steelcase Roam is a system of mobile stands and easy-to-install wall mounts co-developed with Microsoft for the new Surface Hub 2, giving teams the freedom to collaborate anywhere. The flow of ideas doesn’t have to end when your scheduled meeting does—the approachable design and total flexibility of Roam empower teamwork to happen wherever ideas do: anytime, anywhere, any way.

Watch the short video below to observe how the Steelcase Roam cart used in collaboration with the Surface Hub can be setup in the Immersive Lab space to fit your group needs.

Item 2: The Steelcase Chair

Understanding how to properly adjust your Steelcase chair is important. The video below shows you how easy it is to adjust your chair.

Item 3: The Steelcase Migration Height Adjustable Desk

The Migration height adjustable desk allows you to shift your postures while working on a project. It can help alleviate fatigue, stimulate the mind, and increase productivity. Watch the video below to see how to adjust the desk to suit your needs in the Immersive Lab.

Microsoft Surface Hubs

There will be two Microsoft Surface Hubs in the Immersive Labs, one is mounted to the wall and one will be free to move about the room on the Steelcase Roam cart. Please review the following information about the Surface Hubs. Additional resources will be provided in the Additional Resources section.

Microsoft Surface Hub 2S is the next generation team collaboration device designed to advance the way people work together naturally. Surface Hub 2S re-imagines the mobile meeting experience to unlock the power of the group by using an interactive, collaborative Whiteboard, Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams, Office apps, and Email to share content and meeting notes. 

As a platform for amazing large screen apps, Surface Hub is the best way to create and brainstorm with others. In addition, since Surface Hub is a shared device, anyone can walk up and start a session from the Welcome screen. Surface Hub is advanced technology for the modern mobile workplace.

Surface Hub Components

Surface Hub 2S includes highly refined technology with a thin bezel, light weight, and Ultra High Definition display.

You may learn more about Surface Hub in the user training guide. 

Microsoft Teams on the Surface Hub

You will have access to a Microsoft Teams channel specific to your course. Teams features can be used to collaborate in-person, virtually, and asynchronously to achieve your team goals. Explore the basics of using Microsoft Teams by watching the videos included in the Microsoft Teams User Training Guide. Additionally, watch the videos included in the Microsoft Teams on the Surface Hub Training Guide to take full advantage of collaborating in the Immersive Lab space.

Below is a checklist of steps and reminders for everyone when using the Immersive Lab:

1. One member of your team must LOG IN to the Microsoft Hub if you plan to save any of the files, white-boarding, or other data created during your session. If you do not log in, all files and white-board information will be deleted after the session has ended.
2. After you are finished using the Microsoft Hub, you must LOG OUT, or "END SESSION" in order to save the the files, white-boarding, or other data created during your session. If you do not "End Session" prior to leaving, your files and information will be accessible to anyone who uses the Microsoft Hub after you leave.
3. To join a Teams meeting from the Microsoft Hub, you will need to invite the Hub to the Calendar Invitation using the following emails:
   City Campus Engineering Research Center room 110: d-110-1@unl.edu 
   Scott Campus PKI room 117k: pki117k-1@unl.edu 
4. The Immersive Labs are open 24hrs a day and are free to use on.

Microsoft Surface Hub

Microsoft Surface Hub User Training Guide

You can check the Immersive Lab availability through the Engineering Room Reservations. To make a reservation, you can fill out an online reservation form. 

Note: The Immersive Labs are open 24hrs a day and are free to use on a first-come-first-served basis if they are not currently reserved or occupied.

Students, as you begin to set up the immersive lab space to best meet your collaboration and learning needs, we encourage you to share with your peers how you and your group use the Immersive Lab, including how you organize furniture, use the Microsoft technology, and any other feedback on the space. You can take pictures, videos, or type up your ideas to share with others. 

You can share your experiences with others by posting on this public OneNote page.

2/21/2022 Teams Channels and Files

2/25/2022 OneDrive  

Attendee link (for those who decides not to register but would like to join in the training) https://aka.ms/UNLTraining