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AI symposium, Bearcat AI Award

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AI & Emerging Technology Symposium, UC Bearcat AI Award,  

Presentation at the UC 2026 AI & Emerging Technology Symposium on 02/18/2026 at UC TUC Center.

AI-Based Spatial Computing with BIM: Performance, Sustainability, and Wayfinding on the UC Campus

This project introduces an AI-enhanced spatial computing framework that integrates building-scale digital twins with intelligent autonomous navigation. Using BIM-derived geometry and utility metadata, the system combines LLM-assisted building-performance analytics with predictive modeling to support sustainable operations across an interactive, campus-scale digital twin environment. In parallel, we present INARA, a ROS 2–based indoor navigation platform that merges BIM-accurate simulation environments with a hybrid deep-reinforcement-learning and classical-control architecture, enabling safe, adaptive mobile-robot navigation within UC facilities.

Together, these systems advance AI-driven spatial computing by unifying building analytics, embodied intelligence, and digital–physical interoperability—laying the foundation for next-generation smart-building management and autonomous robotic applications.

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ARCH Seminar. Memory of the World

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Digital Heritage through VR and Generative AI

ARCH 7036-04/ARCH5051-04.Elective Theory Seminar, SAID, DAAP, Spring 2025

Class time: Monday. 10 am -12:50 pm.  Classroom: 4425-E, CGC Lab, DAAP building. 

Faculty: Ming Tang, Professor in Architecture and Interior Design, DAAP. Director of  Extended Reality Lab. XR-Lab

Seminar Description

This seminar invites students to explore the intersection of architecture, history, artificial intelligence, and immersive technologies by reimagining the past through digital heritage. Drawing on historic documents and archival materials from Cincinnati, students will work closely with historians to reconstruct a Cincinnati neighborhood as it existed in the 1950s, allowing users to step back in time and experience its spaces and stories through immersive visualization and virtual reality (VR).

Throughout the semester, students will investigate how generative AI, virtual reality (VR), and interactive visualization can preserve and reinterpret cultural memory. Using Unreal Engine as the primary platform, participants will design interactive VR environments for mobile headsets, creating spaces where history, atmosphere, and narrative merge into immersive experiences. The seminar aligns with UNESCO’s  Memory of the World initiative, emphasizing the preservation of documentary and architectural heritage for future generations.

In addition to a large collaborative group project, each student will conduct a samll individual research-based design investigation focused on a “lost” historic artifact—such as a forgotten art work or street furniture. Through AI-assisted modeling, reality capture, and digital prototyping, students will gain hands-on experience reconstructing the intangible layers of history while developing advanced technical and conceptual skills in digital heritage creation.

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workshop: MidwestCon

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workshop: Artistic Intelligence Mixer: Embedding and Embodying AI in Everyday Life 
Midwest Conference. 2025. Cincinnati, OH. 9.10.2025

Sponsored by: UC DAAP and FotoFocus

This dynamic, hands-on workshop invited participants to step beyond theory and into living with AI. Through interactive exercises and scenario-based challenges, attendees explored how artificial intelligence could be seamlessly woven into the fabric of daily life—not just as a tool, but as an embedded and embodied presence.

Guided by design thinking methods, we collaboratively imagined responsible, human-centered, and artistically inspired AI-driven products, systems, and experiences. Together, we examined the opportunities and tensions that arise when AI moves off the screen and into the spaces, objects, and interactions that shape our everyday world.

Participants left with new perspectives on what it means to design AI that is creative, ethical, and deeply connected to the human experience.

Speakers
Claudia B. Rebola, PhD, DAAP (College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning), Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs
Caroline Anderson, DAAP, Assistant Professor of Fine Arts
Isabel Potworowski, DAAP, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Ming Tang, University of Cincinnati, Professor, Director of Extended Reality Lab
Sangyong Cho, Assistant Professor
Heekyoung Jung, Assoicate Professor

SENSE + AI

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ARCH 4001 studio. Fall 2025. DAAP. University of Cincinnati

SENSE: Spatial Experiences for Narrative and Sensory Emotions with AI-Assisted Design

Museum concept by UC student Dwayne CarterEmma CekCourtney Reese. Fall. 2025

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CIC-VISTA

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Following six successful phases of the Building Safety Analysis with AI / Geospatial Imagery Analytics Research project (2020–2025), funded by the Cincinnati Insurance Companies (CIC), we are pleased to announce the launch of a new research initiative: VISTA – Virtual Immersive Systems for Training AI.

VISTA – Phase 1 ($81,413) marks the continuation of XR-Lab’s collaborative research efforts at UC with CIC. This new track will explore advanced AI-related topics, including computer vision, synthetic imaging, procedural modeling, machine learning, and reinforcement learning.

Project Title: Virtual Immersive Systems for Training AI, Phase 1. PI: Tang. Award Amount: $81,413. Project Period: 07/01/2025 – 11/01/2026