DT & AI for AEC showcase

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Join us for the Digital Twins, AI Design Showcase – Higher Education, explore the emerging digital technologies and their impact on the AEC industry, organized by Cincinnati BIM User Group.

📅 April 16 | 5:00–7:00 PM (EDT)
📍 DAAP, University of Cincinnati
2624 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH

Please register. Food will be provided! 

Hosted at the DAAP Computer Graphics Center (Room 4425), this showcase features student work from the University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, and Cincinnati State. Experience emerging digital twin and AI technologies firsthand, and see how these student teams are shaping the future of the AEC workforce.

Come check out the creativity, talent, and forward-thinking ideas driving the next generation of industry leaders. We will showcase several projects including SENSE + AI studio, Redefining Space in the Age of Spatial Computing studio, DT and IoT.

Special thanks to IMAGINiT Technologies for sponsoring this event!

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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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

Talking Agent @ AI Symposium

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Ming Tang and Mikhail Nikolaenko presented “AI-Powered Digital Humans for Enhanced Interaction in Extended Reality” at the AI and Emerging Technology Symposium, University of Cincinnati.

The day-long event explored topics around AI and robotic process automation; smart campus innovation; and extended reality, virtual reality, and augmented reality. More on UC News.

AI-Powered Talking Avatars for Enhanced Interaction in Extended Reality

Presenter. Ming Tang, Mikhail Nikolaenko. Feb. 20, 2025 in Tangeman University Center. 

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UC Library workshop

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Professor Ming Tang, Director of the XR-Lab, participated in the “Open Show-and-Tell Sessions: What’s in Your VR Closet?” hosted by UC Libraries. This series features guest speakers from UC’s Digital Futures, who share their work, research, and innovations in virtual reality. On Thursday, October 12, 2023, Professor Tang presented various projects and initiatives from the XR-Lab.

Open show-and-tell sessions: What’s in your VR closet?