X-Reality-Lab

Overview

The X-Reality Lab is a unique infrastructure that opens up opportunities for students, researchers and developers to experiment with projection-based virtual reality, as well as allowing them to explore further possibilities for the usage of interactive x-reality and identify new areas in which it could be deployed.

Contact
moz.xr@moz.ac.at
bernhard.winkler@moz.ac.at

Funded by the FFG. Co-financed by the ERFE programme of the European Union.

The X-Reality-Lab is hexagonal in shape, with a floor area of 165m2 and a room height of 8 metres. Five of the six walls and the floor are fully equipped with state-of-the-art 3D projectors to create impressive visual effects. Behind the projection surface is a sophisticated system of loudspeakers and subwoofers, which creates an immersive audio-visual experience by combining real-time 3D images and 3D sound. The room is equipped with optical sensors and tracking systems which work in tandem to follow and identify people, objects and robots, creating a highly interactive environment.

Significant parts of the X-Reality Lab's equipment are funded by the FFG and co-financed by the European Union in the EFRE programme. Further information on the IBW/EFRE- & JTF programme can be found at www.efre.gv.at

Save the date

24.9.—26.9.2026

Universität Mozarteum am Kurgarten

Staging Realities Festival

A festival for artists, designers, filmmakers, performers, musicians, writers, media artists, developers, scenographers, and researchers working at the intersection of art, technology, storytelling, space, performance, interaction, and immersive media – and for everyone interested in XR.

Festival

Study with us!

Open arts, Interdisciplinary

Immersive Arts and Digital Narratives

News

8.6.2026

Measuring virtuality

The “Staging Realities” festival will mark the opening of the Mozarteum University’s new X-Reality-Lab at the Kurgarten (UMAK) from 24 to 26 September 2026. From October onwards, the lab will explore new narrative forms shaped by post-digital aesthetics.

News
23.5.2025

Open Call: Artist-in-Residence Program

Under the title "Staging Realities" Mozarteum University invites media artists and artist collectives to apply for a funded residency to create an interactive, multi-user XR performance in the newly built X-Reality-Lab. Fully operational in winter 2025, the Lab features cutting-edge projection-based XR technology and is supported by the open-source software framework mozXR developed in cooperation with the Ars Electronica Futurelab.

Open Call
11.10.2024

Expanded realities, expanded possibilities

With the approval of research funding totalling 2.5 million euros from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), the foundation has been laid for the development of a state-of-the-art X-Reality Lab - the digital centrepiece of the new Mozarteum University site at Kurgarten.

News

Projects

The X-Reality-Lab is to be housed at a new site of the Mozarteum University at the Kurgarten which is currently under construction. Together with regional and international partners from research and industry, numerous projects are already in the pipeline ahead of the planned opening at the beginning of 2026.

If you are interested in a collaboration in the field of X-Reality or Artificial Intelligence in Art, please contact us (christopher.lindinger@moz.ac.at or bernhard.winkler@moz.ac.at).

MozXR - The modular open source platform for immersive digital art

MozXR is an innovative platform that supports artists, designers and creative teams in the development of immersive and interactive XR applications. The open-source framework takes established tools such as Unreal Engine, Unity and TouchDesigner and brings them together in a single technical environment, providing the basis for sophisticated audiovisual projects - from interactive performances and multiplayer experiences to large-scale, walk-through installations.

Designed for use in specialised spaces such as the X-Reality-Lab at the Mozarteum University or the Deep Space at the Ars Electronica Center in Linz (and with other comparable XR systems built on highly developed technical equipment), MozXR offers a stable and flexible basis for projects in art, research, education and entertainment - in both non-commercial and professional contexts.

MozXR is currently under development and is available free of charge as an open source tool. Extensive training materials - including video tutorials, detailed documentaries and examples of how it could be deployed in real-world situations - make it easy to get started.