Welcome to the CTMT
Our Mission
At the Centre for Transformative Media Technologies we apply a blend of cultural, artistic and socio-technological research to address the nature, scope and impact of transformative media technologies.
We build new pathways and extend Swinburne’s outstanding research record in science, innovation and technology by bringing humanities, arts and social sciences into the equation.
Our unique experience
Partnerships
Our activities align with science, innovation and technology research at Swinburne, and a major partnership between Swinburne University of Technology and the Australian Centre for Moving Image. Our facilities include a bespoke ARC funded research lab for embodied movement Design.
Focus
Our research is externally focused on: technologies of transformative media and understanding how the body is mediated by such media; creative methodologies drawn from creative arts; digital and virtual heritage; and industry and community engagement.
Medium
We examine how Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and robotic interfaces enable new immersive and multisensory experiences to profoundly change the ways humans sense and interact with the world.
Creation
We create new models to analyse and create these transformative media experiences. Our research is critical to understand and positively shape media transformation.
Technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality place viewers in frameless, volumetric, multisensory environments that include perceptual modes such as haptics, touch and bodily movement – not ‘screen’ culture.
This radically transforms concepts of storytelling, immersion, spectatorship, identity and embodiment from traditional theory and practice. New media forms expand and enhance human perception, socio-political processes, and community engagement.
Our directors
Assoc Professor John McCormick
Acting Director
Associate Professor John McCormick is a leading researcher in the creative arts and new media. His work spans creative and industrial robotics, AR, VR, 3D experiences and AI. John was an Australian Antarctic Arts Fellow and continues to investigate sustainability through the lens of Antarctic research.
Professor Melanie Swalwell
Acting Deputy Director
Melanie Swalwell is Professor of Digital Media Heritage. Her research focuses on the creation, use, preservation, and legacy of complex digital artefacts such as videogames and media artworks. Melanie is the author of Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality (MIT Press, 2021), as well as many chapters, articles and anthologies on the histories of digital games.
Projects
Our projects reflect the diverse expertise of our researchers and range from mobile filmmaking and virtual experiences, to robot art and robot journalism. We work collaboratively across disciplinary and conceptual lines to understand and proactively advance the power of new media technologies to transform art, culture, industry and human experience.
Clients and partners
We currently work with many partners in the arts, GLAM sector and wider industries such as health and education.