Ohio University is betting on the future of advanced manufacturing and digital engineering. The school has officially launched the Digital Enterprise Collaboratory (DEC), an initiative designed to blend education, applied research, and workforce training in a single immersive ecosystem.
At the core of the DEC is Virtualware’s VIROO Enterprise XR platform, paired with HTC VIVE hardware and services, and anchored by dedicated lab spaces in Athens and Dayton.
The goal: give students, faculty, government agencies, and industry partners a place to collaborate on real-world challenges using immersive and digital engineering tools.
“The DEC is designed to be shared infrastructure to enable the state of Ohio’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem to leverage the power of XR and AI in a collaborative way,” said John Cunningham, President of Virtualware USA.
“This accelerates applied research, product development, and education.”
Immersive Labs in Under a Week
One of the most striking aspects of the rollout was its speed. The DEC combines a cloud-based XR backbone with two physical immersive labs – one on Ohio University’s Athens campus and another in partnership with the University of Dayton Research Institute.
Both were installed in less than a week.
“When Virtualware told us we could install two locations in under a week, I was admittedly skeptical,” said Scott Miller, Associate Dean for Industry Partnerships at Ohio University’s Russ College of Engineering and Technology.
“It was truly amazing how quickly we were able to implement the DEC and get our faculty and customers up and running on real projects.”
That rapid deployment was possible thanks to VIROO’s pre-integrated software and hardware stack and proven deployment methodology. Hosted on Amazon Web Services, the platform supports multiuser XR sessions that can be accessed from VR headsets, desktops, or immersive systems.
VIROO Studio for Unity extends those capabilities further, enabling CAD and BIM models to be converted into interactive digital twins and training simulations. Engineers can transform design data into collaborative, real-time environments that teams can engage with – whether through a desktop connection or full-scale mixed reality devices.
Speed, Access, and Industry Impact
Ohio University estimates the DEC could reduce the time needed to develop engineering modules and designs by a factor of three to ten compared to traditional methods.
The platform also makes possible advanced workflows such as multi-location testing and virtual commissioning, allowing distributed teams to iterate and validate designs without the cost and delay of physical prototyping.
For manufacturers, that means faster concept-to-production timelines. For students, it means hands-on exposure to the same digital tools reshaping industrial operations globally.
The timing is critical. Ohio is in the midst of a manufacturing boom, with companies such as Intel, Honda-LG, Anduril, and Joby Aviation investing billions into new facilities. Together, these projects are expected to generate demand for roughly 20,000 skilled workers over the next five years.
Ohio University has already been scaling up industrial automation and certification pathways in areas such as mechatronics, automation, and semiconductor manufacturing. The DEC is now a cornerstone of that strategy, designed to ensure graduates are ready for the next generation of digital-first industry roles.
Virtualware’s Expanding Higher-Ed Footprint
For Virtualware, the Ohio University partnership extends its footprint in higher education and workforce development. VIROO is already being used at McMaster University in Canada, the University of Central Florida, and within Spain’s Ministry of Education Vocational Training Network which will be extending the current 25 campus deployment with and additional 66 schools in the next 3 months.
While each institution implements the platform differently, the common thread is scalable, enterprise-grade XR infrastructure that supports collaboration between academia, industry, and government. Ohio University’s DEC adds momentum to this growing international network.
The Bigger Picture
By embedding XR platforms like VIROO into academic and industrial ecosystems, institutions lower the barrier to immersive technology adoption while addressing urgent workforce challenges. For a state like Ohio – where manufacturing remains the largest industry, contributing 17.5 percent of GDP – initiatives like the DEC are more than a technology upgrade. They’re an economic necessity.
As Miller says: “With the DEC, we are preparing the next generation of engineers to think spatially, act collaboratively, and solve real-world problems.”
