20 November 2008

Announcement paves the way for Nokia to
find new forms of media within the mobile space

Nokia today announced its newest research laboratory has been established in the Hollywood area of California, US.

Nokia Research Center Hollywood will work with members of the media & entertainment industry including new technology companies and creative talent, together with leading universities in the region to drive long-term research activities to further strengthen Nokia's leadership position in the convergence of internet and mobility.

"Hollywood has an enormous variety of academic institutions, innovative media businesses and unique creative talent.

It offers exactly the right ingredients for research into topics that will be vital for Nokia's business in the future. The link with the movie industry is naturally strong, however the entertainment concepts we will be working on at the NRC Hollywood laboratory are even more diverse. The laboratory will explore new entertainment experiences that combine the physical and digital worlds.

Our research work will focus on mixed reality experiences, with a strong community flavor. We will develop new user interfaces that fully explore the role of the human body and human motion for more natural forms of interaction. Mobile devices will play a central role in this," commented Rebecca Allen, Laboratory Director of NRC Hollywood.

The new NRC Hollywood laboratory will research on many technologies surrounding the media industry: film, music, games, web and TV. With a strong emphasis on entertainment and associated experiences, research topics will include mixed reality, content creation and user interface experiences, among others.

In addition to recruiting from and collaborating with the Hollywood entertainment, media and art communities, the laboratory plans to further collaborate with the leading universities in the region such as University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Southern California (USC).

"Opening our latest laboratory in Hollywood is a key milestone for Nokia. Engaging more actively with the entertainment and media community and establishing a research force there is a significant step for Nokia as we continue to build our position as a leader in the converging worlds of Internet and mobility", said Henry Tirri, Head of NRC.

Nokia Research Center collaborates with world-class universities and research institutes around the globe, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University in the US, the University of Cambridge, UK and Tsinghua University, China. This year Nokia Research Center announced a joint research program with two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Lausanne and Zurich (EPFL and ETH Zurich) and opened a lablet on the campus of Helsinki University of Technology in Finland.