Canon Volumetric Innovation Challenge launches at ASU MIX Center
Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and Canon U.S.A., a leader in digital imaging solutions, are collaborating to expand access to next-generation volumetric capture technologies and accelerate innovation in spatial imaging.
ASU is deploying Canon’s prototype volumetric capture system at the Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center in Mesa, Arizona, for the 2025–26 academic year, expanding access for students, faculty and researchers across the greater Mesa-Phoenix metro region to explore new use cases for three-dimensional imaging.
“At ASU, we believe the future of discovery depends on bringing diverse disciplines together,” said Renée Cheng, dean of the Herberger Institute and ASU senior vice provost. “Canon’s collaboration with the MIX Center merges art and engineering to imagine new possibilities for learning, health and human experience.”
The Canon Volumetric Innovation Challenge is a competitive seed grant program that will award $10,000–$50,000 in funding to up to three research teams to develop novel applications for volumetric imaging across disciplines. Proposals are due Feb. 5, 2026, with awards to be announced in early March 2026.
Selected teams will receive funding, supported access to the system for capture and experimentation, and assistance from a student cohort of Volumetric Innovation Fellows at the MIX Center trained to operate the system.
“Through Canon’s collaboration, our faculty and students gain access to emerging tools and product development pipelines that accelerate creative experimentation and applied research,” said Stephanie Tomlin, director of industry relations at ASU’s MIX Center. “We hope to see collaborative projects emerge prototyping new tools, workflows and experiences with real-world impact.”
Installed at the MIX Center’s 118,000-square-foot future-of-media facility, the prototype small-format volumetric system uses synchronized imaging technology and Gaussian splatting — an exciting AI-enabled technique — that can transform live human motion into fully navigable 3D video scenes. The prototype system will be available for open academic and research use across ASU and the wider community, supporting projects in fields such as health and biomechanics, digital performance, education and training, and entertainment production.
“Canon is deeply committed to empowering new forms of creativity and scientific research through imaging technology,” said Masato Mori, senior vice president of Business Innovation Group at Canon U.S.A. “By collaborating with Arizona State University and the Herberger Institute, we hope to advance projects that redefine how stories are told, data are visualized, and human motion is understood.”
The Canon Volumetric Innovation Challenge is open to all ASU affiliates and external collaborators, encouraging cross-disciplinary teams that combine technical, scientific and creative expertise. Projects must include at least one ASU Herberger Institute faculty or curator as a principal investigator or co-investigator.
The application window opens on Dec. 8. Full details, including eligibility and submission information, are available at herbergerinstitute.asu.edu/partners-canon.