What if, in ten years, autonomous electric shuttles in Tempe’s most congested areas successfully reduce the need for personal car ownership, despite the city’s historical car-centric infrastructure? What if the integration of smart technology in Tempe’s transportation system significantly improves road safety and connectivity, and promotes inclusivity for all users, including pedestrians and cyclists? Or…

ASU Next Lab Co-founders Dr. Bea Rodriguez-Fransen and Dan Munnerley were featured as speakers at ASU’s Smart Region Summit on March 4, 2025. Rodriguez-Fransen served on a panel on Indigenous Communities and Social Impact, and Munnerley was a panelist for the Education and Workforce Development stream. Indigenous Communities and Digital Twins: Capacity-Building, Digital Sovereignty &…

ASU Next Lab Co-founder and Director, Dr. Bea Rodriguez-Fransen, was recently invited as a plenary speaker at XR Southern Summit on February 26-27, 2025. Her talk explored how ASU Next Lab anticipates change, empowering the next generation of innovators with future skills and emerging technologies. Hosted by Southern Utah University, the Summit is a national…

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Zoom Fellowship at Arizona State University, an exciting new initiative made possible through our visionary five-year partnership between Technology at Arizona State University and Zoom. This fellowship represents a significant step in redefining how we connect, learn, and innovate in the digital age. Meet the First…

Project Acacia, led by Afghan Scholars in collaboration with Next Lab during Fall 2024, explores using 3D technologies to create high-fidelity digital twins of real-world environments. These 3D, interactive models enable stakeholders to explore, analyze virtually, and plan spaces, with applications in urban planning, retail attraction, and infrastructure development. Project Acacia demonstrates the power of…

The Applied AI Infrastructure Guild’s WhatsApp Learning Chatbot is an AI-powered educational system designed to deliver personalized learning experiences directly within WhatsApp. By integrating conversational AI with course-specific content, the platform enables students to learn, practice, and track their progress in a familiar messaging environment. Faced with the problem of the global digital divide, where…

Next Lab is collaborating with the Institute for Digital Inclusion and Access (IDIA) to create and facilitate lessons and activities in emerging tech literacy, game design, worldbuilding, and more to community members of all ages. To bring emerging technology education to community members across the Arizona valley, Next Lab has partnered with the Institute for…

Next Lab’s Betel–NextACT project features an immersive virtual experience exploring utopian and dystopian climate change futures, paired with a booklet of sustainability-focused drama-based lesson plans for K-12 educators to encourage the younger generation and beyond to grow their eco-consciousness and make personal commitments to zero-waste. NextACT was born from a partnership between multiple ASU-affiliated organizations…

The digital twins for Maricopa County are crucial tools for understanding and addressing disparities in broadband access across diverse communities in Maricopa County. By creating a virtual representation of the county’s infrastructure, including broadband connectivity and accessibility, we aim to uncover data-driven insights to better serve underserved areas. Access to reliable broadband is essential for…

At ASU Next Lab, we’re committed to advancing learning, media, and technology through collaboration and interdisciplinary innovation. Recently, we had the privilege of hosting a group of talented students and faculty from An-Najar National University, located in Nablus, West Bank. This visit was a significant moment of cross-cultural exchange, opening doors to future collaborations and…