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| 11-24-2003 | Previous edition: 11-21-2003 |
        
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Printer-friendly version New technology grants virtual adventure to allBy Mat VrossStaff Writer Within months, Purdue students will have the opportunity to utilize a new technology that will allow them to interact with a virtual environment. A room is being built in the Envision Center in Stewart Center called the CAVE, which is a 10 foot by 10 foot cube that projects images in stereo. With special glasses, this room gives the appearance of actually experiencing a virtual reality, said Gary Bertoline, associate vice president for discovery at ITaP. "The CAVE is a special device used to view computer graphics in stereo," said Bertoline. "They look suspended in the air." The CAVE utilizes four projection units that project computer graphic images from behind the walls of the room, allowing total three-dimensional immersion in the environment. "The realism is so great that it’s not uncommon for people to start walking and forget there are corners," Bertoline said. The CAVE uses a special technology which projects two images, one for each eye and a special pair of glasses allows three-dimensional interpretations of the images, said Dwight Mckay, technical architect for the Envision Center. "The CAVE allows you to display a model at a human scale, which means that if you put a table in there virtually, it looks like a real table, or if you put in the model of a building, you could experience it just how it would be," he said. The main use of the CAVE will be research, said Bertoline. With the technology, it is possible to create a three dimensional model of something to look at from all angles. The model of a car could be put in and examined from every angle, just as it would be if it were real. Things can be done with the CAVE, which could never be done before, said Mckay. "A flight simulator is an example of a very specific virtual environment," said Mckay, "The CAVE is a general purpose tool for making specific environments." In addition to using the CAVE to look at architectural or structural models, other programs can be used as well. An abstract environment can be created with a three dimensional plot of statistical information. Using a pair of special gloves and what Mckay called a "TV remote control on steroids," images and figures can be manipulated, moved and enlarged, giving the CAVE a "Minority Report" feel. "Comparing it to 'Minority Report' is fairly accurate," said Mckay, "in that there is very little equipment which needs to be worn. All you need is a pair of glasses, gloves and the remote." Another use of the technology is three-dimensional structuring of biological molecules. A model of a virus can be inserted and explored from every angle, allowing the observer to move and focus on certain parts of the molecule. "The problem a CAVE is trying to solve is the fundamental problem that we can create projects and make data that we can’t understand," said Mckay. With the CAVE, understanding can come easier and not only for researchers and scientists. As the primary use of the CAVE will be research, the secondary use will be education. Students can enter the CAVE to be taught things that would be difficult or dangerous to teach in any other way. "Because it’s a central facility, it can be used by the whole University," said Bertoline, "It will be used mostly for research, but will also be used partially by students." Bertoline is proud that Purdue’s CAVE is a unique CAVE in that it isn’t always the 10 foot by 10 foot cube. Purdue’s CAVE has a Powerwall feature, which allows it to become a virtual theater with an 8 foot by 30 foot screen, he said. The computer hardware behind the CAVE consists of about 20 Linux computers clustered together, each with an extremely powerful graphics card. Bertoline compared the graphics cards to high-end gamers’ cards, but estimated the cost to be around $2000 or $3000 each. Though the CAVE is still in pieces, those working on it hope to see the CAVE fully operational by February. "It’s still in pieces — big pieces — but it’s getting there," said Mckay. Printer-friendly version |
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