| Immersive, Collaborative Environments Using Internet2
Center for Academic Computing Internet2 and high-end visualization environments make for an exciting match. In these demonstrations, users of the Center for Academic Computing's ImmersaDesk R2 will be connected with others using similar facilities at two remote institutions for shared interaction with three-dimensional databases in two contexts: 1) oceanographic/climatological data visualization and 2) architectural design visualization. The ImmersaDesk features a large-format, rear-projected display and interactive devices through which users can view and interact with stereoscopic images of three-dimensional dataspaces. In these demonstrations, immersive graphical interaction will be supplemented by voice communication to foster a sense of telepresence in a networked, collaborative, virtual reality experience. In one demonstration, we will be sharing oceanographic and climatological data with research staff from the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography (CCPO) at Old Dominion University (http://www.ccpo.odu.edu). CAVE6D software developed at CCPO in conjunction with the Electronic Visualization Lab (EVL) of University of Illinois at Chicago (http://www.evl.uic.edu) provides a shared environment for viewing time-series georeferenced data sets across multiple locations. Penn State Department of Geography researchers will demonstrate the visualization of precipitation and temperature data across the Susquehanna River basin for the months of May through July 1972. Researchers from CCPO at Old Dominion will demonstrate their Chesapeake Bay Virtual Ecosystem (CBVE) database. The CBVE couples physical and biological representations of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The project has involved multi-disciplinary collaboration to fuse 3D visualization of numerically generated output, observations, and other data products into a large-scale, interactive virtual world. In another demonstration, architectural models will be shared over the network to illustrate the application of networked VR to design previsualization and review by remote collaborators. Faculty from Penn State's Department of Architecture will co-navigate virtual architectural space with research staff from Advanced Research Computing Services of the University of Iowa's Information Technology Services (http://www.uiowa.edu/~itsarcs). The demonstration will use a CAD model depicting a Lebbeus Woods proposal for a large-scale sculptural installation in Berlin. Location: 141 Computer Building Scheduled Demonstration Times: Research and C&IS staff will be on hand from 12:30-5:00 PM to answer your questions. |