MRI-R2: Development of the Next-Generation CAVE Virtual Environment (NG-CAVE)

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)." Proposal #: 09-59053 PI(s): Johnson, Andrew E.; Brown, Maxine, Leigh, Jason, Peterka, Tom Institution: University of Illinois - Chicago Title: MRI/Dev.: Dev. of the Next Generation CAVE Virtual Environment (NG-CAVE) Project Proposed: This project, developing the Next Generation CAVE (NG-CAVE), supports 15 research projects from local institutions. These projects in multiple domains (Astronomy, Astrophysics, Art, Bioengineering, Earth Science, High Performance Computing, Homeland Security, Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, etc.) are poised to use NG-CAVE for their large visualization needs. Just as cyberinfrastructure provides better access to greater volumes and varieties of data, from data storage systems, online instrumentation, and/or major computational resources like the TeraGrid and future Petascale facility, advanced visualization instruments serve as the eyepieces of a telescope or microscope, enabling researchers to view their data in cyberspaces and to better manage the increased scale and complexity of accessing and analyzing the data. NG-CAVE is such an eyepiece, providing researchers with powerful and easy to use information-rich instrumentation in support of cyberinfrastructure-enabled scientific discovery. It provides users with the ability to see 3D content at nearly 106 Megapixels. For the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the institution, NG-CAVE represents the culmination of decades of experience and expertise developing immersive environments, from the room-sized CAVE virtual environment in 1992, to the office-sized ImmersaDesk in 1994, to the GeoWall in 2000, and the more recent ultra-high-resolution LamdaVision tiled-display wall and autostereoscopic Varrier-tiled-display wall. Each new generation of visualization instrumentation has provided scientific communities with one or more advanced features (higher resolution, unencumbered stereoscopic viewing, multi-Gigabit connectivity, and intuitive user interfaces), better coupling worldwide scientific virtual organizations, and better integrating scientific workplaces with globally distributed cyberinfrastructure. NG-CAVE provides an alternative approach to constructing CAVEs by using new near-seamless flat LCD technology augmented with micropolarization, rather than traditional projection technologies. The net effect is a new CAVE that has 3D acuity to match human vision, can be scaled near-seamless to even greater resolution, is affordable compared to projection-based approaches, requires little maintenance, can be used for both 2D and 3D stereoscopic viewing, and can support multiple simultaneous viewers. The instrument also opens new opportunities in computer science research at the intersection of large-scale data visualization, human computer interaction, virtual reality, and high-speed networking, Broader Impacts: This project provides state-of-the-art equipment, opportunities, and supervision to enhance undergraduate and graduate research and education. The new NG-CAVE supports 10 classes in Computer Science, Art and Design, and Biomedical Science departments. It provides scientific communities with highly integrated virtual-reality collaboration environments; it enables working with industry to commercialize new technologies for the advancement of science and engineering and to continue ongoing partnerships with many of the world's best domain scientists and computer scientists in academia and industry, who readily become early adopters of new instrumentation and who provide students with summer internships and jobs upon graduation. Thus, this instrument enables US to maintain its leadership position in high performance computing and contributes in the advancement of complex global issues (e.g., environment, health, homeland security, economy, etc.), which, in turn, benefit society as a whole.