NASA Center Opens Reconfigurable Advanced Visualization
Environment Powered by Silicon Graphics Onyx2
RAVE at NASA Glenn Part of Collaborative Immersive Environments Network
Tuesday April 10, 6:00 am Eastern Time
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- SGI (NYSE: SGI - news) today announced that NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, has officially opened a new RAVE(TM) (Reconfigurable Advanced Visualization Environment) powered by a Silicon Graphics® Onyx2® visualization system with the InfiniteReality3(TM) graphics subsystem.
The RAVE from Fakespace Systems Inc., located in the Glenn Reconfigurable User Interface and Virtual Reality Exploration (GRUVE) laboratory, is being showcased today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and demonstrations at NASA Glenn. With the Silicon Graphics Onyx2 InfiniteReality3 system, NASA Glenn now has the computing and graphics power to explore computational fluid dynamics and structural analysis simulations in an immersive, collaborative environment.
Silicon Graphics Onyx2, with its high-bandwidth ccNUMA architecture, combines supercomputing and visualization technologies to process 3D graphics, 2D imaging and video data in real time, making it an ideal solution for gaining insight in the fields of manufacturing, government, engineering, science, research and entertainment. Extending the industry-leading InfiniteReality(TM) graphics architecture, InfiniteReality3 provides the most advanced capabilities for image quality and realism.
``The display wall is ideal for showing large amounts of data where one can look up close at small details or step back and get the big picture,'' said Jay Horowitz, director of the GRUVE lab at NASA Glenn. ``The panoramic view configuration is good for flight simulator-type visualization or for displaying several panels of data and video displays like a virtual control room. The CAVE, a three-sided room with 3D projection and tracking, gives one the sense of being fully immersed in a virtual reality simulation.''
Onyx2 InfiniteReality3 was selected by NASA for its unrivaled ability to handle high-resolution image and volumetric information with 256MB of texture memory and advanced texture mapping techniques. The texture memory capability of InfiniteReality3 is four times larger than the texture memory of the previous InfiniteReality2(TM) graphics at the same price.
The RAVE was purchased as part of a NASA initiative that aims to enable geographically dispersed teams of engineers and scientists to collaborate in full-sensory environments. Researchers at other NASA centers will utilize broad bandwidth links between systems to share the new immersive environment with NASA Glenn in real-time, remote collaboration, allowing them to work together as if they were at the same location.
NASA Glenn also foresees supporting a larger range of applications with the RAVE that could include work with local Cleveland groups and organizations in the areas of education, biomedicine and art.
The RAVE system consists of three self-contained modules that can be used as independent stereoscopic projection display systems or in a variety of groupings. Each module features an 8-foot-wide by 7.5-foot-high rigid rear-projected screen at one end of an 11-foot-deep structure containing one or more high-resolution CRT projectors.
Equipped with air casters, the RAVE modules can be raised approximately one inch off the ground, and one or two people can easily roll the units into different viewing configurations. The RAVE is an extremely flexible large-scale system designed for a variety of immersive viewing modalities. When positioned to form an immersive room, angled theater-like configuration, a 24-foot flat wall, an L-shaped display or three separate display walls, it provides stereoscopic visualizations that appear to have a real dimensional presence when viewed with electronic shutter glasses.
``We developed the RAVE in order to provide organizations such as NASA Glenn with the flexibility to use one display system for a broad range of projects,'' said Dan Wright, chief executive officer of Fakespace Systems. ``The opening of the GRUVE lab demonstrates the success of our ongoing partnerships with NASA and SGI to advance the value of visualization technology for both public and commercial use.''
About Fakespace
Fakespace Systems provides products and services for better insight, communications and collaboration in automotive, manufacturing, military, aerospace, geophysical exploration and scientific research organizations. The company designs and manufactures immersive displays and interactive devices and integrates complete visualization solutions providing Better Ways to Create and Communicate(TM). A business unit of Electrohome Limited (TSE: ELL.X - news, ELL.Y - news), Fakespace systems is headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The company has U.S. offices in Novi, Michigan; Alameda and San Diego, California; Columbus, Ohio; and Rockville, Maryland and has a European office based in the United Kingdom. More information on Fakespace Systems Inc. is available at www.fakespacesystems.com.
About SGI
SGI provides a broad range of high-performance computing and advanced graphics solutions that enable customers to understand and conquer their toughest computing problems. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., with offices worldwide, the company is located on the Web at www.sgi.com.
NOTE: Silicon Graphics, Onyx and Onyx2 are registered trademarks, and SGI, the SGI logo, InfiniteReality, InfiniteReality2 and InfiniteReality3 are trademarks, of Silicon Graphics, Inc. RAVE is a trademark of Fakespace Systems Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Gregory Slabodkin of SGI, 301-595-2618, or slabodkin@sgi.com; or Sally Harrington of NASA Glenn, 216-433-2037, or sally.harrington@grc.nasa.gov.
SOURCE: SGI
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