Virtual Reality Center

On Thursday I got to experience one of the most awesome pieces of technology I'd ever seen. I say "experience" because it was a virtual reality center, where I got to walk into what they call "the cave" - a room about 8 by 10 feet across and probably 8 feet high - and have my first full-emersion virtual reality experience. The room works like this - two projectors display an image onto massive glass panes on each side of the room and also on the floor. The image from each projector is polarized, similar to a 3D movie. Special glasses are put on, including a "control" pair which has infrared markers that are tracked by cameras inside the cube. The door is slid shut behind you (it is too heavy to be opened by hand and must be operated pneumatically when closed) and the images surrounding you are controlled by the movements of your head and by a sort of in-hand joystick. Each eye receives a separate image due to the polarization, which creates a 3D effect. The first simulation we got to experience was of a track, similar to what is on a caterpillar, climbing up a set of steps. When I put on the glasses I immediately got run over by the massive track, and as it moved I actually passed through it and was able to see the internal mechanisms passing by. When I paused the image I was able to look around and have it revolve in front of me, then un-pause it and watch it crawl away up a virtual flight of stairs. The sensation was completely amazing, though I can't even begin to fully describe it. The images were so real that we all kept reaching out trying to grab the object right in front of us only to have our hands pass through thin air. We talked a lot with one of the main programmers for the system and he loaded a virtual Aachen tour for us, which allowed us to fly around the city, stand on the roof of the cathedral, and step into a tower overlooking the city.

In the pictures it will look like the image is blurry, but that's just because of the two separate images being projected onto each wall. In order to generate and accurately display all of these images, 10 computers have to be working constantly - 9 for image rendering and another to synchronize all of the computers. All of this and only a one million dollar price-tag!