Funded by: National Science Foundation
James E. Bernard, Carolina Cruz-Neira, Judy M. Vance
Virtual Reality Applications Center
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011-2160
10/1999 to 9/2002
Abstract
We are in the process of designing and fabricating the C6, a next-generation, six-sided synthetic environment with back projection on all six surfaces of the room. We plan to power the C6 with two computing systems: a Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) high performance computer, and six low-end computers. The SGI high-performance system will enable very-fast, very-high-resolution display coupled with high performance computing capabilities. The low-end system will enable the development of high-immersion SEs powered by low-cost computing. This proposal seeks funds from the National Science Foundation to partially support the purchase of the SGI high-performance computer. The C6 will be the centerpiece of a new facility being constructed for the Iowa Center for Emerging Manufacturing Technology (ICEMT). Plans for the C6 include very high bandwidth links to several other local synthetic environments to enable the development of tools for collaboration. In addition, we look forward to high bandwidth connections to research collaborators at any of the one hundred or so R1 universities which are interconnected by the very high speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS). We are working together on this project with research partners SGI, the acknowledged world leader in computer graphics hardware, and MechDyne Corporation, a new company specializing in the design and fabrication of surround-screen synthetic environments.
