BYU’s 3D virtual reality system much cheaper, just as effective as others
It’s like a scene from a gamer’s wildest dreams: 12 high-definition, 55-inch 3D televisions all connected to a computer capable of supporting high-end, graphics-intensive gaming.
On the massive screen, images are controlled by a Wii remote that interacts with a Kinnect-like Bluetooth device (called SmartTrack), while 3D glasses worn by the user create dizzying added dimensions.
But this real-life, computer-powered mega TV is not for gaming. It’s for engineering.
Welcome to Brigham Young University’s VuePod, a 3D immersive visualization environment run by BYU’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Student-built and operated, under the supervision of civil engineering professor Dan Ames, the VuePod is changing the way engineers are viewing environmental engineering challenges.
“This is gold,” said fellow BYU civil engineering professor Kevin Franke. “This technology has the ability to revolutionize my job as an earthquake engineer.”
That’s because the VuePod allows users to virtually fly over, wander through or hover above 3D environments that are otherwise difficult to visit. The images are created by point data from aircraft equipped with LIDAR (think RADAR, but with lasers). The LIDAR scans the landscape and records millions of data points that are then viewed as an image on the VuePod. Point data can also be created from stitched-together photographs taken from low-cost drones, which is Franke’s research focus.
One set of data currently available for study in the VuePod captured a canyon area beneath a plateau in southern Idaho. With 3D glasses and the Wii controller, a user can virtually drop down into the canyon from above, and then fly from one end to the other.
As cool as it is to fly through a canyon, the real engineering application comes in when you combine two sets of data for the same canyon, taken five years a part. With the second set of data, changes in the natural landscape that are invisible to the human eye become clear as day. Thanks to the VuePod’s massive 108-square-foot screen, all of the image-making data can be presented for viewing.
“Our eyes and our brains are so amazing; we need to take full advantage of them,” Ames said. “That’s the value of this project: we’re presenting more information for the human eyes to detect changes.”
Read more: 3-D virtual reality system: Holodeck Getting Closer?
The Latest on: 3-D virtual reality system
[google_news title=”” keyword=”3-D virtual reality system” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: 3-D virtual reality system
- Apple and Meta still think virtual reality is the future — even if nobody else doeson May 3, 2024 at 10:58 am
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple chief Tim Cook are still hyped up on virtual reality, even if consumers aren’t all excited about their headsets.
- Virtual reality: A promising tool for teen stress reductionon May 1, 2024 at 5:00 pm
In response to this crisis, University of Washington researchers studied whether virtual reality might help reduce stress for teens ... based on practices shown to improve mental health. In a 3-week ...
- Shhh! 3 Secret Augmented Reality Stocks Flying Below Wall Street’s Radaron April 30, 2024 at 11:25 am
InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Virtual reality (VR), the metaverse, mixed or extended reality and spatial ...
- 3 Virtual Reality Stocks Worth Strapping Into Nowon April 30, 2024 at 11:08 am
The virtual reality (VR) stocks and trends are lukewarm, even cold, compared to just a few years ago. Undoubtedly, the big tech titans, including some Magnificent Seven firms you may be familiar with, ...
- Shhh! 3 Secret Virtual Reality Stocks Flying Below Wall Street’s Radaron April 30, 2024 at 3:35 am
InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Thanks to weaker-than-expected forecasts, top virtual reality (VR) stocks ...
- Virtual Reality Newson April 28, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Bringing Together Real-World Sensors and VR to Improve Building Maintenance Jan. 31, 2024 — A new system that brings together real-world sensing and virtual reality would make it easier for ...
- Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will offer its virtual reality OS to hardware companies, creating iPhone versus Android dynamicon April 22, 2024 at 11:16 am
The move will create new hardware devices that run the same operating system and software as Quest 3 and Quest Pro.
- Virtual Realityon March 22, 2023 at 3:49 pm
3, p. 973. Scorgie, D. Feng, Z. Paes, D. Parisi ... It is a fine exposition of the concepts, algorithms, and system issues that arise in virtual reality technologies. The author offers excellent ...
- 3D Rendering - Virtual Realityon August 17, 2020 at 9:38 pm
Virtual reality is the key for modern and innovative architects that want to add more value for clients. It's more immersive and emotional than a presentation based on renderings alone.
- Virtual realityon October 5, 2017 at 7:55 pm
As part of this wave of immersive technology, virtual reality (VR ... Additionally, the same 3D model can be deployed in several ways depending on the overall training department requirements. For ...
via Bing News