Event
The INRIA Rennes Research Unit acquired virtual reality equipment that is unique in French
research. Some areas in which the visual reproduction of computed data in total immersion is
of crucial importance are navigation inside architectural environments, molecular
dynamics, visualization of meteorological data and medical imaging.
This equipment, installed in June 1999, is comprised of a Silicon Graphics Onyx2 IR2 computer, 6 R12000 processors, 3 graphic pipes with 2 raster managers per pipe, 2 Gb RAM, 72 Gb hard drive, a cylindrical screen 8.5 m in development, three high frequency, high resolution Barco projectors, a stereoscopic reproduction system by active glasses and a spatial sound reproduction system. There are interaction peripherals as well, force feedback joystick, vehicle driving simulator (Thomson), VR helmet (HMD) and other devices currently being purchased. Project Siames in Rennes is carrying out work that will directly benefit from this tool. In particular, lighting simulation techniques for complex 3D environments, once used on such a system, will make it possible to immerse users into 3D environments. Due to the stereoscopic aspect, a better perception of the space-light relationship can be obtained. Similarly, users will be immersed into a virtual urban environment and be able to directly steer a vehicle, a bicycle or a humanoid that is in interaction with autonomous entities. In another area, more advanced experimentations on the simulation of human movements will be carried out. Finally, the equipment will be used in the short term in neighboring scientific domains, such as augmented reality, augmented virtuality, scientific visualization, medical imaging and so on.
The creation of the virtual reality experimentation center will also allow external partners from industry or research to use the system. In this center, they will not only find top quality equipment, but also an excellent software environment, as well as the expertise of IRISA/INRIA Rennes researchers.
Bruno Arnaldi, Siames project, Irisa/INRIA Rennes
