Victorian Partnership for Advanced Computing

Visualisation is a key technique for interacting with complex computer models and exploring simulated scenarios. Visualisation environments, where multiple users can share the same immersive experience, support effective collaboration, decision making and training. VPAC develops and supports hardware and software solutions for virtual reality and augmented reality visualisation environments.

The EV Lab: Advanced Engineering Visualisation

VPAC’s Engineering Visualisation (EV) Lab provides immersive and cluster-based visualisation tools for collaborative decision making, virtual engineering and product development. The EV Lab offers all the necessary equipment as well as the expertise needed to use computer visualisation to enhance the engineering and design processes. The EV Lab comprises an Immersive Stereo display system and a Six Degree of Freedom Tracking System which allows for advanced engineering review and collaboration application use.

EV Lab Room

The lab provides all the necessary equipment as well as in-house expertise needed to use computer visualisation to enhance the engineering and design processes. The display system is complemented by a number of convenient additions including:

• Oval meeting table with VGA input, AC power, network
• IO devices including space ball
• 6 degree of freedom Hiball-3100 Tracking System
• Laptop display input capability and AC Power
• Wireless keyboard and mouse
• Laser pointer
• Wireless networking
• Webcam

Panopter display system

The display system in the EV Lab consists of the components required to provide a high quality visualization capability to users. These include:

• Barco rear projection display system with stereo capability
• 2m x 3m projection screen
• State-of-the-art image generator workstation with stereo capability

6 Degree of Freedom Tracking System

The 3rdtech Hiball wide area tracking system is utilised for virtual reality and augmented reality applications in the EV Lab. The 6 degree of freedom motion tracking system allows advanced engineering review and collaboration application use. High accuracy beyond standard VR use permits advanced new applications such as sub-millimeter measurement of solid objects. A head-mounted sensor together with the stereo display capability in the lab permits CAVE-style stereo viewing. Multiple sensors provide the needed functionality for enabling insight-gathering collaborative review sessions. The tracking system is installed with features including:

• 5m x 6m x 2.7m tracked volume
• High accuracy of 1 – 2mm within tracking volume
• Low latency output
• 2 sensors are available
• Attachment of sensors to Tablet PCs for augmented reality applications

Information Engagement Environment

IEE is the application software and development environment being developed by VPAC. The IEE development environment is based on Virtools (interactive rendering engine), VTK and .NET. It is able to import many different engineering file formats including:

• Ls-Dyna binary
• Nastran bdf
• STL
• VTK and Ensight Gold
• JTOpen

IEE can utilise various input devices including space ball and 3rdtech Hiball tracking system, and provides stereoscopic viewing.

Other features include run-time user scripting, vertex colouring, embedded video and more.

Contact

For further information please contact Chris Seeling at chs@vpac.or or phone +61 3 9647 5433.