Thanks once again to the power of Open-Source. Is virtual reality in the living room that far out?

[link|http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/07/010710074221.htm|Scientists, Students Explore Virtual Worlds ]

Applying virtual reality to help scientists to see and handle their data is the aim of the Center for Image Processing and Integrated Computing (CIPIC) at the University of California, Davis. The center has also been teaching students how to build and work with virtual reality environments in one of a handful of courses of its kind in the U.S.
"It's about making the invisible visible," said Bernd Hamann, co-director of CIPIC.

The aims of CIPIC are to develop technology for handling very large amounts of data, to establish visualization technology at UC Davis, and to enable transfer of new inventions from the lab bench into industry, Hamann said.

Modern research generates huge volumes of data, for example from genome sequencing, satellite imaging, measuring traffic patterns or simulating very complex problems such as climate change. Medical imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) also generate huge datasets.

Virtual reality could be used for example to train doctors and surgeons, to let car designers try out styles before building a vehicle, or to help air traffic controllers work in three dimensions.
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The CIPIC virtual reality lab is currently equipped with an immersive workbench, which projects three-dimensional images onto a tilting table. Wearing goggles and special gloves connected to the computer, researchers can reach "into" the workbench, pick up virtual objects and move them around.

The lab plans to build a "cave," a room fitted with projectors generating three-dimensional images on the walls, floor and ceiling. This will let scientists literally walk around inside their data.
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Student projects this year included a virtual modeling tool that lets a designer cut and mold shapes, a three-dimensional Web browser, a method to display virtual reality images on a handheld computer, and a visualization of data from a gliding competition.

Glider pilots use global positioning systems to record information on their location, height and speed, said Kuester. In gliding competitions, this data is used to work out who flew the furthest and for longest.
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Although many of the programs developed at CIPIC run on powerful graphics computers or "clusters" of computers running together, the lab is increasingly using the Linux operating system.

"The advantage of converting to Linux is that we need cheaper computers," said Kuester. Using Linux, powerful virtual reality programs can be built and run on systems available off-the-shelf for around $2,500, he said.