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| Virtual Navigation in Nu.M.E. | Maria Elena Bonfigli | |||||||||
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Semi- Immersion Virtual Reality Application
CINECA's
Virtual
Theater is a computerized real time semi-immersion visualization
environment powered by an
Onyx2 graphic supercomputer. The theater has a semi cylindrical
video projection screen and Dolby Sound Surround. Stereo vision with
stereo glasses is also available. With this combined technology the
viewer has the feeling of being immersed in virtual reality. This is
done by creating the illusion of 3D visualization of what is being projected
on the screen. The sound surround stimulates auditory involvement, as
in modern cinemas. However, the visual experience is what is special
and suggests an infinite number of possible applications. The final
result is a new way of interpreting things that are already known, thus
reviving the authentic meaning of theater, which the Ancient Greeks
defined as a space in which to observe in order to understand.
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Virtual
Theater, CINECA
There
are three main characteristics of the applications developed for the Virtual
Theater semi-immersion environment at CINECA: immersion,
interaction and high resolution graphics.
To
implement virtual city in 4 dimensions for the Virtual Theater, OpenGL
Performer graphic libraries were used for rasterization and OpenWorlds
Merchant was used to import the VRML models, which had already been partially
developed for the Internet multimedia environment.
This
user interface was developed according to criteria which held user friendliness
as less important than for the Nu.M.E. Internet user interface. In this
case, in fact, it is not the common user that navigates. Here a trained
operator uses the Virtual Theater command console to choose viewpoints
and to "leap" through time.