Contents

1. Technology: What is it?  How does it work?  What software is needed or compatible?
2. Brief History: Is it old or new technology?  How does it fit into the overall picture of VR?
3. Products: Who makes them?  Are there any similar, competitive technologies or products?
4. Pros and Cons: How is it better than other technologies?  What are some of its problems?
5. Uses:  Who is using it?  How are they using it?  Why are they using this technology instead of another?
6. Additional References:  Web sites, papers, tech reports. (Include more specific links within notes when appropriate.)

 

"CAVE", the name selected for the virtual reality theater, is both a recursive acronym (CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment) and a reference to "The Simile of the Cave" found in Plato's Republic, in which the philosopher explores the ideas of perception, reality, and illusion. Plato used the analogy of a person facing the back of a cave alive with shadows that are his/her only basis for ideas of what real objects are.  -- EVL web site

1. Technology

1.1 Configuration of IUB CAVE:

4 screens 8'x8' (standard size is 10' x 10') Electrohome 8500  projectors  Mylar mirrors Stereographics glasses & IR transmitters Flock of Birds transmitter & receivers EVL Wand SGI Indy sound server, 4 speakers & amplifier SGI Onyx2 Rackmount 6 x 195MHz R10K 1 Gb RAM 100 Mb Ethernet 2 Infinite Reality pipelines, each with 2 raster managers & a 2-channel display generator

1.2 How it works:

1.3 Software

• Standard Configuration:
• OpenGL or Iris Performer for graphics (Open Inventor with some difficulty)
• CAVE Library (OpenGL) or pfCAVE (Performer) - C/C++ APIs
• trackd (tracker & wand daemon)
• VSS for sound
• Also works with:
• Sense8 World Toolkit with Immersive Display Option
• Division's dVISE software

2. Brief History

1992 - first CAVE developed at EVL (original Onyx limited to 3 channels out)
1994 - CAVE receives wide exposure at SIGGRAPH 94 as VROOM (A. Hanson & R. Cross demo 4D vis)
1995 - I-Way demonstrations at SuperComputing '95
1996 - becomes commercially available through Pyramid Systems, Inc.
1997 - new SGI Onyx architecture eliminates need for two networked graphics machines
1997 - IU's CAVE goes online
1999 - Pyramid Systems merges with Fakespace to become Fakespace Systems

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3. Products:

• CAVE - Fakespace Systems (developed at EVL)
• RAVE - Fakespace - reconfigurable walls
• C2 - Mechdyne Corporation (developed at Iowa State)
• VR Cube - TAN (Germany) - 6-wall version in Sweden
• Reactor - Trimension
• Plus several others

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4. Pros & Cons:

4.1 Benefits: (courtesy of EVL web site)

• Presenting higher-resolution color images and improved surround vision.
• Reducing the amount of encumbering hardware the user has to carry.
• Reducing geometric distortion.
• Eliminating errors induced by head rotation.
• Developing a display devise that permits the simultaneous viewing of reality and virtual reality

(i.e., one's own hand, an input device, or a collaborator's gesture).
• Developing a visualization tool which can be coupled to networked supercomputers and data sources.

4.2 Disadvantages:

• Only one tracked user  (2 tracked user with upcoming version of CAVELib)
• Continuity break as hand and body obscure closer virtual objects
• Conflict between optical convergence and accomodation
• Relatively low luminance
• End-to-end latency
• Expensive
• Requires a lot of space
• Somewhat intimidating (compared to an ImmersaDesk or workbench)

 

5. Uses:

• Interactive Art (e.g. Ars Electronica in Austria)
• Automotive design review (GM); heavy equipment visibility testing (Catepillar, John Deere)
• Volume rendering, exploration, and tracing (e.g. Crumbs)
• Exploration of large data sets (CFD, Molecular, etc.)
• Animation planning (e.g. Virtual Director)

6. Additional References:

• original CAVE paper from SIGGRAPH '93 by Cruz-Neira, Sandin, and DeFanti
• EVL Home Page
• EVL Publications Page
• CAVERNUS - CAVE Research Network Users Society
• NCSA Vis Group