Visualization Lab

The Visualization Lab (Vislab) is a state-of-the-art visualization facility created both for faculty use and to demonstrate low-cost capabilities for departments with significant visualization needs. The laboratory can be used for research or a component of education.

Advanced visualization can be carried out at a modest cost. The facility is a versatile system that allows researchers to carry out visualization completely in the Vislab or in their own department. For more intensive data analysis, researcher may transfer their data and visualization in its current state between their own computers and the Vislab.

Services

• Software and user support, including the installation of 3rd party software on Vislab machines
• Assistance using installed software to visualize large data sets
• Development of special purpose or customization of existing visualization software for specific project.
• Consultation to individual and groups interested in installation of visualization systems, including desktop and lecture/research visualization systems
• Visualization seminars
• Setup demonstration of new/prototype systems for evaluation
• Co-development of grant proposals for external funding

Facilities

• A shared visualization lab including computers and stereo projection systems; the room can accommodate a small group comfortably viewing the stereo wall
• UNIX, Windows, and Mac-based workstations
• Large stereo wall that can be driven by any machine in the Vislab for immersive and group visualization
• Geowall stereo computer setup
• Videoconferencing facilities (Polycom ViewStation H.323)

Projects

Academic research and teaching groups can partner with the Vislab to aid in the use of the visualization facilities, including development of software. Grant funding assistance is available for specific software development.

Below are examples of Vislab projects that have integrated visualization into teaching and research.

• Mars Stereo Imaging - Created color stereo images from the Mars Exploration Rover mission, in collaboration with the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum. These stereo images are used in undergraduate education and public outreach.
• HST Astronomy Imaging Workbench - Developed a workbench in Java to allow astronomy analysis and visualization for electronic homework assignments. These electronic homework assignments are deployed in several undergraduate astronomy classes and are used both by individuals working on their home PC's as well as in our visualization lab for group visualization and analysis.
• Astro3d - This package, from the Horizon Group at NCSA, displays VRML in a Java viewer with annotation and analysis tools. This tool has been enhanced by the expansion of the VRML loader to enable a wider variety of VRML files to be loaded and the creation of an easy to use interface to control how the stereo views are displayed.
• Ghemical - Added stereoscopic display to molecular modeling package.
• Planetary Geology -Created interactive 3D interface to a large image database from the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission, in collaboration with the Center for Planetary Sciences. This 3D component included a interactive 3D model, which could be rotated to expose the interesting parts of the asteroid. Clicking on the asteroid retrieved an image from the mission at the selected region.
• Stellar Collision Simulation - In cooperation with the Theoretical Astrophysics Group at Northwestern University Department of Physics and Astronomy to help them create animations of their simulations for presentation at conferences and classes. These animations are AVI and MPEG video that can be shown through ordinary hardware at meetings and on the web. Assistance was also given in the creation of stereoscopic animations that can be viewed at the vislab and other stereoscopic facilities, such as various GeoWalls.
• NUMIS - Ported visualization front end from older Apollo computer systems to cross-platform OpenGL systems.