Envision!

Today I got the chance to visit the Envision Center at Purdue University. I've walked past it countless times over the past 5 years but have never wondered in. There is some pretty cool stuff tucked away in the space between the Union and Stewart. One of the pieces of technology they use that was particular interesting was a device called the cave. This was essentially a 3D viewing space that can be enclosed around you (on 4 sides) allowing you to interact with a 3-dimensional space. The cave uses a pair of 3D glasses in combination with a motion detector that is worn just over the glasses. This censor allows the virtual space to move according to your head movement. Thus, if you turn your head right, if you squat down the view will move down, and so on.

I most definitely see great potential in a set up like this. For one, it can be used to enter a space and become familiar with it, before ever stepping foot inside. It can also be a crucial device in research. The 3D space could be used to measure productivity, accessibility, and functionality of a space and determine necessary changes for the most optimal layout.

Another thing we were shown in the center that I found to be interesting is a tile wall. One of the stations in there was a seven monitor setup that had seven different viewing screens (all making one larger viewing space). The great thing about this is that the data on each screen is also split up into seven different computers. This allows huge data sets to be analyzed and accessed visually, without bogging down a single system. A sample of using this would be to access an area of land, and be able to visually see different components of that same land area, as well as the data that describes it.

Below is a video of the Pharmacy Clean Room that we were given the chance to interact with along with a brief explanation of how this is utilized.



The Envision Center at Purdue is definitely on the forefront of imaging and data representation. This research can be applied to an endless array of fields and professions, making it a very influential and important resource to have on a campus such as Purdue. If you are ever at Purdue and have a chance to stop by, I definitely recommend checking it out.