INDUSTRY

When it opens in February of 2006, the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) will transform what people have come to expect from communities working to attract high-tech businesses. Not content to rely on the usual tax breaks and highway interchanges to draw new technology and Research & Development jobs, the State of Louisiana, the Lafayette Economic Development Authority (LEDA) and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette have united to provide something that can make companies more agile, competitive and innovative. LITE will be packed with leading-edge solutions from Silicon Graphics, whose compute, storage and visualization systems will provide LITE users with multiple immersive environments capable of engaging workgroups of one to hundreds of participants. The concentration of supercomputer-class servers, interactive 3D theaters, blistering visualization systems, massive data storage and high-speed networking will give Louisiana businesses and research universities a chance to use technologies that have traditionally been available only to the world's energy leaders, pharmaceutical giants, aerospace firms, government agencies, and science museums. LITE involves partnerships between government, universities, and industry for basic research, application development, testing and validation, product development, and commercial production, along with delivery of visualization technologies and high-performance computer modeling. Previously known as the Acadiana Technology Immersion Center (ATIC), LITE is an economic development enterprise that will serve clients in the government, university and industry sectors, with worldwide access provided via the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI). Corporations or research organizations that partner with Louisiana-based businesses and universities will be provided access at an incentive rate. Businesses that locate technology resources -- such as people, programs, facilities and equipment -- in Louisiana will receive additional considerations and incentives. "Businesses and research organizations today need the very best resources to win in the global economy," said Gregg Gothreaux, LEDA President. "With LITE, Lafayette is providing access to the world's most comprehensive immersive technologies available for businesses of all sizes, in addition to university researchers from Louisiana and beyond. Powered by SGI, LITE will help us develop the local resources in talent and expertise that abound in the Lafayette area, and cultivate this region and Louisiana as a center for innovation in energy research, manufacturing, aerospace, environmental, entertainment and other technology-rich industries." Located on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the $20 million, 70,000-square-foot LITE complex will be co-named the SGI Center for Innovative Research and Advanced Visualization. It will feature one of the most comprehensive and tightly integrated installations of SGI technology ever assembled. LITE technology resources, all of which are connected via a high-speed fiber optic network, include: -- 3D immersive visualization cube. Small groups of engineers, scientists and designers can immerse themselves in fully interactive 3D models and data sets for seismic analysis, computer-aided modeling, product stress test analysis, and a host of other applications that require visualization of large data sets. A six-sided display, using SXGA+ DLP projection technology, virtually encloses participants in the data, which is displayed in stereo. Advanced tracking headset technology shifts the display in real time to accommodate participants' head movements. The 10-by-10-by-10-foot cube is driven by a Silicon Graphics Prism visualization system with 16 Intel Itanium 2 processors and six graphics pipes outputting interactive data onto six Christie Mirage high performance DLP projectors displaying resolution of 1,050 by 1,050 pixels resolution on each wall. -- 3D immersive auditorium. A 174-seat auditorium facing a curved, 37-foot screen creates one of the world's largest SGI Reality Center facilities at LITE. Passive or active stereo display capabilities enable every audience member to see interactive data in 3D for large-scale presentations, reviews and tutorials. Three Christie Mirage DLP projectors use Christie blending and warping technology to create a seamless, 37-foot-wide display. A second 16- processor Silicon Graphics Prism visualization system with six graphics pipes drives the auditorium, which is also equipped with a digital cinema-quality Surround Sound system. -- Immersive collaboration tele-conference room. A compact lecture theater enables audiences of up to 30 people to collaborate with each other or with facilities located locally or around the world. Dual Christie Mirage DLP projectors merge to create a single display and are fed by one of the LITE's two Silicon Graphics Prism systems via a high-speed fiber link. Laptop-based videoconferencing eases collaboration across campus and beyond. -- Conference room with SGI Reality Center. Audiences of 20 can experience the immersive qualities of an SGI Reality Center with a curved DLP display served by three Christie projectors. LITE users can also transport the display to trade shows or other locations for presentations and design reviews. The unit is served by one of the facility's two Silicon Graphics Prism systems, one of which can be transported for portable presentations. -- AmiraVR software. Mercury Computer Systems' AmiraVR software enables every LITE visualization environment to immerse participations in 3D data. -- SGI Altix 350 Cluster. Twenty-two SGI Altix 350 servers, each powered by 16 Intel Itanium 2 processors, provide supercomputer-class computational capabilities for companies and researchers engaged in a broad array of disciplines. Altix systems allow users to hold massive data sets completely in memory, giving them faster insights to complex problems. -- SGI InfiniteStorage solution. A storage area network (SAN) with the SGI InfiniteStorage Shared Filesystem CXFS provides instant data sharing among the LITE's visualization and compute systems without the performance and management bottlenecks inherent in traditional SAN systems. Built on 8TB of SGI InfiniteStorage TP9500 Fibre Channel RAID, the storage solution can grow in capacity, performance, connectivity and heterogeneity to flexibly meet LITE 's future needs. LITE administrators plan to deploy the SGI resources as a visualization and computational GRID that will be available to users on a large scale via LITE's 60GB connection to the Louisiana Optical Network and the National Lamba Rail. As such, the facility will become an important resource to researchers throughout North America and the world. Funded by the State of Louisiana, the LITE facility will create an environment designed to stimulate collaboration between technology-intensive companies, ventures and entrepreneurs, researchers at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and other state and national universities, as well as federal government agencies. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette will occupy 5,000 square feet of the new facility, with plans to enhance its long-established advanced computing research efforts. Lafayette's LITE reaches businesses where they live by contributing to their ability to more efficiently produce better products and services for a marketplace where change is accelerating. "With LITE, even small companies can base their R&D or collaboration efforts on the same fundamental technologies that helped put rovers on Mars, new passenger jets in the skies, life-saving drugs in the hands of patients, and new sources of energy throughout the world," said Dr. Eng Lim Goh, chief technology officer, SGI. "SGI is proud to help welcome this new era in the nurturing of innovation." "By integrating the very latest technology, the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise will enable great minds to explore subjects in new ways. It will give them high-tech tools to express abstract concepts in a manner that can be seen and experienced," said UL Lafayette President Ray P. Authement. "The establishment of LITE on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's campus is a testament to the innovation, initiative and collaboration that can be found in Louisiana today. It sends an unmistakable message: we have the brainpower, determination and resourcefulness that are hallmarks of progressive communities." LEDA's Energy Strategic Partners include: Merlin Oil and Gas, Inc., an oil land service technology start-up headed by Mark Miller; C.H. Fenstermaker & Associates, one of the largest surveying and mapping firms in the South; and Stone Energy, one of the nation's leading independent E&P companies. Global Data Systems, LITE's primary tenant who will serve as systems integrator and will operate LITE's Network Operations Center and data center, joins SGI, Christie, and James River Technical, Inc. as a Technology Strategic Partner. The SGI solutions were sold to LITE planners by James River Technical, an SGI value-added reseller headquartered in Glen Allen, VA. SGI Professional Services is integrating and installing the LITE's key technology components. Installation of the new SGI Altix 350 systems is already under way in a temporary location at the University Research Park at University Common in Lafayette, LA. The interim Reality Center will be installed next, and permanent installation of all equipment is expected to be completed by the LITE's scheduled grand opening on Feb. 28, 2006. "LEDA is providing a state-of-the-art, advanced technology facility, highly sought after by many companies and universities that are focused on solving some of the world's most complex problems," said Tom Mountcastle, president, James River Technical. "Rarely do you see this level of commitment for government-university-industry partnerships. Lafayette, LA is taking the lead in transforming high-tech business development." "Christie is proud to play a major role in the creation of LEDA, a groundbreaking facility that will help companies transform the process of innovation and researchers accelerate their time to discovery," said David Fluegeman, vice president of Christie's Visual Environments group. "Christie immersive display solutions featuring Mirage projectors provide exceptional fidelity and image quality with long-term value for our customers. Together with the SGI compute and graphics hardware and Mercury's amiraVR software, we will create an immersive environment the likes of which most users have never seen." "This is another historic milestone for the amira suite of applications, including amiraVR. Mercury is pleased to be working with SGI to help make this state-of-the-art visualization center a success," said Jean Bernard Cazeaux, vice president of Geosciences and 3DViz Technology, Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. "Our data analysis and 3D visualization software helps thousands of R&D and research organizations overcome the challenges of visualizing their complex data in a more effective and comprehensive manner."