VISUALIZATION

Barco, a leading global provider of visual display systems, has partnered with daytaOhio to implement the industry’s most advanced virtual collaboration and visualization complex at Wright State University’s new Krishan and Vicky Joshi Research Center. This multi-room, network-centric facility marks the first visualization center of its kind in the Ohio Miami Valley. It is equipped with intelligent presentation systems and large-scale, immersive virtual reality technology for virtual collaboration, analysis, and decision making. Some of the work done by Wright State researchers will support applied research for members of daytaOhio (the Ohio Wright Center for Data), a non-profit corporation that supports a consortium of organizations, civilian and military, working to resolve the complexities of large-scale data management issues. “This kind of technology is exactly what we need to stimulate local growth,” said Paul Cashen, President of daytaOhio. “We are very excited about the visualization systems Barco has provided, which will actively help Ohio and the Dayton area to become a competitive player in today’s global market.” “The Joshi Research Center solution demonstrates what Barco is all about,” said Ken Hunter, director of marketing, virtual & augmented reality for Barco. “We are about bringing the very latest in virtual technology to the practical level, enhancing education and analysis. Barco’s comprehensive visualization system will enable research teams in a wide variety of disciplines to collaborate locally or remotely, visualize and evaluate data in a more intuitive fashion, and make decisions in real-time.” Excellent visualization is crucial to the success of the high-end data management and analytics center of daytaOhio housed in the Joshi Center. The visualization facility is equipped with a comprehensive and sophisticated visual system consisting of Barco’s CADWall system, I-Space immersive virtual environment, and network-centric presentation system. The Barco CADWall and I-Space are located in the facility’s main visualization room. The CADWall is a 1:1 scale, large-screen rear-projection wall that is operated by Barco’s revolutionary external desktop system, the XDS-1000. The scalable and modular XDS-1000 allows the facility to simultaneously display multiple external sources, such as data, video, and network information, in mono and stereo 3D in multiple windows on the large CADWall canvas. The CADWall features a two-channel, edge-blended Barco Galaxy DLP projection system. According to Cashen, the broader use of the Internet, advancement of technology/miniaturization and globalization contribute to a glut of data that paralyzes decision-making in organizations. “Immersive visualization of designs, environments and other applications will allow daytaOhio members to develop and commercialize data analytics expertise and viable tools. The power of visualization will help bring intelligence to information. In other words, it will create the ability for businesses and government extract the “so what” of data and connect appropriate and multiple data resources.” The I-Space immersive visual system, also powered by Barco Galaxy projectors, takes visualization to the next level; this four-channel, multi-sided unit surrounds the user with rear-projected, continuous virtual imagery. Both the Barco CADWall and I-Space virtual reality systems serve as a design and engineering tool for interacting with stereoscopic 3D models and will also be used as a presentation tool for many different Joshi Center technical and educational applications. The brightness, high resolution, and color depth of the display systems make the Barco CADWall and I-Space the tools of choice in visualizing complex, multi-faceted R&D data. The Joshi Center’s main visualization room will be networked to two satellite conference rooms equipped with Barco’s intelligent projection systems. One conference room is powered by an IQ Pro 500 projector with SXGA+ resolution and the other room is powered by an iCon H600 with HDTV resolution. Both projection systems are equipped with on-board computer servers that use the familiar Windows XP desktop, and can simultaneously process up to four external sources with picture-in-picture flexibility. The network-centric capabilities of the Barco IQ Pro, iCon, and XDS-1000 enable users to share information between multiple sources over the facility’s local area network to enhance team-based collaboration. The facility will also be able to set up, monitor, and manage these projection systems from a central IT/AV location. Control over a projection system can be passed instantly over the network to any meeting room. The Joshi Center, scheduled to open on Friday, October 27, is a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to advanced data management. Funded in part by Ohio Gov. Bob Taft’s Third Frontier Initiative, The Joshi Center houses daytaOhio and several departments of the Wright State School of Engineering. Barco has installed over 850 systems worldwide. The Joshi Center project is another example of how Barco systems play an important role in helping institutions visualize their solutions so they can be more productive, advance technology, realize bottom-line advantages.