VISUALIZATION
Fakespace Provides Advanced Collaboration Environment to University Of Salford
New ‘Think Lab’ Access Grid Site Facilitates Decision Making, Breakthrough Research -- Fakespace Systems Inc., a world leader in advanced visualization systems development, has delivered a large-scale collaboration environment to the University of Salford (near Manchester, UK). The sophisticated visualization system is at the heart of the University’s £1.3 million Think Lab, which is a state-of the-art facility available to university staff and the local community for collaborative data review sessions and research projects. The Think Lab also serves as a node on the worldwide “Access Grid” network of visualization environments. 
Fakespace provided the Think Lab with a large-scale stereoscopic visualization system, driven by an IBM computing cluster, as well as individual displays and touch-screen electronic whiteboards. The 4.8 meter by two meter PowerWall immersive and interactive display allows researchers to work with computer-generated models and simulations as if they really existed in three-dimensional space. This type of interactive visualization, which allows intuitive manipulation of objects and provides realistic motion parallax effect for depth and scale, has been shown to help users better understand very complex datasets, and contributes to breakthrough discoveries and more confident decision-making. “The Think Lab is a beautifully designed facility for multi-disciplinary collaboration that is attracting attention from throughout the university and local business community,” said Carla Kocsis, Think Lab Facilities Coordinator. “It functions as a general meeting space, a debating chamber, an immersive viewing environment, and an Access Grid node. We are very excited about the Fakespace PowerWall, which provides an extremely compelling environment for work with immersive visualization.” The PowerWall is housed in a soundproof, convex structure that includes 30 workstations equipped with transparent lecterns for note taking or laptops, and special debating and voting features. The two-channel PowerWall display is rear-projected with two DLP stereoscopic projectors that can present information from a number of sources including fixed computers, laptops and other audio visual sources. In the Think Lab’s adjoining meeting rooms and in conjunction with a state-of-the-art video conferencing system, Fakespace also provided plasma screens and touch screen white boards. Two of the plasma screens are connected to the PowerWall for collaboration with the immersive environment. They can also be used for separate presentations. A virtual tour of the Think Lab is available at: its Web site. Fakespace partnered with OCF plc, an independent reseller of High Performance Compute (HPC) and High Performance Visualization (HPV) Solutions, to provide the Think Lab with the IBM platform for compute-intensive, graphics-rich applications. The computing system comprises a cluster of nine IBM IntelliStation A Pro workstations with ORAD VRX graphics cards connected via an Infiniband fabric and Gigabit Ethernet. Three digital video cameras and three wireless microphones provide the connection to the Access Grid. As an Access Grid node, the University of Salford joins a network of multimedia interactive visualization environments at more than 20,000 organizations across 56 countries. The Access Grid is used for large-scale distributed meetings, collaborative work sessions, and research in the development of distributed data. More information on the Access Grid is available at: its Web site.
Fakespace provided the Think Lab with a large-scale stereoscopic visualization system, driven by an IBM computing cluster, as well as individual displays and touch-screen electronic whiteboards. The 4.8 meter by two meter PowerWall immersive and interactive display allows researchers to work with computer-generated models and simulations as if they really existed in three-dimensional space. This type of interactive visualization, which allows intuitive manipulation of objects and provides realistic motion parallax effect for depth and scale, has been shown to help users better understand very complex datasets, and contributes to breakthrough discoveries and more confident decision-making. “The Think Lab is a beautifully designed facility for multi-disciplinary collaboration that is attracting attention from throughout the university and local business community,” said Carla Kocsis, Think Lab Facilities Coordinator. “It functions as a general meeting space, a debating chamber, an immersive viewing environment, and an Access Grid node. We are very excited about the Fakespace PowerWall, which provides an extremely compelling environment for work with immersive visualization.” The PowerWall is housed in a soundproof, convex structure that includes 30 workstations equipped with transparent lecterns for note taking or laptops, and special debating and voting features. The two-channel PowerWall display is rear-projected with two DLP stereoscopic projectors that can present information from a number of sources including fixed computers, laptops and other audio visual sources. In the Think Lab’s adjoining meeting rooms and in conjunction with a state-of-the-art video conferencing system, Fakespace also provided plasma screens and touch screen white boards. Two of the plasma screens are connected to the PowerWall for collaboration with the immersive environment. They can also be used for separate presentations. A virtual tour of the Think Lab is available at: its Web site. Fakespace partnered with OCF plc, an independent reseller of High Performance Compute (HPC) and High Performance Visualization (HPV) Solutions, to provide the Think Lab with the IBM platform for compute-intensive, graphics-rich applications. The computing system comprises a cluster of nine IBM IntelliStation A Pro workstations with ORAD VRX graphics cards connected via an Infiniband fabric and Gigabit Ethernet. Three digital video cameras and three wireless microphones provide the connection to the Access Grid. As an Access Grid node, the University of Salford joins a network of multimedia interactive visualization environments at more than 20,000 organizations across 56 countries. The Access Grid is used for large-scale distributed meetings, collaborative work sessions, and research in the development of distributed data. More information on the Access Grid is available at: its Web site. 
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