VISUALIZATION

LA JOLLA, CA -- Two leading California universities, a California Institute for Science and Innovation, and four California-based companies today unveiled the world’s first visualization complex dedicated to Earth and ocean sciences, linking wide-screen, “immersive” environments over a 2.5 gigabit-per-second optical network. The group also dedicated a permanent Visualization Center at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), linked to a similar facility at San Diego State University (SDSU) through 44 miles of optical fiber, with optical switches and 3.2-million-pixel screens at each end. The universities, together with the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology [Cal-(IT)2], are creating a prototype for collaborative scientific analysis that could also be used as a “command-and-control” facility for crisis management. “Analysis facilities for complex scientific data sets can also serve as prototypes for real-time analysis of the environment or the health of civil infrastructure during and after natural or man-made disasters, if they are engineered with this dual use in mind,” said Larry Smarr, director of Cal-(IT)2 and a professor of computer science and engineering at UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering. “This is the first phase of our plan to build such ‘living laboratories’ in southern California.” The optically-networked visualization centers allow groups of researchers at both locations to collaborate in real-time on large data sets in the form of 3-D images projected on high-resolution wall-sized screens. Initially, teams at both universities will share data and collaborate on analyzing seismic and climate studies for the High Tech Coast (from Santa Barbara to San Diego); the interior structure of Earth, including its oceans and atmosphere; the variability in California’s water supply; fault-related deformation as seen from space; the structure and dynamics of coastlines; and the impact of global warming on Earth’s climate. The new Cal-(IT)2 Visualization Center at Scripps is located at Scripps’ Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) in La Jolla. It is anchored by a large curved screen and 3-D projection system, built by Panoram Technologies, Inc., and powered by an SGI® Onyx® 3400 visualization system. “The Visualization Center at Scripps takes our ability to visualize and understand huge environmental and other data sets to a new level,” says John Orcutt, IGPP’s director and a professor of geophysics at Scripps. “Multiple researchers will now be able to collaborate in a whole new waythanks to the huge screen and 3-D graphics that can immerse a roomful of viewers into a virtual environment, letting them share data in a way not possible until now.” Orcutt sees the centers as a potential prototype for a network of command-and-control centers to deal with crisis management and public safety during natural or civic disasters, displaying data and images from cameras and other sensors in the field. The Scripps center is connected to SDSU’s Center for Immersive Telecommunications for Global Exchange (C IT Global E) by optical fiber and services furnished by Cox Communications, Inc. (NYSE:COX). The optical switches at both ends are supplied by TeraBurst Networks, Inc. All four companies are industry partners of Cal-(IT)2, a joint venture of UCSD and UC Irvine, and the link is routed through a network access point at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) on the UCSD campus. SDSC will both support and use the Visualization Center, providing support for analysis of large geographic data sets by its Data and Knowledge Group. “This technology will empower researchers, urban planners and others to analyze satellite imagery, seismic hazards, bridge structures under stress and other 3-D data sets and collaborate more effectively for the public good,” said Thomas Scott, Dean of SDSU’s College of Sciences. “We see this link across San Diego eventually expanding across Californiaand someday the world.” The Visualization Center at Scripps is built around a Panoram® GVR-120E curved floor-to-ceiling screen (8’6”X28’4”) featuring 3.2 megapixel resolution (3,276,800 pixels). The “immersive” environment is ideal for groups of up to 60 people who can view the same large-format images at the same time. “We are talking about at least twenty times the bandwidth of network television,” says Theo Mayer, President and CEO of Panoram Technologies. “A system like this one will change the way scientific visualization is done, just as it already has changed the working methods and cultures of industries such as oil/gas and aerospace that use high-resolution computer imaging and modeling.” The system is equipped with transmitters and LCD shutter glasses which permit stereographic 3-D viewing of high-resolution images. The three projectors use advanced technology to automatically blend the edges where their video outputs meet. The SGI Onyx 3400 technology driving the system is equipped with InfiniteReality3™ graphics and 16 processors. “SGI is pioneering Visual Area Networking, and the Cal(IT)2 project demonstrates how these systems provide the infrastructure for collaborative, group decision-making environments,” says Jan Silverman, the company’s Senior VP, Marketing. “No other company can offer large systems with advanced visualization capability to geographically distributed audiences, whether they are distant company offices sharing images over the Internet, scientists or workers in remote field settings or command-and-control centers of the type implemented at Scripps.” For the first time ever, two immersive visualization centers will be able to share wall-to-wall images in real time. The Visualization Center at Scripps is linked to SDSU’s facility via high-bandwidth optical fiber installed by Cox Communications. “Education has always been a cornerstone of Cox Communications outreach, so we are delighted to be linking San Diego’s two premier academic institutions,” states Steve Gautereaux, VP of Network Management for Cox Communications. “Our company is a leader in broadband communications, and these wide-screen environments at UCSD and SDSU underscore the growing need of, and benefits from, the fiber optic-based network we have developed.” The massive amount of data to be transmitted instantaneously between the two centers requires a new type of high-performance, optical networking platform. TeraBurst Networks developed WAVS (Wide Area Visualization Solution) to address that need. WAVS is based on high-bandwidth technology that is capable of aggregating video, audio and LAN data into optics and connecting disparate locations at data rates required for real-time collaboration. “We are excited to be part of this unique effort to connect two separate immersive environments, bringing them into a virtual space that will expedite collaboration and decisions,” says TeraBurst chief operating officer Tom Myers. “It is currently the only solution of its kind that will allow video, audio and data to be transmitted simultaneously over the wide area optical network to multiple, remote centers focused on immersive visualization for several disciplinesincluding Earth sciences, telemedicine, astronomy, oil and gas, manufacturing and energy.” For more information visit www.calit2.net