Virtual Reality Alliance--Augmenting and Complementing NII Metacenter Activities

9418068 DeFanti这个元中心区域联盟将把三个相辅相成的组织联系在一起：元中心、伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校软件技术研究中心(STRC)和芝加哥制造中心(CMC)。其组织原则是为大公司和小公司财团提供一个用于制造产品设计和快速原型制造的高端虚拟现实试验台。该提案将在国家信息基础设施内创建和转让虚拟现实技术。将与区域元中心伙伴和小企业一起开发用于远程虚拟样机及其超级计算支持的软件和先进的人机界面技术。拟议的与vBNS的联系是这项提议的重要组成部分。STRC已经有20多年的历史，它可以将可视化技术应用到许多领域，例如教育、制造和培训。它提供的专业知识最终在SIGGRAPH和超级计算会议上出现在CAVE虚拟现实剧场。CMC管理着最新的NIST区域制造中心之一，其目标是帮助中小型企业实现运营现代化，提高竞争力。通过与STRC、CMC和NCSA的合作，该联盟有机会在芝加哥地区的HPCC技术部署领域提供领导地位，并创建可被其他城市研究机构复制的范例。

9418068 DeFanti This Metacenter Regional Alliance will tie together three complementary organizations: the Metacenter, the Software Technologies Research Center (STRC) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and the Chicago Manufacturing Center (CMC). The organizing principle is the provision of a high-end testbed for virtual reality applied to manufacturing product design and rapid prototyping, to both large companies and consortia of small ones. The proposal will create and transfer the technology of virtual reality within the National Information Infrastructure. The software and advanced human interface technology for remote virtual prototyping and its supercomputing support will be developed with regional metacenter partners and small businesses. The proposed link to the vBNS is a vital part of this proposal. The STRC has demonstrated over a twenty year history that it can apply visualization technology to many areas, e.g., education, manufacturing, and training. It has provided the expertise that culminated in the CAVE virtual reality theater at the SIGGRAPH and Supercomputing conferences. CMC manages one of the newest NIST regional manufacturing Centers whose aim is to assist small and medium sized businesses modernize operations and improve competitiveness. Through its partnership with STRC, CMC, and NCSA this Alliance has the opportunity to provide leadership in areas of HPCC technology deployment to the Chicago region, and create a paradigm that can be replicated by other urban research institutions.