A Virtual Reality Method for Navigating, Managing, and Documenting Large-Scale Computational Sciences Databases

该项目将使计算科学家能够使用先进的虚拟现实(VR)技术在时间和空间上管理、导航和记录大型多维数据集。主要目标是：研究和开发基于空间和时间的VR软件应用程序管理器，结合通用导航和交互式记录应用程序编程接口(API)，用于CAVE、ImmersaDesk和Infinity Wall应用程序，使科学家能够实时管理、导航和记录交互式VR探索，然后非实时地以更高分辨率重新呈现模拟数据；这将使研究人员更好地了解他们的科学，并提供基于视频的教育材料，使用这些先进的虚拟现实技术开发的教育材料向国家科学界传播信息科学和工程研究人员试图解决复杂的问题，首先探索数据以发现潜在的原理，然后记录结果，以便研究社区可以复制这些结果。与二维工作站屏幕相比，三维VR显示屏为数据浏览提供了一个强大得多的界面。实时VR导航记录和回放的重要性有两个方面：(1)它提供了高效的导航数据存储机制，用于后续的全分辨率模拟渲染；(2)它支持联网的VR远程站点之间的异步协作。该项目软件还将链接到网络通信库，以启用洞穴记录机制-支持异步协作的关键。他们寻求资金来支持研究生和暑期教师的研究。

This project will enable computational scientists to temporally and spatially manage, navigate, and document large, multi-dimensional datasets using advanced virtual reality (VR) technologies. The primary objectives are to: Research and develop a spatially and temporally-based VR software Application Manager, coupled with a generalized navigation and interactive recording applications programming interface (API), for use with CAVE, ImmersaDesk, and Infinity Wall applications Enable scientists to mange, navigate, and document interactive VR explorations in realtime and then re-render the simulation data at higher resolution in non-real time; this will provide researchers with a better understanding of their science, as well as provide video-based educational materials Disseminate information to the national scientific community using educational materials developed with these advanced VR technologiesScience and engineering researchers attempt to solve complex problems by first probing the data to discover underlying principles, and then documenting the results so they can be reproduced by the research community. Three-dimensional VR displays provide a far more powerful interface for data exploration that the two-dimensional workstation screen. The importance of real-time VR navigational recording and playback is twofold: (1) it provides and efficient mechanism to store navigational data for subsequent renderings of full-resolution simulations; and (2) it supports asynchronous collaboration among networked VR remote sites.This project software will also link to network communication libraries to enable CAVE-to-CAVE recording mechanisms-the key to supporting asynchronous collaboration. Funds are sought to support graduate students and summer faculty research.