The ISU cluster consists of 48 HP workstations, model xw9300. Each has two AMD Opteron processors, and two nVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 GPUs (not configured in SLI mode). There's a bunch of nVIDIA G-sync connectivity to lock the video frames and buffer swaps. The workstations are running Linux.
Undisclaimer: I work for HP.:-)
The trouble is that this kind of environment doesn't usually work for more than one person.
Reason #1: The projections are calculated for the location of the head-tracked user's eyes. With the stereo goggles on, everything makes sense... for him or her only.
Reason #2: A six-sided cave usually has back-projection on all surfaces, including the floor. A perspex floor supported only at the very edges is unlikely to take more than one or two person's weight.
There are no head-mounted displays that will deliver anything like the pixel resolution of a system like this. You simply wouldn't get the detail. And,
the data infrastructure for this kind of project (where the aim is to
visualize complex data) is not possible on "relatively standard class
hardware".
Another thing: In a cave environment like this, if you turn your head,
the graphics view is updated only slightly or not at all. With a head-mount
display, the whole scene has to swing round when you turn your head. If
there's any latency in head-tracking (likely) or graphics rendering
(possible), then the cave is much less unsettling per head-turn than
is the head-mounted display. Less nausea.
And another thing: you get a much larger peripheral view in a cave,
leading to better understanding of context.
Undisclaimer: I work for HP.:-)
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The ISU cluster consists of 48 HP workstations, model xw9300. Each has two AMD Opteron processors, and two nVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 GPUs (not configured in SLI mode). There's a bunch of nVIDIA G-sync connectivity to lock the video frames and buffer swaps. The workstations are running Linux. Undisclaimer: I work for HP. :-)
The trouble is that this kind of environment doesn't usually work for more than one person. Reason #1: The projections are calculated for the location of the head-tracked user's eyes. With the stereo goggles on, everything makes sense... for him or her only. Reason #2: A six-sided cave usually has back-projection on all surfaces, including the floor. A perspex floor supported only at the very edges is unlikely to take more than one or two person's weight.
There are no head-mounted displays that will deliver anything like the pixel resolution of a system like this. You simply wouldn't get the detail. And, the data infrastructure for this kind of project (where the aim is to visualize complex data) is not possible on "relatively standard class hardware". Another thing: In a cave environment like this, if you turn your head, the graphics view is updated only slightly or not at all. With a head-mount display, the whole scene has to swing round when you turn your head. If there's any latency in head-tracking (likely) or graphics rendering (possible), then the cave is much less unsettling per head-turn than is the head-mounted display. Less nausea. And another thing: you get a much larger peripheral view in a cave, leading to better understanding of context. Undisclaimer: I work for HP. :-)
The equivalent article at the BBC mentions bacteria living in the hair: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4785482. stm