Government

Iowa State University Opens Doors to World's Highest Resolution "Virtual Reality" Room

24 Sony SXRD 4K Projectors Help Deliver Resolution of More than 100 Million Pixels

AMES, Iowa, April 26, 2007 - Iowa State University officially cut the ribbon on "C6," a six-sided virtual reality room in its Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC).

The new room features 24 Sony SXRD™ 4K projectors to create the world's highest-resolution virtual reality room, with a total resolution of more than 100 million pixels.

The VRAC will use the latest stereoscopic imaging and immersive viewing technologies to further research in such areas as genetics, urban planning and the control of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Working with the Sony SRX-S105 projectors on this installation was Mechdyne Corporation, which applied its latest generation of stereoscopic-enabling technology, computing and integration expertise to create an environment supporting the display of 3D simulations generated by a 96-node, cluster-based computing system at the resolution of 100 million pixels.

"This projection technology significantly amplifies the creativity and productivity of people," said Jim Oliver, director of the Virtual Reality Applications Center at Iowa State University. "It will help us build on the center's record as a world leader in virtual reality."

Examples of the demonstrations to be held in C6 will show how researchers are visualizing data from as many as 22,000 genes, training soldiers for urban combat, showing students how plant photosynthesis works, displaying data from an atom probe microscope and helping engineers visualize new products. A new demonstration application will also take visitors on a virtual journey to a tropical island, including a hovercraft trip over the sea and a dive to explore a shipwreck.

The original design of the center, completed by Mechdyne in June 2000, was equipped for CRT-based projection resolution of 1024 by 1024 on each of the 10-ft. by 10- ft. walls, ceiling and floor, resulting in a total resolution on all six walls of 6.3 million pixels. The new design for the center increases the resolution on each wall to 4096 by 4096 pixels, an upgrade in image clarity of more than 16 times.

Mechdyne's technology overlaps and optically blends the images from four Sony SXRD projectors on each wall to create seamless, high-resolution 3D imagery. The 4K projectors each deliver a pixel matrix of 4096 by 2160, delivering more than four times the resolution of HDTV sets for home theater use. Each projector's 5,000 lumens of brightness will be more than 20 times the brightness of the original CRTs, which also contributes to the image's impact.

The SXRD projectors can display four full high-definition images at one time, allowing customers to view varying types of video images, at high resolution and in precise detail. This has made the SXRD technology a preferred display medium in government agencies, research facilities, universities and museums.