Overview

The ETC has experience in delivering its computer models on a wide range of high-, mid-, and low-end computer and video platforms. 3D models are generally created using MultiGen Creator on powerful graphics workstations running Windows. When appropriate, MultiGen files are exported to such rendering programs as Lightscape or 3D Studio Max. MultiGen models can run on the SGI Onyx platform for use in realtime applications. They can also be formatted to run on a PC with Windows, Linux, or the Mac o/s. Fly-throughs of the models are possible on many platforms from the Onyx to digital or Beta SP video format; or to MPEG. Models can be made available on the World Wide Web using software such as QuickTime and VRML. Many of our models have been used in TV documentaries.

EXAMPLES

Real-time applications:
The models are created with real-time functionality in mind. "Real-time" means that users have complete freedom of movement through the virtual environment. They can, at will, move up, down, sideways, and they can also change their orientation. Real-time applications can be presented to groups in reality theaters such as the UCLA Visualization Portal, a room seating 40 people with a semi-spherical screen and triple, edge-blended projection. They can also be presented in a CAVE. Individual users can immerse themselves in virtual environments using head mounted displays.

Web applications:
3D assets of all kinds have become common features of Web sites. Our models can be converted to such Internet-capable formats as QuickTime and VRML. See the movies below for QuickTime VR examples:

QuickTime VR example #1	QuickTime VR example #2	QuickTime VR example #3

TV and Video applications:
Models can be renderred at very high resolution for use in animations in various video formats. They can also be used in a virtual set studio, where live actors are composited in real time with the virtual environment.
For an example of the latter, see the movie below:

40MB QuickTime Movie

Environment

Through our partnership with UCLA's Academic Technology Services, students and faculty working with the ETC have access to a rich technology environment. The ATS website has a full list of hardware and software available in our labs and facilities. While these lists describe the current environment, the ETC is constantly experimenting with a variety of emerging tools. Any tool that enhances the experience of interacting with virtual reconstructions and constructions is a candidate for consideration to be added to our environment. Wherever there are gaps in available tools, the ETC will consider development as an option.

Tools We've Built

TOOLBOX

vrNav - This 3D scene navigation program was developed in partnership with UCLA's Academic Technology Services (ATS). vrNav enables the real-time fly-throughs of ETC models. It is open source and available for download. More information on vrNav...

DySE Generator - This sound server, coupled with vrNav, gives modelers the ability to add dynamic, engaging, and immersive sound to their models. It has also been shown to be an immensely effective tool for sound control for theater, music performance, and the sonification of scientific data. Developed by David Beaudry, the DySE Generator is currently in Beta, but will soon be made available to the community. 

The Santiago de Compostela model was the first to be sonified using the DySE Generator. This highly sucessful sonification has been shown repeatedly in the Visualization Portal to diverse audiences. The November 2003 Concert and Symposium on the Cathedral, supported by the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and ATS, made full use of this sonified model, the Sound Server, and the corresponding sound support that has been added to vrNav.

ETC is now adding sound to many of the models developed. The addition of sound to these models, is a significant enhancement to the experience of historic reconstructions. Research into incorporating sound with a variety of other scientific datasets is ongoing.

Digital Library - As part of a grant from the National Science foundation the ETC has developed the Roman Forum Digital Library. The underlying technology for this project can be applied to a wide variety of similar projects. It's purposes are to use the Internet to permit free use and easy viewing of digital models by people all over the world; to provide documentation for the archaeological evidence and theories utilized to create models; and to offer basic information about the individual features comprising the digital models so that their history and cultural context can be readily understood.

Future Tools - Research scholars interested in developing experiential technology tools are encouraged to develop those ideas with faculty input. The ETC assists them in refining the goals, scoping the project, and identifying resources and potential funding opportunities to realize the project.

Facilities

ETC Offices

The main ETC office is located in 5919 Math Sciences, near the ATS Visualization Portal and Modeling Lab. A second ETC lab facility is located in 1125K Perloff Hall, home to the Department of Architecture and Urban Design.

ATS Facilities & Programs

ETC is supported by UCLA's Academic Technology Services, a central computing organization whose core mission is to support research and instruction. To fulfill that mission, ATS has established a cadre of highly trained information technology professionals. The staff includes visualization specialists, web architects, modeling and digital media experts, networking experts, high performance computing and cluster consultants, a GIS specialist and people with a variety of other skills and talents that are critical to supporting research projects with a strong IT component. 
 
ATS facilities available to the ETC include the Visualization Portal, Modeling Lab and the Technology Sandbox, and the GIS Program.

Visualization Portal

UCLA’s Visualization Portal is both a research and presentation facility. The primary mission of the Portal is to provide a multidisciplinary arena – a place where groups and individuals from many different disciplines can work together in a common environment. Visitors to the Visualization Portal can hear, see and otherwise experience information in a theater that was specially designed to highlight and enhance the presentation of information. The key element of the Visualization Portal is its immersive virtual reality display. The system uses three 3-gun projectors to display images on a floor-to-ceiling spherical screen that can display a single image at 3520x1020 resolution by blending the edges of overlapping projectors. Or, three separate images can be displayed simultaneously, which could allow a presenter to have a PowerPoint presentation on one screen, a web page displayed on another, and a computer simulation on the third. The system also supports the display of 3D objects and virtual environments with stereographics, surround sound, and interactive object manipulation. An SGI Onyx 3400 with InfiniteReality3 graphics is available for presentations in the Portal as well as for development work in the Visualization and Modeling lab where many of the visualizations are being developed. Auxiliary computers, VCRs, sound equipment, and video conferencing units can be moved to the Portal floor to further enhance work and presentations.

Modeling Lab - South

The 3D Modeling Lab’s primary function is to support students, faculty and staff in the development of modeling and visualization work in the Portal. The Lab focuses on projects that are optimally suited for the unique capabilities of the Visualization Portal and offers high-end software and a community of modelers that help one another with the challenges of creating models that will perform well in real time. The Modeling Lab also has hardware and software for the creation of videotapes, movies, metadata, animations, virtual reality objects and images that originate within the models. The Lab has a full palette of resources to promote modeling projects and provides a well-equipped production environment with a proven track record. The Lab maintains a wide variety of modeling, graphics and archiving applications on up-to-date workstations with specialized graphics cards. Applications available on the workstations include: Multigen Creator, Multigen Creator Terrain Studio, Maya, FormZ, 3D Studio Max, Lightscape, Photoshop, Compupic Pro, vrNav, and others. The Modeling Lab has five workstations running Windows and an additional workstation used for scanning. All lab workstations are identically configured.

GIS Program

ATS provides technical support for any GIS software application for which UCLA or UC Systemwide has negotiated a site licenses with the vendor, including ESRI and ERDAS. Additionally, ATS hosts the UCLA ArcSDE/Oracle GIS Database, which provide proprietary data to the UCLA community. Users can access the data over the network with a GIS application as if the data was stored locally.

The Technology Sandbox

Through the Technology Sandbox, Academic Technology Services has invested in the creation and implementation of a variety projects that illustrate the value of having a centralized facility and specialized information technology expertise that can make it possible to accomplish projects by adding resources to what a researcher or department already has available. The Sandbox role is where art and science have the greatest opportunity to influence each other through seminars, specialized workshops, and through the Research Scholar/Intern program. The Technology Sandbox space provides a variety of state-of-the art equipment and workspace for projects. Although the technologies in the Sandbox change over time, it currently features the Hoffman Beowulf Cluster of machines running the Linux operating system, which is available as a computing resource for faculty and students. These Hoffman Cluster machines are operated as a unit, sharing networking, file servers, and other peripherals. The Hoffman Cluster is used to run both serial and parallel jobs.