Immersive Visualization / IQ-Station Wiki

This site hosts information on virtual reality systems that are geared toward scientific visualization, and as such often toward VR on Linux-based systems. Thus, pages here cover various software (and sometimes hardware) technologies that enable virtual reality operation on Linux.

The original IQ-station effort was to create low-cost (for the time) VR systems making use of 3DTV displays to produce CAVE/Fishtank-style VR displays. That effort pre-dated the rise of the consumer HMD VR systems, however, the realm of midrange-cost large-fishtank systems is still important, and has transitioned from 3DTV-based systems to short-throw projectors.

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This site is a place where the community of users of lower-cost
This site is a place where the community of users of midrange-cost
virtual reality displays can congregate and share information.
virtual reality displays can congregate and share information.
In the past our focus was on systems primarily constructed from
In the past, our focus was on systems primarily constructed from
Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components for a quality VR experience
Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components for a quality VR experience
around the $10,000 to $15,000 price range.  Unfortunately, the era
around the $10,000 to $15,000 price range.  But that was during the
of COTS 3D-TVs has waned, and so this method (IQ-stations) is no longer practical.
era of COTS 3D-TVs, and before COTS HMDs.


However, the information about the applications is still pertinent, including
Now however, the era of 3D-TVs has waned, but by replacing them with
instructions on how to use the Vrui system to operate HTC Vive displays on Linux
not-terribly-expensive short-throw projectors, and by using super-low-cost
systems.
tracking from consumer HMD technology, we can still build larger fishtank-style
VR displays (IQ-stations) for something reasonable — ~$7,000.


== Hardware ==
The software discussed here (VR libraries and applications) is often useful for
both consumer HMDs, and these midrange-cost IQ-stations, as well as full-sized
CAVE VR systems, and thus can be useful for VR pracitioners of the full range
of system types and costs.  (Though primarily oriented to those interested
in immersive visualization — scientific visualization in VR.)
 
== Integration Software ==
 
Most IQ-station systems presently in operation run VR applications built
on one of two VR integration libraries:
* [[Vrui]]
* [[FreeVR]]
 
== VR Applications ==
* [[ImmersiveParaView | Immersive ParaView]] — The general-purpose ParaView sci-vis tool in VR
** [[ParaView_Tips | ParaView Tips]]
* [[Toirt Samhlaigh]] — A 3D volume visualization tool
* [[LidarViewer]] — A point-cloud visualization tool
* [[VMD]] — Visual Molecular Dynamics
* [[ML2VR]] — Matlab to VR
* [[CQ3A]] — A world exploration application (with game-like worlds)
===Commercial Applications===
* [[syGlass]] — volume viewer for SteamVR on MS-Windows
 
== VR Tools ==
* [[VRPN]] — Virtual Reality Peripheral Network tool for aggregating data from input devices
* [[ViveLighthouse]] — Accessing Vive Lighthouse tracking on Linux
** [[LibSurvive]] — Building the LibSurvive library for Lighthouse tracking on Linux
* [[Monado]] — Open-source OpenXR runtime for Linux
* [[OpenXR]] — Building OpenXR on Linux
 
==Visuallization Applications==
* [[BuildingVTK]] (on MS-Windows)
* [[BuildingParaView]] (on MS-Windows)
* [[BuildingANARI]] (on Linux)
 
== Other Applications ==
* [http://bino3d.org/ Bino] — stereoscopic movie player
* [[XVS]] — John Stone's ''stereoscopic image viewer''
 
== Rendering Libraries ==
* [[Barney]] — Cross-GPU Multi-threaded rendering library
* [[Visionaray]] — Open-source C++ Ray-Tracing template library
 
== NIST Trans-Portable-VR ==
* [[Transportable_VR_NIST | NIST's Transportable VR System]] — modern IQ-station w/ short-throw projector
* [[Portable_VR_Setup | Portable-VR Setup]] — setup instructions
 
== Hardware (old) ==


The basic components of an IQ-station are:
The basic components of an IQ-station are:
* [[3D_Displays | 3DTV Displays]] (and [[3D_Glasses | 3D glasses]])
* [[3D_Displays | 3DTV Displays]] (and [[3D_Glasses | 3D glasses]])
* [[Tracking_Systems | Tracking Systems]]
* [[Tracking_Systems | Tracking Systems]]
** [[ART SMARTTRACK]]
** [[ViveLighthouse]] — Linux instructions
* [[Input_Devices | Input Devices]]
* [[Input_Devices | Input Devices]]
* [[Computers]]
* [[Computers]]
Line 26: Line 77:


== Community ==
== Community ==
For the past decade (apart from one "COVID year"), there has been a SIGGRAPH BOF
with the topic of '''Immersive Visualization''':
* [https://immersive-visualisation-bof.org BOF: Immersive Visualisation for Science, Research, Art and Metaverse Applications]


Part of our community building efforts include bootcamps on Immersive Visualization.
Part of our community building efforts include bootcamps on Immersive Visualization.
Line 33: Line 87:
* [[Bootcamp_UALR | Bootcamp in Little Rock]] held October 22-24, 2014
* [[Bootcamp_UALR | Bootcamp in Little Rock]] held October 22-24, 2014
* [[Bootcamp_INL | Bootcamp in Idaho Falls]] held October 20-21, 2016
* [[Bootcamp_INL | Bootcamp in Idaho Falls]] held October 20-21, 2016
<!-- Additional bootcamps for 2017 are under consideration. -->
In addition to documenting the bootcamps here, we also gave a presentation
at SuperComputing 2013:
* [http://sc13.supercomputing.org/sites/default/files/WorkshopsArchive/pdfs/wp145s1.pdf Paper: "Immersive Visualization Bootcamps: sharing expertise, building community"]
== Integration Software ==
Most IQ-station systems presently in operation run VR applications built
on one of two VR integration libraries:
* [[Vrui]]
* [[FreeVR]]
== VR Applications ==
* [http://immersivevis.com/2010/toirt-samhlaigh-volume-visualization/ Toirt Samhlaigh]
* [http://idav.ucdavis.edu/~okreylos/ResDev/LiDAR LidarViewer]
* [[CQ3A]]
* [[ImmersiveParaView | Immersive ParaView]]
** [[ParaView_Tips | ParaView Tips]]
* [[VMD]] (Visual Molecular Dynamics)
* [[ML2VR]] (Matlab to VR)
== VR Tools ==
* [[VRPN]]
* [[ViveLighthouse]]
== Other Applications ==
* [http://bino3d.org/ Bino stereoscopic movie player]
* XVS ''(John Stone's stereoscopic image viewer)''


== Related Publications ==
== Related Publications ==
* [[Publication_Sherman_2010 | '''[Sherman 2010]''' ''IQ-Station: A Low Cost Portable Immersive Environment'']]
* [[Publication_Sherman_2010 | '''[Sherman 2010]''' ''IQ-Station: A Low Cost Portable Immersive Environment'']]
* [[Publication_Sherman_2013 | '''[Sherman 2013]''' ''Immersive Visualization Bootcamps: sharing expertise, building community'']]


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Latest revision as of 17:41, 30 August 2024

Welcome to the IQ-Station Wiki for commodity-based low-cost VR


This site is a place where the community of users of midrange-cost virtual reality displays can congregate and share information. In the past, our focus was on systems primarily constructed from Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components for a quality VR experience around the $10,000 to $15,000 price range. But that was during the era of COTS 3D-TVs, and before COTS HMDs.

Now however, the era of 3D-TVs has waned, but by replacing them with not-terribly-expensive short-throw projectors, and by using super-low-cost tracking from consumer HMD technology, we can still build larger fishtank-style VR displays (IQ-stations) for something reasonable — ~$7,000.

The software discussed here (VR libraries and applications) is often useful for both consumer HMDs, and these midrange-cost IQ-stations, as well as full-sized CAVE VR systems, and thus can be useful for VR pracitioners of the full range of system types and costs. (Though primarily oriented to those interested in immersive visualization — scientific visualization in VR.)

Integration Software

Most IQ-station systems presently in operation run VR applications built on one of two VR integration libraries:

VR Applications

Commercial Applications

  • syGlass — volume viewer for SteamVR on MS-Windows

VR Tools

  • VRPN — Virtual Reality Peripheral Network tool for aggregating data from input devices
  • ViveLighthouse — Accessing Vive Lighthouse tracking on Linux
    • LibSurvive — Building the LibSurvive library for Lighthouse tracking on Linux
  • Monado — Open-source OpenXR runtime for Linux
  • OpenXR — Building OpenXR on Linux

Visuallization Applications

Other Applications

  • Bino — stereoscopic movie player
  • XVS — John Stone's stereoscopic image viewer

Rendering Libraries

  • Barney — Cross-GPU Multi-threaded rendering library
  • Visionaray — Open-source C++ Ray-Tracing template library

NIST Trans-Portable-VR

Hardware (old)

The basic components of an IQ-station are:

Community

For the past decade (apart from one "COVID year"), there has been a SIGGRAPH BOF with the topic of Immersive Visualization:

Part of our community building efforts include bootcamps on Immersive Visualization. Thus far, we have hosted three successful events:

Related Publications


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