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.
Computers
Recommendations
Unlike the other hardware pages, for Computers, we make only generic recommendations of features needed for optimal IQ-station operation. Purchasing pre-configured computers from a major PC distributor is fine, or you can specify a white-box system.
Recommendations:
One computer or two
Some tracking systems require software that is specific to a particular Operating System. Thus if this is not the same as the desired OS for the visualization software, a second system is needed. We have found that running the second system as a [Virtual_machine | virtual computer] can be adequate, thus keeping the required number of computers to just one.
Operating system
Most immersive visualization software used by the IQ-Station community is Linux based (though it can frequently also be run on other UNIX variants, including OSX). In most cases, a typical user-oriented Linux distribution is used such as Fedora or Ubuntu.
RAM
Most immersive visualization applications benefit from being able to load as much data into RAM as possible, so we recommend including as much memory as affordable.
Core count
Immersive software is generally multi threaded in order to handle the rendering and tracking as separate threads, so multi-core CPUs are highly recommended.
GPU
Newer immersive visualization applications take advantage of GPU algorithms, so the use of a graphics card with GPU hardware acceleration is recommended.
- The nVidia GeForce line is adequate for basic 3D Stereoscopic rendering on [3D_Displays | low-cost 3D displays].
This emanates from how such displays can procude left/right image output from data provided in single frames.
- Of cource, the nVidia Quadro line will provide a higher rendering throughput, so is still advantageous if it is within the budget.