Enterprise VR is all about creating immersive experiences that open a variety of approaches company-wide, each offering unique benefits and applications. One such approach is through the use of a CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environments), a room-sized cube, an advanced virtual reality space where images are projected onto the walls, floor, and ceiling to create a comprehensive 3D environment – creating a shared group experience without the need for VR headsets.
Emerging in the early 1990s, CAVEs were primarily used for scientific visualization and engineering design. They gained prominence due to their ability to facilitate collaborative exploration of complex data sets and simulations. Over the years, advancements in display technologies, tracking systems, and rendering techniques have enhanced the realism and interactivity of CAVEs, broadening their applications beyond academia into industries like AEC, Automotive, or Defense, where they serve as powerful tools for training or review design.
“VR Caves are great tools to offer a collaborative group experience with a stunning degree of realism using high-resolution laser projection technology combined with high contrast screens”, according to Kris Wullaert, VR Product Manager at Barco.
While VR HMDs have garnered more mainstream attention, CAVEs still remain crucial for industry-specific contexts. Having the ability to create and deploy collaborative content for both set ups is key to leverage the advantages of these technologies. That is exactly what the new feature of Virtualware’s VR Platform VIROO is all about, and the Canada’s largest publicly accessible VR CAVE located at Invest WinsorEssex (IWE) is their first use case. Serving as a teaching, training, and simulation tool for the region and beyond, VIROO’s integration with IWE’s VR CAVE is designed to support connected and autonomous vehicle development.
VIROO’s new integration with VR CAVEs
VIROO simplifies the deployment and management of VR CAVE environments, making them more accessible to institutions and organizations without extensive technical resources. As Sergio Barrera, CTO from Virtualware explained, “the content deployment workflow is abstracted from the intricacies of hardware, managing tasks such as launching applications in a computer cluster, synchronizing them, and ensuring stereo representation. It manages hardware abstractions, online sessions, and content deployment, incorporating specific compatibility with input systems like DTrack, and providing a framework to extend it to others”
Interactive content developed in VIROO is seamlessly compatible with CAVE systems without requiring any adaptation. This means the content creators can test and develop content in any OpenXR compatible VR headset like HTC Focus, Meta Quest or Pico, among others. It is then ready for deployment directly within a CAVE environment, with Tracking Dtrack Integration ART Flystick 2 and HTC Trackers, and projection systems like Barco’s. This compatibility ensures faster content deployments and eliminates the need for customization, thus saving time and costs. VIROO’s stereo rendering module allows to display Active Stereo Graphics generated in the Unity context on the industry standard GPUs. This feature decouples Unity rendering system from evolving Stereo drivers and guarantees compatibility with current and future versions of Unity runtimes.
“Virtualware did a great job to seamlessly integrate both head tracking and Flystick interaction for a multi-side projection system fully transparent to the Unity programming”, said Andreas Werner, Business Development Simulation & Training at ART.
Leveraging the combined power of VIROO and CAVE, users can delve into interactive three-dimensional environments, exploring complex data, scientific visualizations, and 3D models with unparalleled engagement. This collaborative aspect is crucial for a wide range of applications, from educational and training scenarios to complex scientific research and data visualization. With VIROO’s versatility in content creation, deployment, and integration, it unwraps a realm of possibilities for innovation and collaboration across various fields.
Invest WinsorEssex partnership: Accelerating VR CAVEs capabilities for the automobility sector.
In 2023, IWE and Virtualware embarked on a three-year partnership aimed at expanding SME access and exploring various applications for Canada’s largest publicly accessible VR CAVE. The collaboration involved the integration of Virtualware‘s VIROO platform with IWE’s VR CAVE, allowing SMEs to engage in digital twinning projects locally and across the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) program.
The partnership provides many valuable opportunities in product development, including simulation, skills training, communication, and collaboration. According to Edward (Ed) Dawson, Executive Director of Invest WindsorEssex Automobility and Innovation Center, VIROO and VR Caves will play a crucial role in fostering collaboration not only within regional technology development locations but also in extending its impact beyond these.
“Our VR CAVE was once stationary. By partnering with Virtualware we now have the ability to create a cross collaboration platform and interact with people locally and across the globe. With VIROO we are really looking to amp up and take the next step to helping train and giving people overview of what the process looks like, until they are actually able to go into the plants themselves.”- Ed Dawson – Executive Director of Invest WindsorEssex Automobility and Innovation Center.
Some of the new benefits for IWE’s VR CAVE with VIROO include the following:
- Cross-Collaboration Platform: The upgraded VR CAVE now serves as a cross-collaboration platform, fostering interaction locally and globally.
- Facilitating Design Iteration: Streamlining design iteration, virtual training, and the development of zero-emission vehicles.
- Improving the training process and providing a comprehensive overview of the manufacturing process for battery electric vehicles.
Discover more!
With VIROO, businesses can truly enjoy a seamless multi-user VR experience in different set-ups. Dive deep into this potent combination, unveiling how VIROO elevates the immersive experience and expands possibilities within VR CAVEs watching this webinar recording with industry leaders like Carolina Cruz-Neira, Andreas Werner, Kris Wullaert, Ed Dawson, Andreas and Christian Schoebel.
