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Title: IQ-Station: A Low Cost Portable Immersive Environment

Conference ·
OSTI ID:1013706

The emergence of inexpensive 3D TV’s, affordable input and rendering hardware and open-source software has created a yeasty atmosphere for the development of low-cost immersive environments (IE). A low cost IE system, or IQ-station, fashioned from commercial off the shelf technology (COTS), coupled with a targeted immersive application can be a viable laboratory instrument for enhancing scientific workflow for exploration and analysis. The use of an IQ-station in a laboratory setting also has the potential of quickening the adoption of a more sophisticated immersive environment as a critical enabler in modern scientific and engineering workflows. Prior work in immersive environments generally required either a head mounted display (HMD) system or a large projector-based implementation both of which have limitations in terms of cost, usability, or space requirements. The solution presented here provides an alternative platform providing a reasonable immersive experience that addresses those limitations. Our work brings together the needed hardware and software to create a fully integrated immersive display and interface system that can be readily deployed in laboratories and common workspaces. By doing so, it is now feasible for immersive technologies to be included in researchers’ day-to-day workflows. The IQ-Station sets the stage for much wider adoption of immersive environments outside the small communities of virtual reality centers.

Research Organization:
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC07-05ID14517
OSTI ID:
1013706
Report Number(s):
INL/CON-10-19307; TRN: US201110%%784
Resource Relation:
Conference: ISVC10,Las Vegas, Nevada,11/29/2010,12/01/2010
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English