The WID
Living Environments Laboratory is located in the lower level of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery.  It consists of four display environments in two spaces. The first space is a six-sided HD 3D interactive rear-projected CAVE™ (9’6” x 9’6” x 9’6”). The second space (Development Lab) includes three display systems: a single “Powerwall” 3D interactive rear-projected display (9’6” x 9’6”), a 63” 3D plasma TV, and a ceiling mounted front projection display.

 

CAVE™
The CAVE™ C6 is constructed as a room with four walls, a ceiling, and a floor. Each wall, the floor, the ceiling are 9’6” x 9’6”. All six sides of the CAVE™ are composed of a projection screen. The floor has a clear plexi-glass surface for walking the CAVE™. Behind each projection screen are two projectors which combine to form 3D rear projected images on each screen. The system also has a 5.1 surround sound audio system and ceiling microphones for two-way communication to the development lab. The C6 uses Intersense head and wand tracking for full user-viewpoint-dependent stereoscopic (3D) viewing. Ultrasonic tracking sensors embedded into the CAVE™ corners provide full tracking of the head and wand. An IP based camera is mounted in the rear of the CAVE™ with the ability to record and stream video of the happenings in the space to other parts of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery building.

 

Development Lab
The development lab, or dev lab for short, has one rear projection screen (9’6” x 9’6”). This display uses the same Intersense head and wand tracking. The development lab also contains the 63” stereoscopic 3-D plasma TV and one M-Vision HD projector mounted from the ceiling and projected on a Draper screen. This lab also contains a 5.1 surround sound audio system and ceiling microphones for two-way communication to the CAVE™

 

Scenarios
The Living Environments Laboratory is both a physical space and a concept of spaces. The environment scenarios are the computation of spaces within the CAVE™ and development lab. These 3D immersive environments are created by computer scientist using code. The LEL has already created a wide range of environment scenarios including a fully functional kitchen, a bathroom with different levels cleanliness, and an interactive operating room. We have also dabbled in the design of scenarios on different scales including a galaxy map and an environment in which individuals can walk through a small molecule. The environment scenarios allow researchers conceptualize a variety of environments in an immersive context.