Wave Issue 0302 1/24/03 Article 3-01

***Fakespace Systems Supports Immersive Research for US Army
(January 21)

Fakespace Systems Inc. today announced that it has delivered a
reconfigurable visualization system as part of an Immersive
Environment Simulator, used to study how soldiers use equipment
in combat zones, at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The RAVE II visualization
system consists of three detachable, large-scale stereoscopic
display units that ARL uses to project imagery of simulated
hostile environments.

The RAVE II is one part of the Tactical Environment Simulation
Facility at ARL, which consists of two adjoining simulation
environments. One is a stereoscopic projection-based Hostile
Environment Simulator that includes a 155 decibel sound system.
The second part, called the Immersive Environment Simulator,
integrates the RAVE II with motion tracking and an omni-
directional treadmill to allow soldiers to literally run and move
in any direction within virtual hostile terrain and combat
conditions.

The RAVE II at the ARL is a reconfigurable stereoscopic display
system consisting of three self-contained 10-ft x 12.5-ft rear-
projected modules that can be arranged to form a flat wall
display, an immersive theater, or an enclosed CAVE-like
environment. As part of the Immersive Environment Simulator, it
is used in conjunction with an immersive sound system consisting
of 44 loudspeakers. It also includes an omni-directional
treadmill, with an inertial acoustic position measuring system,
which enables visualizations to track in real time with the
user's changing point of view. SGI was prime contractor for the
$2.5 million project, and the Immersive Environment Simulator is
driven by an SGI Onyx supercomputer.

The new facility will be used for human factors studies on pre-
prototype hardware and software, such as new helmet designs and
target acquisition systems. As part of the laboratory's Objective
Force Warrior program, the immersive systems will also be used to
evaluate how increased information, and different ways of
accessing and presenting information, will affect soldiers'
performance. Among a variety of proposed research studies, it
will also be used in a project to determine if dismounted
soldiers can successfully control one or more battlefield robots.

The RAVE was customized to meet ARL's needs. The screen size is
larger than standard RAVE units and it was designed to sit 18
inches above the floor in order to accommodate the omni-
directional treadmill. It incorporates three Mirage 6000
projectors from Christie.

A second RAVE II system with a 20-foot edge-blended center wall
module will be installed at ARL in early 2003.

www.fakespacesystems.com