Queensland is set to develop into the Virtual Reality capital of Australia following the opening of a new Virtual Reality Centre based at UQ and supported by the State Government.

A $2 million state-of-the-art educational and research ViSAC (the Visualisation and Advanced Computation Laboratory), facility at UQ is one of three major Virtual Reality (VR) centres for the State.

The Virtual Reality Facility based at UQ will support researchers at Queensland universities through the QPSF (Queensland Parallel Super-computing Foundation). "The other major VR facility in Australia is at RMIT in Victoria, and while we are using the same technology, our work environment has been set up our virtual reality lab, not separate to it. This is unique in Australia," Professor Kevin Burrage (pictured right) said. "Several other Queensland groups are working with smaller visualisation environments."

Professor Burrage is Director of UQ's Advanced Computational Modelling Centre (ACMC), which runs the new facility on behalf of the University and the QPSF.

He said ViSAC (the Visualisation and Advanced Computation Laboratory) was a computing resource which gave researchers access to visualisation tools to enhance their productivity and quality of research.

ViSAC comprises a large, immersive, visualisation system (curved-screen projection system and SGI Onyx3000 image-generation computer) and a laboratory of high-performance graphics work-stations for research and teaching, connected to UQ's 64 CPU SGI 3000 supercomputer via a high-speed ATM network. Using the technology, researchers studying subjects such as the operation of a living human cell or the structure of complicated molecules feel as though they are immersed inside a complex 3D structure.

"This is the ideal technology for anyone working with complex models and big data-sets," Professor Burrage said.

"For example, researchers at UQ?s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) are visualising in 3D the structure of molecules, which they can rotate. Using goggles they can see complex structures in stereoscopic vision. The IMB has many projects needing 3D structure modelling to develop new drugs, better understand drug-delivery and normal cell operation.

"UQ's Centre for Marine Studies, the ACMC and research groups at James Cook University (JCU) are collaborating to develop a virtual reef program where we can model aspects of the Great Barrier Reef and visualise it. It will mimic the feel of diving and being able to see coral and fish moving around you. We will also be able to use this model to investigate the effect of pollution and global-warming on the reef.

"Architectural walk-throughs are also possible, a valuable technology for town-planning and urban design, such as sports stadia, bridges, theatre designs etc.

"Similarly, the University's Sustainable Minerals Institute has programs in mind for virtual-mining.

"Environmental climate-modelling can also be conducted where it is possible to visualise, for example, cold fronts moving across mountains, as if seeing them from an aeroplane."

Professor Burrage said the ViSAC lab also provided an educational computing resource to introduce high-level undergraduates to high-performance computing and visualisation appropriate to their chosen fields. It showcased the State?s computing excellence and commitment to state-of-the-art research and teaching.

Its function was to foster interactions between science and industry in the use of new technologies such as high-performance computers, visualisation of complex data-sets, advanced informatics, high-performance modelling and software development.

Research team

Professor Kevin Burrage www.uq.edu.au/uqresearchers/researcher/burragek.html,
Dr Steve Jeffrey
Dr Jasmine Banks www.uq.edu.au/uqresearchers/researcher/banksje.html,
Dr Pamela Burrage www.uq.edu.au/uqresearchers/researcher/burragepm.html,
Iazaros Kastanis www.uq.edu.au/uqresearchers/researcher/kastanisle.html,
Andy Dennison, and
Sean Ivermee www.uq.edu.au/uqresearchers/researcher/ivermees.html

Funding
State Government ($2 million)

Email
kb@maths.uq.edu.au

Web link
www.acmc.uq.edu.au

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