Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The future of the CAVE

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Central European Journal of Engineering

Abstract

The CAVE, a walk-in virtual reality environment typically consisting of 4–6 3 m-by-3 m sides of a room made of rear-projected screens, was first conceived and built in 1991. In the nearly two decades since its conception, the supporting technology has improved so that current CAVEs are much brighter, at much higher resolution, and have dramatically improved graphics performance. However, rear-projection-based CAVEs typically must be housed in a 10 m-by-10 m-by-10 m room (allowing space behind the screen walls for the projectors), which limits their deployment to large spaces. The CAVE of the future will be made of tessellated panel displays, eliminating the projection distance, but the implementation of such displays is challenging. Early multi-tile, panel-based, virtual-reality displays have been designed, prototyped, and built for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. New means of image generation and control are considered key contributions to the future viability of the CAVE as a virtual-reality device.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Cruz-Neira C., Sandin D., DeFanti T., et al., The CAVE, Communications of the ACM, 35(6), 1992, 64–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Kenyon R. V., Sandin D. Smith, Randall C., Pawlicki R., et al., Size-Constancy in the CAVE, Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 16(2), 2007, 172–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave%5Automatic%5Virtual%5Environment

  4. Sutherland I. E., A head-mounted three dimensional display, In: Proceedings of Fall joint computer conference, part I, ACM (December 9–11, 1968), 1968, 757–764

  5. Tan D., Gergle D., Scupelli P. and Pausch R., With similar visual angles, larger displays improve spatial performance, In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, 2003

  6. Tan D., Gergle D., Scupelli P. and Pausch R., Physically large displays improve performance on spatial tasks, In: ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 2006

  7. Yost B., Haciahmetoglu Y. and North C., Beyond visual acuity: the perceptual scalability of information visualizations for large displays, In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, 2007

  8. Korab H., Brown M., (Eds.), Virtual Environments and Distributed Computing at SC’95: GII Testbed and HPC Challenge Applications on the I-WAY, a publication of ACM/IEEE Supercomputing’ 95, http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Training/SC95/GII.HPCC.html

  9. DeFanti T., Brown M., and Stevens R. (Guest Editors), Virtual Reality Over High-Speed Networks, IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications, 16(4), 1996, 14–17, 42–84

    Google Scholar 

  10. Lehner V.D., DeFanti T., Distributed Virtual Reality: Supporting Remote Collaboration in Vehicle Design, IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications, 1997, 13–17

  11. Leigh J., Johnson A., DeFanti T., CAVERN: A Distributed Architecture for Supporting Scalable Persistence and Interoperability in Collaborative Virtual Environments, Virtual Reality: Research, Development and Applications, 1997

  12. Leigh J., DeFanti T., Johnson J., Brown M., et al., Global Tele-Immersion: Better Than Being There, In: ICAT’ 97, 7th Annual International Conference on Artificial Reality and Tele-Existence (December 3–5, 1997, Virtual Reality Society of Japan, University of Tokyo, Japan), 1997, 10–17

  13. Leigh J., Park K., Kenyon R.V., Johnson A.E., et al., Preliminary STARTAP Tele-Immersion Experiments between Chicago and Singapore, In: 3rd High Performance Computing Asia Conference & Exhibition (September, 1998, Singapore), 22–25, 1998, 687–693

  14. Leigh J., Johnson A., Renambot L., DeFanti T., et al., Emerging from the CAVE: Collaboration in Ultra High Resolution Environments, In: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Universal Communication (June, 14–15 2007, Kyoto, Japan)

  15. Johnson A., Leigh J., Costigan J., Multiway Tele-Immersion at Supercomputing’ 97, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 1998

  16. Stevens R., DeFanti T. Tele-Immersion and Collaborative Virtual Environments, In: The Grid: Blueprint for a New Computing Infrastructure, I. Foster and C. Kesselman (Eds.), Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 1999, 131–158

  17. Park K., Cho Y., Krishnaprasad N., Scharver C., et al., CAVERNsoft G2: A Toolkit for High Performance Tele-Immersive Collaboration, In: Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology 2000 (October, 2000, Seoul, Korea)

  18. Smarr L., The Emergence of a Planetary-Scale Collaboratory for Data-Intensive Research, Points of View — a tribute to Alan Kay, Ian Piumarta and Kim Rose (Eds.), Viewpoints Research Institute, 2010, 79–96

  19. DeFanti T., Sandin D., Brown M., Pape, et al., Technologies for Virtual Reality/Tele-Immersion Applications: Issues of Research in Image Display and Global Networking (chapter), Frontiers of Human-Centered Computing, Online Communities and Virtual Environments, Rae Earnshaw, Richard Guedj, Andries van Dam and John Vince (editors), Springer-Verlag London, 2001, 137–159

  20. DeFanti T., Leigh J., Brown, M., Sandin, et al., Teleimmersion and Visualization with the OptIPuter, In: Telecommunication, Teleimmersion and Telexistence, (au]Susumu Tachi, editor), Ohmsha/IOS Press, 2003, 25–71

  21. Leigh J., Johnson A., Supporting Transcontinental Collaborative Work in Persistent Virtual Environments, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 1996

  22. Leigh J., Johnson A., Vasilakis C., DeFanti T., Multi-Perspective Collaborative Design in Persistent Networked Virtual Environments, In: Proceedings of the IEEE Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium VRAIS’ 96, (March 1996, Santa Clara, CA)

  23. Leigh J., Johnson A., DeFanti T., Issues in the Design of a Flexible Distributed Architecture for Supporting Persistence and Interoperablility in Collaborative Virtual Environments, In: Proceedings of Supercomputing’ 97, (November, 15–21, 1997, San Jose, CA)

  24. Brown M., DeFanti T., et al., The International Grid (iGrid): Empowering Global Research Community Networking Using High Performance International Internet Services, Proceedings of INET’ 99, (June, 22–25, 1999, San Jose, CA)

  25. Jeong B., Renambot L., Jagodic R., Singh R., et al., High-Performance Dynamic Graphics Streaming for Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment, ACM/IEEE Supercomputing 2006, (November 11–17, 2006)

  26. Smarr L., Brown M., DeFanti T, de Laat C. (guest editors), Special issue on the International Grid (iGrid) 2005 Workshop, Future Generation Computer Systems/The International Journal of Grid Computing: Theory, Methods and Applications, Elsevier B.V., 22(8), (October, 01–31, 2006)

  27. http://www.glif.is

  28. Harrison C., Tan D., Morris D., Skinput: Appropriating the Body as an Input Surface, CHI 2010, (April 10–15, 2010, Atlanta, Georgia, USA)

  29. DeFanti T., Dawe G., Sandin D., Schulze J., et al., The StarCave, a third-generation cave and virtual reality Optiportal, In: Future Generation Computer Systems/The International Journal of Grid Computing: Theory, Methods and Applications, Elsevier B.V., 25(2), 2008, http://ivl.calit2.net/wiki/index.php/StarCAVE%5Measurement%5Diagrams

  30. SXRD 4K Ultra-high Resolution Projectors, Sony product manual, 2009, http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/micro-sxrdsite/

  31. http://www.meyersound.com/pdf/case%5studies/cs%5kaust.pdf

  32. Rhee J., Schulze J.P., DeFanti T., Hotspot Mitigation in the StarCAVE, In: Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 7525: The Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality, San Jose, CA, 2010

  33. http://www.samsung.com/au/tv/warning.html

  34. Lipton L., The CrystalEyes Handbook. San Rafael, CA: StereoGraphics Corporation, 1991

    Google Scholar 

  35. Sandin D., Sandor E., Cunnally W., Resch, M. et al., Three-Dimensional Visualization and Display Technologies, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 1083, 1989

  36. Sandin D., Margolis T., Dawe G., Leigh J., et al., The Varrier™ Auto-Stereographic Display, In: Proceedings of Photonics West 2001: Electronics Imaging, sponsored by SPIE, (January 20–26, 2001, San Jose, CA), http://spie.org/web/meetings/programs/pw01/home.html

  37. Sandin D., Margolis T., Ge J., Girado J., et al., The Varrier Autostereoscopic Virtual Reality Display, ACM Transactions on Graphics, In: Proceedings of ACM SIGGRAPH 2005, (July 31–August 4, 2005, Los Angeles, CA), 24(3), 2005, 894–903

    Google Scholar 

  38. Peterka T., Kooima R.L., Girado J.I., Ge J., et al., Evolution of the Varrier autostereoscopic VR display, In: Proceedings IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging 2007, San Jose, CA, 2007

  39. Peterka T., Kooima R.L., Girado J.I., Ge J., et al., Dynallax: Solid State Dynamic Parallax Barrier Autostereoscopic VR Display, In: Proceedings of the IEEE Virtual Reality Conference 2007 — VR’07, (March, 10–14, 2007, Charlotte, NC)

  40. Peterka T., Kooima R.L., Sandin D., Johnson A., et al., Advances in the dynallax solid-state dynamic parallax barrier autostereoscopic visualization display system, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 14(3), 2008, 487–499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Peterka T., Ross R., Yu H., Ma K.-L., Autostereoscopic display of large-scale scienti?c visualization, In: Proceedings IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging 2009, San Jose, CA, 2009

  42. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20/20%5vision#Visual%5acuity%5expression

  43. DeFanti T., Leigh J., Renambot L., Jeong B., et al., The OptIPortal, a Scalable Visualization, Storage, and Computing Interface Device for the OptIPuter, In: Future Generation Computer Systems/The International Journal of Grid Computing: Theory, Methods and Applications, Elsevier B.V., 25(2), 2008

  44. http://www.optiputer.net

  45. Johnson A., Sandin D., Dawe G., Qiu Z, et al., Developing the PARIS: Using the CAVE to Prototype a New VR Display, In: Proceedings of IPT 2000, (June 19–20, 2000, Ames, IA), http://www.evl.uic.edu/EVL/RESEARCH/paris.shtml

  46. http://www.calit2.net/newsroom/release.php?id=1708

  47. Faris S.M., Method and System for Producing Micropolarization Panels for Use in Micropolarizing Spatially Multiplexed Images of 3-D Objects During Stereoscopic Display Processes. United States Patent 5844717, 1998, http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5844717/claims.html

  48. Benton S.A., Slowe T.E., Kropp A.B., and Smith S.L., Micropolarizer-based multiple-viewer autostereoscopic display, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, Presented at the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference, Vol. 3639, 1999, 76–83

    Google Scholar 

  49. Arisawa Mfg. Co., Ltd., 2009, http://www.arisawa.co.jp/en/product/3d.html

  50. Kooima R., Leigh J., Johnson A., Roberts D., et al., Planetary-Scale Terrain Composition, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, IEEE Computer Society, April, 2009

  51. Sandin D., Margolis T., Dawe G., Leigh J., et al., The Varrier Auto-Stereographic Display, The Stereoscopic Displays and Virtual Reality Systems IIX, (January 24, 2002, San Jose, CA)

  52. Girado J., Real-Time 3D Head Position Tracker System with Stereo Cameras Using a Face Recognition Neural Network, PhD thesis, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2004

  53. Fukushima R., Taira K., Saishu T., Momonoi Y., et al., Effect of light ray overlap between neighboring parallax images in autostereoscopic 3D displays, In: Proceedings SPIE, Vol. 7237

  54. Zwicker M., Matusik W., Durand F., Pfister H., Antialiasing for Automultiscopic 3D Displays, Eurographics Symposium on Rendering, 2006

  55. Kooima R., Prudhomme A., Schulze J., Sandin D., et al., A Multi-viewer Tiled Mutostereoscopic Virtual Reality Display, To appear in the Proceedings of the 17th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, (November, 2010, Hong Kong)

  56. http://www.alioscopy.com/

  57. Girado J., Sandin D., DeFanti T., Wolf L., Real-Time Camera Based Face Detection using a modified LAMSTAR Neural Network System, In: Proceedings of Electronic Imaging 2003/Conference 5015: Applications of Artificial Neural Networks in Image Processing VIII, 15th Annual Symposium on Electronic Imaging: Science and Technology, sponsored by The Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T) and The International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE), (January 20–24, 2003, Santa Clara, California, USA)

  58. Doerr K.U., Kuester F., CGLX: A Scalable, Highperformance Visualization Framework for Networked Display Environments, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, Vol. 99, 2010

  59. Ponto K., Wypych T., Doerr K., Yamaoka S., et al., VideoBlaster: A Distributed, Low-Network Bandwidth Method for Multimedia Playback on Tiled Display Systems, 11th IEEE International Symposium on Multimedia, 2009, 201–206

  60. http://www.necdisplay.com/NewTechnologies/UltraNarrowLCD/

  61. http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/professional-displays/professional-displays/lcd/LH46MVTLBN/ZA/index.idx?pagetype=prd%5detail

  62. http://www.mechdyne.com/integratedSolutions/software/products/CAVELib/CAVELib.htm and http://www.vrco.com/CAVELib/OverviewCAVELib.html

  63. Rantzau D., Lang U., Ruehle R., Collaborative and Interactive Visualization in a Distributed High Performance Software Environment, In: Proceedings of the International Workshop on High Performance Computing for Graphics and Visualization, Swansea, Wales, 1996, http://www.hlrs.de/organization/vis/covise/features/opencover/

  64. http://www.vsg3d.com/vsg%5prod%5avizo%5overview.php

  65. http://www.sagecommons.org

  66. http://www.calit2.net/newsroom/article.php?id=1584http://www.youtube.com/calit2#p/search/0/pFTfZ0VtzIU (NexCAVE display of 3D model of rebar layout for new span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge http://www.youtube.com/calit2#p/search/1/9tEkHz97yNU (NexCAVE display of 3D model of Calit2 headquarters building at UC San Diego) http://www.youtube.com/calit2#p/search/2/AEjJYepZ%5FP8 (NexCAVE display of archeological dig site model) http://www.youtube.com/calit2#p/search/3/Ze5IprHtC5c (NexCAVE with 3D model of desalination plant designed at the National University of Singapore) http://www.youtube.com/calit2#p/search/4/cQP%5YhtAeyQ (NexCAVE exploration of 3D model for the holy shrine at Mecca) http://www.youtube.com/calit2#p/search/5/u96M4OhwIgA (NexCAVE Exploration of Jordan Archaeological Excavation Site)

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), University of California San Diego (UCSD), San Diego, California, USA

    Thomas A. DeFanti, Gregory Dawe, Kai-Uwe Doerr, Falko Kuester, Peter Otto, Vid Petrovic, Kevin Ponto, Andrew Prudhomme, Ramesh Rao, Jurgen P. Schulze, Larry Smarr & Philip Weber

  2. Visualization Laboratory, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    Daniel Acevedo, Steven Cutchin, Chris Knox, Madhu Srinivasan & Gregory Wickham

  3. Ainsworth & Partners, Inc., Ridgeway, Wisconsin, USA

    Richard A. Ainsworth

  4. Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Maxine D. Brown, Andrew Johnson, Jason Leigh, Lance Long, Luc Renambot & Daniel J. Sandin

  5. Center for Computation & Technology (CCT), Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

    Robert Kooima

Authors
  1. Thomas A. DeFanti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Daniel Acevedo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Richard A. Ainsworth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Maxine D. Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Steven Cutchin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Gregory Dawe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Kai-Uwe Doerr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Andrew Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Chris Knox
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Robert Kooima
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Falko Kuester
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Jason Leigh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Lance Long
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Peter Otto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Vid Petrovic
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Kevin Ponto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. Andrew Prudhomme
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  18. Ramesh Rao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  19. Luc Renambot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  20. Daniel J. Sandin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  21. Jurgen P. Schulze
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  22. Larry Smarr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  23. Madhu Srinivasan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  24. Philip Weber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  25. Gregory Wickham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas A. DeFanti.

About this article

Cite this article

DeFanti, T.A., Acevedo, D., Ainsworth, R.A. et al. The future of the CAVE. cent.eur.j.eng 1, 16–37 (2011). https://doi.org/10.2478/s13531-010-0002-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s13531-010-0002-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation