UMBC will hold an event to celebrate the opening of the new π² Immersive Hybrid Reality Laboratory from 2:00-4:00pm on Friday, 14 October 2016 in the new lab in room 229 of the Information Technology/Engineering building.
π² will be one of the most advanced visualization facilities of its kind in the mid-Atlantic region. UMBC sees it as enabling new research efforts on the visual exploration of data and knowledge discovery for biology, math, engineering, visual arts, and digital humanities as well as a tool to study and enhance the potential of the medium itself.
The instrument features a curved wall with a 50 million pixel resolution made from multi-column, thin-bezel, and stereo-capable LCD panels with a six degree-of-freedom tracking system. The system will integrate and leverage many important characteristics: immersion, hybrid reality, high resolution, large field of view, large space and size, body-centric human-computer interaction, and support for heterogeneous data fusion.
The facility was made possible by an NSF MRI award granted to a team lead by Professor Jian Chen (CSEE) and including Craig Saper (Language, Literacy, and Culture), Karl Steiner (VP of Research), Penny Rheingans (CSEE) and Michael Summers (Biological Science).
The event is an open house with only a few formal remarks. Speakers will include Freeman Hrabowski (President of UMBC), Karl Steiner (Vice President for Research at UMBC) and Jian Chen (the UMBC professor who was awarded an NSF grant to create the system). Get more information and register to attend here.