Professor Nigel W. John FEG FLSW

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The Visualization Immersive Projection (VIP) Lab (2000)

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Whilst at the Manchester Visualization Centre (MVC), I obtained a large grant from HEFCE to build a large scale visualization facility. The grant purchased six SGI InfiniteReality3 graphics pipelines for the existing 40 CPU (MIPS R10000) SGI Origin 2000 system (Kilburn) that Manchester Computing ran as a high performance computing resource. The VIP Lab consisted of a Panoram GVR 120e highly immersive curved (cylindrical) presentation theatre environment designed for an audience of up to 40 people. Three Electrohome CRT Projectors (Marquee 9501) produced a seamless image across the screen and supported active stereo with shuttered glasses. We also had surround sound, haptics devices and a prototype autostereoscopic display.

The VIP Lab was used by many different researchers at Manchester University, and the MVC team helped to develop applications for medical, fluid/aero dynamics, architecture, meteorology, and many more. We were contracted by AVS and Kubota to write the multi-pipe edition of AVS/Express.

The VIP Lab was decomissioned around 2005 (after I had left MVC).