The University of the Western Cape (UWC) has unveiled its Highly Immersive Visualisation Environment (Hive) to allow geoscientists to visualise, analyse and share large datasets in an immersive, real-time environment.
The Hive is sited in a new, secure and custom-built unit within the Department of Applied Geology.
A central Dell server, coupled with a dedicated fibre-optic line, links the 30 high-end 3D modelling computers with the two-channel, tracked 'ActiveWall' and the postgraduate research suite.
This, in turn, will connect to the university's multi-terabyte data storage system via 10GB network connectivity, enabling high-speed data transfer and advanced modelling of very large data sets, the university says.
Professor Paul Carey of the biochemistry department at UWC says this virtual reality system allows academia to take the real world and bring it into the lab, making it interactive and almost tangible.
“People can benefit from virtual experiences because it is possible to explore, design and train virtually and bring that virtual knowledge to bear in real life.”
At the core of the Hive is a Virtalis ActiveWall system which is being used to visualise data from a wide range of industry-standard software packages, the university says.
The Hive at UWC was financed by a matched funding arrangement between the university and British Petroleum (BP).
Sponsoring companies include BP along with SMT, Schlumberger, Midland Valley & Getech. These companies donated their software systems and support to enable training and skills development for the next generation of geologists to emerge from UWC.
According to Richie Griffiths, manager of Hive, this will benefit students reading for MScs and PhDs in the South African Petroleum Studies Programme, as well as MScs in Applied Geology. However, this user body will expand as relationships with other disciplines are grown.
It is expected that approximately 40% of Hive's time will be booked by commercial organisations, especially those with interests in petroleum, mining and land use, the university says.
“In fact, demand is expected to be so heavy that UWC has already placed an additional order for an Optoma projected ActiveMove, Virtalis' recently released, transportable, interactive 3D visualisation system.”
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