DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMMERSITORIUM FOR FOSTERING INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION.

A, Weill, J. Lawniczak, I.Hunt, T. Bailey, J. Schull*, J. Noel-Storr*, Department of Information Technology, Center for Imaging Science arw8940@rit.edu , jxl8954@rit.edu , ixh5797@rit.edu , tsb1531@rit.edu , jschull@gmail.com ., jnspci@rit.edu

Last fall a class on innovation and invention created a Digital Omnidirectional Media Environment (DOME) that immerses the user(s) in a computer display that surrounds them.  This summer focused on scientific and educational applications, and making the system portable for outreach to neighborhood schools.  Immersive visualizations were developed for scientific content ranging from outer space simulations to 3D models of organs.  Portability was increased by scaling down the size of the computer, integrating peripherals into the smaller enclosure, and creating a display surface that could collapse down to a minimal size.  Utility was increased by beginning a development environment that simplifies the creation of new immersive environments, rewriting scripts that lower the amount of human intervention needed when starting applications, and adapting more applications for use in the DOME.  This talk will encompass how the system works, what we are doing with it, and the ways in which it is being improved.