Projects
VizLab: The Virtual Reality-enabled Scientific Workspace of the Future
PIs: Ana Bonaca and Anthony Piro (Observatories, Carnegie Science)
SASE: Chris Couto, Scholar
An exciting recent development at the Carnegie Theoretical Astrophysics Center (CTAC) is the creation of an advanced audiovisual and virtual reality studio known as the Visualization Laboratory (or VizLab). Custom built by Mechdyne, the VizLab features an innovative design with a 45-megapixel display powered by 4 NVIDIA Quadro P6000 GPUs to provide a fully-immersive environment. Additionally, 3D glasses along with a tracked controller gives the image added depth and interactivity. CTAC uses VizLab to visualize both real and simulated data while providing a collaborative space to explore the mysteries of the universe. Given the ever-increasing role that large data sets and advanced simulations play in understanding the universe, the VizLab is the perfect tool for navigating this new world. The VizLab also plays an important role in scientific outreach, especially during CTAC’s public open house event in October.
Carnegie scientists have been developing new software and tools to take advantage of the VizLab’s unique capabilities. Most recently, they have implemented systems using the Unity game engine to display and manipulate point-cloud data sets, such as data products for billions of stars measured by the Gaia satellite and other multi-dimensional astrophysical datasets. CTAC, in collaboration with the Schmidt Academy, is now building on these developments and implementing visualization capabilities for data sets beyond point-clouds. This includes the rendering of hydrodynamic simulations with scalar, vector and even tensor variables (describing, for example, astrophysical velocity, magnetic, or radiation fields) on a variety of standard geometries (Cartesian and spherical grids, adaptive meshes, oct-trees) for both fixed snapshots and full animations. A prominent example of this is the study of supernovae, the deaths of massive stars that require some of the most advanced numerical simulations in the world. Fluid velocities, magnetic field lines, gravitational wave emission, and various thermodynamics variables will all need to be displayed in a 3D environment simultaneously and in a way that allows interacting with each component individually. Other areas of development include adding more ways to interact with data and improving ease of use of the system on multiple fronts - UI design, data management, accessibility, and more!