uCAVE Prototype
From 1997 till 2000, I was privledged to work, as a researcher, at the Electronics Visualization Laboratory; at the University of Illinois at Chicago. UIC EVL Link
During that time, I had the chance to work on and support their CAVE system. EVL
C.A.V.E. is a recursive-acronym; and stands for: Cave Automatic Virtual Environment In in a nutshell it's like the holodecks, found in star trek TNG.
After leaving EVL, I've always wanted to continue experimenting with CAVE-like hardware.
Thanks to the likes of NVidia, and EBAY, I gradually acquired cheaper-hardware to try and build such a setup. Since I was extremely limited on space, and cash, I decided to build just one-wall.
Hardware:
Projection System
The original CAVE, used custom Electrohome projectors costing over $20K each.
Through researching various 3D-enthusiast's sites: I located a DLP projector that chould handle Field-Sequential-3D-frames. I don't recall the exact price, but it was probably in the neighborhood of $400-$600.
The model of projector: Sharp XR10X:
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I fabricated a simple adapter-plate, for a camcorder tripod, and was then able to easily position said projector.
Keen observers will notice that the projector was tilted sideways. This was on purpose. Since I was limited on how wide I could build a wall, I decided to for a 5' x 7' wall. Simply tilting the projector, allowed me to easily fill the projecting wall.
Stereo Emitter
Again, Ebay to the rescue. I managed to acquire a StereoGraphics Stereo-Emitter for about $40.
I recall having an issue with the sync on my Nvidia-card. I ended up throwing an invert in, to fix the problem. I don't have any schematics, but if somone has a burning-need for it, hit me up and I'll gladly create a schematic for it.
Shutter Glasses
Ebay again... Need to find a pic of it.
Projection Screen
The frame, of the projection screen, was made out of lumber, from a big-box store.
I ended up purchasing 1x4x8's over at Menards and fabricating a simple upright frame.
The project-screen itself, was a Bed-Bath-Beyond, shower-curtain. The biggest I could find.
Somewhere, buried in one of my notebooks, I have the model and price.
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Software:
I experimented with the following:
It's alive!!!:
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Today:
So what became of this setup? Sadly after I managed to get the basic 6Dof Tracking and software working, I fell ill with pancreatitus. This kept me away from this project for well over a year. Once I got back on my feet, I realized I needed to decomission this; given it was taking up way to much space.
Perhaps in the future I will revisit this design. Projectors are better and cheaper. Computers and Graphics are even faster.
Watch this space
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