Step Inside Virtual Worlds At Villanova University's CAVE Facility
By Ian Bush
VILLANOVA, Pa., (CBS) -- There's a new 'cave' in the region -- not a geological formation, but instead a technological creation. And it's one that Villanova University is allowing you to use to travel to virtual worlds.
"It looks like a room within a room."
Step inside a wing of Villanova's library. You're surrounded by rear-projection screens, 18 feet across and 10 feet deep. Computer science professor Frank Klassner says put on your 3D glasses.
"You can walk around these virtual objects in place," Klassner said.
CAVE, short for Automatic Virtual Environment, immerses you in an interactive experience. We roamed an apartment, moseyed around Mars, and examined a brain.
"Now imagine looking at CT scans of rare objects like mummies. You wouldn't want to mess with them too much physically but you could explore at your leisure three-dimensionally this way," Klassner said.
It's thanks to a $1.67 million grant from the National Science Foundation and is open to students, researchers, and the rest of us.
"It's limited only by the imagination," Klassner said.
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