richard@sg1.ist.ucf.edu (Richard Dunn-Roberts) (03/19/91)
The Visual Systems Laboratory
Institute for Simulation and Training
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida's (UCF) Institute for Simulation and
Training (IST) is an interdisciplinary organization conducting
research in fundamental areas central to the simulation and training
field. IST represents a tripartite relationship between academia,
government, and industry. Major funding comes from the State of
Florida, the Department of Defense, and private industry.
The Visual Systems Laboratory (VSL) at IST was formed to examine
visual database issues related to real-time image generation.
Projects include
* automatic generation of terrain databases from multiple
sources, such as satellite imagery, stereo imagery,
digital terrain elevations, digital feature information, maps, etc.
* real-time dynamic geometric and physical modeling, such as
constraint based physics and dynamic terrain.
* research into advanced display technology, including video-
switching technology, head-tracking technology, and head-
mounted displays.
* research into networking protocols to support simulations
distributed across heterogenous computational platforms.
Research into the above areas has lead the VSL to investigate the
applicability of Virtual Environments (VEs) in training situations.
The development of the Virtual Environment Real-time Network
(VERN) protocol has provided a generic platform for the development
of mass-participation distributed simulations. VERN is based on a
dead-reckoning paradigm that was introduced in SIMNET, the first
large-scale networked training simulator.
The VSL is in the process of developing resources to set up a Virtual
Environment Test Bed (VETB). The VETB will be a multi-site
distributed laboratory for the development and evaluation of new VE
technology with respect to training. Participants in this project
include UCF's Computer Science Department and IST/VSL, MIT's
Media Lab, Georgia Tech's College of Computing and Visualization
Graphics and Usability Lab, and University of Iowa's Computer
Science Department and Center for Simulation and Design
Optimization.
IST is located in the Central Florida Research Park in Orlando, Florida.
The simulation and training community is strongly represented in
Orlando. The Naval Training Systems Center, Army PM TRADE, and
the Kennedy Space Center are located in central Florida, as well as
simulation industry leaders such as General Electric Simulation
Systems and Martin Marietta Electronic Systems.
The Computer Science Department of UCF offers M.S. and Ph.D
degrees, based on a curriculum rich in courses in parallel
computation, computer graphics, and machine vision. Several
students are now pursuing degrees in VE-related areas. Research
assistanships are available for highly qualified candidates. For
information, contact Dr. Moshell at the address below.
The areas we would like to see discussed in sci.virtual_worlds
include VE research in networking, training, entertainment,
education (especially K-12), and art.
The Director of the Visual System Laboratory is Dr. J. Michael Moshell
(moshell@cs.ucf.edu).
Contacts in the VSL are
Curtis Lisle - Assistant Director (lisle@ist.ucf.edu)
R. Dunn-Roberts, Visual Systems Scientist (richard@ist.ucf.edu)
Brian Scott Blau, Visual Systems Scientist (blau@ist.ucf.edu)
Jacki Morie, Visual Systems Scientist (morie@ist.ucf.edu)
Our US mail address is
Institute for Simulation and Training
12424 Research Parkway, Suite 300
Orlando, FL 32826
phone: (407) 658 5073 / 5074
fax: (407) 658 5059