Virtual reality tools for research and learning on display at Envision Center open house

A virtual tour of Mars, along with a game that can help researchers discover new drugs, will be on display when ITaP’s Envision Center showcases its work at an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 11.

Refreshments will be served, and faculty, students and staff who attend can learn how the center’s expertise in virtual and augmented reality and data visualization might enhance their research and teaching. 

The event, which is free and open to the public, is part of the center’s annual celebration of its founding in April 2004. It will take place in the Envision Center, Stewart Center, Room B0001, which is located off the tunnel between Stewart Center and the Purdue Memorial Union.

The Envision Center’s staff and student employees work with faculty partners and external clients to create virtual reality and data visualization tools for research and educational use. The center also collaborates on grant proposals and develops promotional media, such as publication quality stills and animated videos.

Visitors to the open house can experience the center’s progress using virtual and augmented reality technology, including the Microsoft HoloLens, a mixed reality headset that integrates 3-D digital images into a user’s real environment, and the HTC VIVE, a virtual reality headset with wireless hand controls that lets a user completely immerse themselves in the virtual environment.

In addition, the open house will highlight the Virtuix Omni treadmill, which allows the user to move their entire body through a virtual space, as opposed to just their hands and arms.

For more information about working with the Envision Center or questions about the open house, contact envision@purdue.edu.

Writer: Dave Stephens, technology writer, Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP), 765-496-7998, steph103@purdue.edu.

Last updated: March 29, 2018