Communications of the ACM
Rowan Vr Center Expands Research, Partnership Opportunities
Rowan's Virtual Reality Center features a 7-foot-high by 40-foot-wide curved wall of screens.
Credit: Rowan University
A new Virtual Reality Center at Rowan University provides state-of-the-art research capabilities that will benefit Rowan students and professors as well as regional businesses, state and federal government agencies, and partners around the world.
The VR Center features an R&D VR lab, used since 2008, a data wall for programing and design development, and prototyping capabilities.
The VR Center also includes a new custom-designed, 15,000+ cubic-foot VR collaborative environment, which features a 7-foot-high by 40-foot-wide curved wall of screens that provides a well-suited area for collaborative projects. The laboratory is home for high-level research for clients in engineering, science, medicine and more. In that immersive environment, up to 25 people can work in 3D, using space for real-time planning, designing, and visualization. There, researchers can launch video, graphics, charts, and more, overlaying a wide range of data from public and private sources.
In the new lab, funded with close to $1 million from the New Jersey Higher Education Technology Infrastructure Fund and matched by the University, physicians, engineers and scientists, can, among other things, peer into the lungs of a middle-aged man, explore the interior of a Navy vessel, or evaluate flooding patterns in South Jersey and more.
"The VR Center is a powerful research tool for solving real-world problems. Our Rowan teams and clients are impressed by the possibilities, and we've only just begun to use all of the capabilities of these tools," says Mira Lalovic-Hand, vice president for Information Resources and CIO of Rowan University.
"The VR Center reflects Rowan's commitment to the region and its economy as well as to higher education," says Rowan President Ali Houshmand. "The structure will draw businesses and others in need of R&D support to South Jersey and will be a major resource for Rowan's existing partners, particularly, but not limited to, those in engineering, science, medicine and technology."
Rowan researchers already have conducted cutting-edge studies for the U.S. Navy, the FAA, the U.S. Economic Development Authority, Swedish corporation Elekta, and AT&T.
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