5 December was a big day for the University of Technology in Gdańsk, Poland. In particular for the faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics (ETI), as they proudly inaugurated their brand-new 'Immersive 3D Visualization Lab'. The six-sided active stereo CAVE at the heart of the laboratory is one of the largest in the world and the very first to feature a spherical walk simulator inside. It is powered by 12 Barco Galaxy NW7 projectors.

Committed to advanced research
As one of the oldest universities in Poland, the Gdańsk University of Technology is at the forefront of technology research. Around 3,500 students study at the university's largest faculty: the ETI faculty, which is ranked among the top 5 faculties in Poland with regard to quality of research. Underpinning its commitment to advanced research, the University decided to erect a new building to host a dedicated virtual reality environment. It chose Barco's Galaxy NW7 projectors to display images on all six 3.4m x 3.4m screens, because of the high 3D image quality, the ease of use and the low maintenance costs of the solution. Together with Integra AV, Barco designed and installed the innovative CAVE.

CAVE + sphere inside
More than the CAVE itself, the transparent spherical walk simulator inside it makes the solution truly exceptional - a first even in the world. The students, researchers and companies using the CAVE will be located in a 'sphere' that rotates freely inside the cube. In this way, free movement can be simulated without changing the position of the screens (and without the hand-held controllers that are normally used in typical virtual spaces). The users' walking motions will trigger changes in the computer-generated images on the screens surrounding the sphere, which will create an illusion of motion.

Always a frontrunner 
"We're delighted to inaugurate this unique, Immersive 3D Visualization Lab at the end of our 110th anniversary year," said professor Krawczyk, rector of the University, during the inauguration. His colleague professor Krzysztof Goczyła, Dean of the ETI faculty added: "This advanced solution will help us expore the possibilities of virtual reality - one of the fastest growing branches of modern science." The ETI faculty will use the new Spatial Laboratory as a simulator for military, medical and marine applications.

Keep an eye on our reference section to read a full story about this innovative project! 

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