Tiled Display Walls - Relation
to the Access Grid and Other
Systems
Mike Walterman,
Manager of Graphics Programming,
Scientific Computing and Visualization Group,
Boston University
Slide 1
Introduction
• Thank you to Ivan Judson at Argonne National Labs
• Objective of the presentation
- Provide an outline of the functional aspects of integrating AG
nodes and DVDW
- Address some of the anticipated technical challenges
• Main topics
- Brief functional description of the DVDW
- Brief functional description of the AG nodes
- What it means to integrate the two systems
- Technical challenges
- Development directions
- Conclusions
Slide 2
DVDW Functional Description
• Project at Boston University’s scientific computing and visualization
group.
• Create large format display of, and interaction with, visual stereo
imagery and directional sound
• Tiled display
• Content includes, but is not limited to:
- Static images
- Video/movies
- 3D animation
- Reactive environments
- Directional audio
Slide 3
Tiled Display Wall (DVDW)
Slide 4
What Is an Access Grid Node
• An active space that provides a group interface to grid
computing resources in a collaborative way.
- The access grid defines a core set of digital streams, plus a set of
interfaces and protocols for incorporating other content.
- The core streams generated by a single access grid node include:
* 4 320x240 H.261 video streams.
* 1 16khz, 16 bit uncompressed audio stream.
* Power point event streams display (if mastering the
presentation).
• Each access grid node is enabled to receive the streams of the
other collaborating nodes by providing a large format display device.
Slide 5
What Does It Mean to Integrate an
AG Node With the DVDW
•
What do you get?
- High resolution immersive display system
- More context transfer
- More immersion for DVDW users
- Better sense of presence
- Distributed technology
- Teleconferencing
- Alternative Input Mechanisms
- Better Audio
Slide 6
Approaches to Integration
• Two approaches
- Extend AG nodes to include DVDW functionality
- Extend DVDW to include AG node capability
• Extensions to AG nodes:
- Use the AG virtualized display API (in development)
- Use follow-on APIs for remaining AG components
- Provide multi-panel display capabilities
* Panel 1 is the traditional AG node video
* Panel 2 is the DVDW
- The video display node becomes a render farm
- Video display node provides multiple image depth (for stereo)
* Active (e.g. shuttered stereo glasses)
* Passive (e.g. polarized glasses, anaglyph - color pair)
Slide 7
Approaches to Integration (Continued)
- Alternate user/presenter input mechanisms
* Motion Tracking
* 6 Degree of Freedom Wand
- Provide directional and non-directional sound
* True directional sound
* Conversion to non-directional
• Extensions of the DVDW
- provide Multi-panel display capabilities
* Panel 1 is the AG node video
* Panel 2 is the DVDW
- In addition to the render farm, a node is needed for AG video
- Needs AG node control station
- Provide for non-directional sound
Slide 8
Technical Challenges (not a complete list)
•
Visual
- Extend current Win2K video node with render farm
- Handle non-video data streams (e.g. visual geometric primitives)
- Convert visual stereo source imagery to local formats
- Provide bandwidth/compression for dynamic visual application
(animations, etc.)
- Provide consistent and easy to use DVDW calibration mechanisms
* geometric tile alignment
* tile color blending
Slide 9
Technical Challenges (not a complete list)
• Audio
- Provide consistent mechanism for installing, maintaining,
and using directional sound
- Handle data streams for directional sound
• User Input
- Venue modifications to provide for presenter/user input
- Provide consistent mechanism for installing, maintaining,
and using motion tracking and 6 degree of freedom wand
Slide 10
Technical Challenges (not a complete list)
• Other
- Creation of a distributed application model (data),
view (display), controller (input)
- Synchronization of directional sound with visual content
- Use of distributed interactive applications
Slide 11
Development Directions
• Finish local development of DVDW
• Develop DVDWs in a distributed mode
• Integrate using Argonne’s API abstractions
Slide 12
Conclusions
• This is a serious integration effort
• Transforms the AG node-DVDW from a data stream processing
system into a distributed applications system
Slide 13