This project seeks support to purchase a fully-immersive, navigable and interactive virtual reality (VR) system, commonly known as a CAVE®, for providing advanced scientific visualization support to research projects in the Imaging and Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Laboratory at Rowan University.
Intellectual Merit: We describe two specific application areas of ongoing project activity for the proposed acquisition; the intellectual merit associated with each is provided below: (a) Development of VR platforms for the integrated systems health management of NASA's rocket-engine test stands: We will expand our collaborative work with NASA-Stennis Space Center and develop 3-D VR environments in order to support the testing of the new Constellation rocket systems. We will develop novel data fusion capabilities such as those requiring the integration of heterogeneous sensor data and the real-time generation of an immersive, interactive and navigable display of an evolutionary scenario inside the VR environment. The results of this effort will provide a more useful framework for both ground operations and in-flight space systems to better meet NASA's Human & Robotic Technology missions to the Moon (and subsequently, Mars). (b) Synthesis of particle aggregate mixtures from numerical 3-D shape descriptors: We will use the immersive and interactive virtual environment to enable the development of computationally efficient 3-D numerical shape descriptors of granular soil mixtures. These descriptors will be employed in developing realistic discrete element models that capture the actual soil morphology. This is important from a practical viewpoint because a fundamental understanding of soil behavior governs the design of foundation elements for any type of infrastructure project.
Broader Impact: The proposed immersive VR system is planned to be installed in the newly constructed South Jersey Technology Park into which the Imaging & NDE lab facility will move. The South Jersey Technology Park is a collaborative effort between the State of New Jersey and Rowan University to revitalize the economic development of the Southern New Jersey region through an integrated strategy of science and technology initiatives. The acquisition of an advanced VR facility such as the CAVE® has the potential to attract anchor tenants to this facility and will have a significant economic impact in the region in terms of the development of a high-technology enabled workforce. Furthermore, this project will benefit students enrolled in the Engineering Clinic program (Junior and Senior engineering design projects) and the MS in Engineering program, who will be co-located at the South Jersey Technology Park.
