Anyone present with a "cave"

[SgWRX]

hello, i've been researching the ability to project images on one or two walls and do realtime walk-thru.

 

worldviz.com has stuff like this. i called and asked for more info, didn't get far.

 

just wondering if anyone has ever used a system like this.

 

my random thoughts are:

 

1. 2d projection of an active-shade type view, where i can use my software (max 2016) to just navigate around a room or something

 

2. 3d projection onto two walls (the corner method), using a package from someone like worldviz.com.

 

3. i use mostly mental ray materials and procedural maps - this means baking textures which can be quite time consuming.

 

4. unreal or unity needs baked materials or, you create materials in those apps and lighting

 

my head's kind of spinning with all the different approaches. to me, something like wall projection of an active shade type view would be great because there's no need for material baking etc...

 

anyway, maybe i'm not thinking of something and someone has more direct experience for a fairly strait forward process or somethign?

 

thanks,

steve

[Scott Schroeder]

I used a 4 screen (3 movable walls + floor) stereoscopic CAVE back during my research time. It's not something you dabble in. It is vastly complex, expensive, and time consuming. We used Worldviz back then, but it was a piece of shite to use. It's all code based with a very poor UI. They have since gone to all Unity to create their environments.

 

What you are doing, why not just use a Samsung Gear VR or Google Cardboard? A low budget CAVE looks like crap and combine that with an active shade view you start getting into the world of "Why bother?". The advantage of a CAVE is that it is immersive and 1-2 walls with a home projector(s) won't cut it for you.

 

Our cave

[SgWRX]

i don't even know if using active-shade would work with a cave? that to me, would be a separate thing. a) active shade on a monitor b) a cave with 3d processing/glasses.

 

the systems i'm seeing don't look like they use home projectors. a home projector could be more useful in a) active shade on a monitor.

 

so far i'm seeing revit > unity > unity plugin > system used to run the cave projectors. one i've found is actually 3ds max > their system (world viz) which runs the system/cave projectors etc.

 

of course, i've got to add revit into that workflow as that's where i get models from. so for me it looks like revit > 3ds max (materials and baking) > system x. or interject unity in there with other systems like visbox.com

 

 

other than technical, how was your client's experience? overwhelmed, underwhelmed?

 

thanks,

[Francisco Penaloza]

S. Gru, as Scott mentioned, Cave type of presentation are old and they need to evolve, we had similar experience, but with an proprietary software, way too expensive to even operate, and the result can be easy be beaten down to the ground with a simple google cardboard, believe me.

The workflow is not as simple as you try to image, it is clumsy, you can not use active shader, it has to be baked. and forget of auto bake a REVIT model

To prepare your self in to the future look into Gear VR, Oculus riff or Google cardboard similar, the caves will evolve to be a mix of those but still, the poor old cave system is not worth, in my opinion.

 

Some of our clients love it, other ones got dizzy right away (very bad experience really) but the overall quality was never great, the effect kind of compensate for the lack of quality of the software, but when we tried Oculus riff, it was 1000 time better, and cheaper, way cheaper.

[SgWRX]

the dizzy/nausea one factor is on my bad list. you have so many different clients, you never know which ones will be sensitive to it or not. that applies to the oculus rift as well, any immersive display.

 

perhaps the next evolution of the cave will be the condo. ha!