We introduce the general pinhole camera (GPC), defined by a center of projection (i.e., the pinhole), an image plane, and a set of sampling locations in the image plane. We demonstrate the advantages of the GPC in the contexts of remote visualization, focus-plus-context visualization, and extreme antialiasing, which benefit from the GPC sampling flexibility. For remote visualization, we describe a GPC that allows zooming-in at the client without the need for transferring additional data from the server. For focus-plus-context visualization, we describe a GPC with multiple regions of interest with sampling rate continuity to the surrounding areas. For extreme antialiasing, we describe a GPC variant that allows supersampling locally with a very high number of color samples per output pixel (e.g., 1,024{\times}), supersampling levels that are out of reach for conventional approaches that supersample the entire image. The GPC supports many types of data, including surface geometry, volumetric, and image data, as well as many rendering modes, including highly view-dependent effects such as volume rendering. Finally, GPC visualization is efficient-GPC images are rendered and resampled with the help of graphics hardware at interactive rates.

With the high powered rendering systems and recording equipment available today, 4k video streams are now within the reach of several scientific communities. A resolution of 4096x3072, with 24-bit color, running at 30 frames per second, produces just under 10Gbs of network traffic. Existing tiled displays are being used to show such media, and these high resolution streams are being sent across the country. Because of the data throughput required for 4k video streams, pulling stored video off storage systems in real time is not possible. So current systems providing 4k video streams either use a live source, such as a high-definition camera, or use lossy compression to store the video and transmit it using 1Gb networks. We propose the construction of a system to stream stored media (either recorded video or rendered graphics) at full non-compressed resolution to tiled displays.

The anthrax attacks of 2001 brought professional and public attention to the significance of successful crisis communication in the context of bioterrorism. The project discussed in this paper is an initiative taken to respond to the calls for more effective bio-terror crises communication training. The goal of this project is to address various challenges in bio-terror crises communication by developing an innovative crisis communication training module for public relations students. This goal is achieved by attending to two main factors: (a) keen awareness of important theories in crises communication response, and (b) "hands-on" training in real-time bio-terror communication handling techniques. This paper introduces the process taken to develop 3D simulated crisis communication training material and presents future plans to assess its effectiveness.

Simulator sickness - or cybersickness, as it is referred to when applied to virtual reality environments - is distinct from motion sickness in that the subject is stationary, but has a compelling sense of motion induced through exposure to changing visual imagery. Symptoms of simulator sickness are similar to those commonly experienced by subjects reporting motion sickness, thus the results of motion sickness studies tend to have application in simulator and cybersickness studies as well. However, while observing numerous visitors to their virtual environment facilities, the authors noticed a pattern of cybersickness which appeared inconsistent with the traditional understanding of motion sickness: older visitors often appeared to suffer more severe cybersickness than younger visitors. These observations contrasted sharply with traditional motion sickness studies, in which younger subjects have been found to be more prone to sickness than older subjects. The pilot study described in this poster demonstrates that indeed traditional explanations of the relationship between age and motion sickness may not hold true for cybersickness.

We have created an immersive application for statistical graphics and have investigated what benefits it offers over more traditional data analysis tools. We present a description of both the traditional data analysis tools and our virtual environment, and results of an experiment designed to determine if an immersive environment based on the XGobi desktop system provides advantages over XGobi for analysis of high-dimensional statistical data. The experiment included two aspects of each environment: three structure detection (visualization) tasks and one ease of interaction task. The subjects were given these tasks in both the C2 virtual environment and a workstation running XGobi. The experiment results showed an improvement in participants' ability to perform structure detection tasks in the C2 to their performance in the desktop environment. However, participants were more comfortable with the interaction tools in the desktop system.