Media

HKU Faculty of Engineering creates innovative “imseCAVE” - a high performance, low cost, virtual environment for industrial applications and training

08 Jul 2015

(From left) IT Manager Leith Chan Kin-yip, Associate Professor Dr. Henry Lau Ying-kei and Research Assistant William Tam Wai-lam from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, the Faculty of Engineering, HKU, introduce the virtual system “imseCAVE”.

The Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (IMSE) of the Faculty of Engineering, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has successfully created a truly immersive virtual environment – the imseCAVE – through the integration and innovative customization of state-of-the-art engineering and technologies including virtual and augmented reality, sensor network, distributed computing, big-data processing and management.

This low cost, high performance generic Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) can be readily applied in industrial, commercial and non-commercial use with high mobility. It is a fully immersive and interactive visualization system that provides extremely vivid stereoscopic views of an unlimited virtual world within a small room of a few square metres.

The research team is led by Associate Professor Dr. Henry Lau Ying-kei from the HKU Department of IMSE. Over the past decade, the team has created the innovations for interactive visualization and simulations of complex systems and operations.

The imseCAVE provides an unparalleled sense of reality and flexibility that would expand human perception of reality and virtuality. User interfaces such as data gloves, trackers, joysticks, motion platforms can be readily connected to the imseCAVE for enhanced immersiveness and interactivity of the virtual environment. In practice, the system can be readily configured quickly to provide an immersive virtual environment for users to experience firsthand these environments without the limitations of time and space. Additionally, the system can be used for training and skill evaluation, and act as a tool for complex system analysis and design such as in the development of products, buildings, and other facilities.

The imseCAVE has already been deployed in the simulation of very large and complex logistics systems, including the automated air cargo terminals and port container terminals. It was used to develop virtual reality-empowered training systems and programmes for ramp operations in Cathay Pacific Services Limited (CPSL). Such simulations provide a means for management, engineers and users to study their operations without the need to physically disturb the normal operations of these facilities.

The research team has also collaborated with the Hong Kong Police Force by applying the imseCAVE system in detective training for the Criminal Investigation Department.

Moreover, the research team has conducted collaborative research in logistics engineering by constructing an imseCAVE in the Research Center for Modern Logistics of Tsinghua University, China. More importantly, experiments can be performed on the virtual simulation systems whereby operational and design parameters can be investigated in a safe and controlled environment.

Applications of imseCAVE include extending living experiences across space and time, transcending geographical, cultural and knowledge boundaries.  The benefits of the imseCAVE solutions will not only facilitate research and development of science and technology, but also transform the active learning process of creative arts and media.

For the presentation powerpoint slides of press briefing, please click: https://www.dropbox.com/s/il51rjy7zfungdo/PressConferenceSlides%282%29.pdf?dl=0

For video clips of the imseCAVE system, please click here
(Video courtesy: The University of Hong Kong)

A virtual quay-side crane control cabin in the imseCAVE

A virtual tour inside an automated air cargo terminal inside the imseCAVE.

An imseCAVE at the Specialized Services Training Centre of the Hong Kong Police College

User experiencing the sense of driving a vehicle in the imseCAVE