Rooms

SGI^® Reality Center^TM room facilities are used where exceptional levels of immersion and natural viewing are required. More data is displayed and experienced in the most natural fashion currently possible.

SGI Reality Center room facilities are enclosed, immersive virtual environments and can be just about any size in a square or rectangular cube of typically 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3 meters) per side. Reality Center room facilities can have anywhere from three to six sides. In a six-sided environment, the user's entire field of view contains graphics data. SGI Professional Services can deliver design and project management services, as well as system implementation and support, for any customized Reality Center facility.

The number of projectors is a function of the number of surfaces where images need to be displayed in a Reality Center room facility. The decision whether to construct a room with three, four, five, or six sides depends on the types of applications to be used in the room. Depending on the design of the room, projectors can be either in front of or behind the screens, but are usually behind. In any case, shadowing on the screens must be avoided as much as possible. Reality Center room facilities use an SGI^® Onyx^® 3000 series system with InfiniteReality^® family graphics, an SGI^® Onyx 3000^® series system with InfinitePerformance^TM graphics, an SGI^® Onyx^® 300 system with InfiniteReality family graphics, or a Silicon Graphics^® Onyx2^® graphics workstation as their image generators. Room facilities almost always use stereo graphics for the most realistic feeling of full immersion. Reality Center room facilities are typically used for training, discovery research, ergonomics, and virtual heritage and museum projects, and are usually used by one to five people, depending on the size.