CAVE
Step inside the model. Together.
The stationary CAVE is a fixed room on campus where projectors fill the surrounding walls with 3D images, so a group can stand inside a model together.
Why visit
Big ideas, shown at full size.
A group can see the same model at once and talk it through. Here are some ways a group could use the room.
Businesses and industry partners
Walk around a design and spot problems before it is built.
Schools
Show a class something a textbook can’t.
Healthcare groups
See biology models from the inside and talk them through as a group.
Research partners
Study how people learn in 3D and review complex data with colleagues.
Stationary CAVE
A 3D room that stays on campus.
Several projectors show matching 3D images across the walls around you, so a whole group can see and talk through the same model at once.
- MakerFakespace Systems Inc.
- SetupFour-wall 3D projection
- ProjectorsFour, for 3D (stereo) images
- FloorImages are projected on the floor too
- LocationRoom 157
- ToursAbout one hour, for visitors ages 12 and up, with no more than six people per group.
Visitor rule: shoe covers. Keep your shoes on and put shoe covers over them before you step onto the CAVE floor.
Two CAVEs
Stationary CAVE and Mobile CAVE.
They complement each other and are not the same offering.
Stationary CAVE
- Where
- Southern University campus
- Used for
- Research, simulation development, immersive technology work
- Strength
- A dedicated technical and research environment
- For
- Researchers, educators, institutional partners, industry collaborators
Mobile CAVE
- Where
- Travels to participating locations
- Used for
- Outreach, demonstrations, delivery
- Strength
- Accessibility and convenience
- For
- Schools, employers, healthcare organizations, emergency responders, community partners
XR Development Studio
A workshop for virtual reality.
The XR Development Studio builds, tests and runs virtual reality lessons and research tools, with its own fleet of VR headsets.
- A fleet of VR headsetsMeta Quest and ClassVR headsets for lessons, research and events.
- Build workstationsComputers for building and testing VR apps.
- Staff who set it upStaff install and test the VR apps on the headsets.
- Ready to deployApps go out to lectures, research, classrooms and community events.
- Visits by appointmentOutside groups can ask for a demo.
Computational thinking research
Can VR make students better problem solvers?
An NSF-supported study at Southern University asks whether learning in VR helps students build computational thinking, a step-by-step way of solving problems, in cybersecurity and manufacturing.
One group learned the lessons with VR modules in the CAVE. The other learned the same lessons through regular teaching. Both took the same computational thinking test before and after the lessons.
Read with care. None of the differences between the groups was big enough to be statistically significant, and the groups were small. The researchers call for a larger study to confirm them.
Classroom VR and training
VR as part of the normal lesson.
Through SURADD, Southern University puts VR headsets and STEM lessons into K–12 classrooms and trains teachers to use them.
- Meta headsetsMiddle-school STEM and science lessons, adapted from an existing curriculum.
- ClassVR headsetsDownloadable lessons in math, science, STEM and other subjects. The headsets charge and travel in ClassVR carts.
- Teacher trainingFor working middle school science teachers and for teacher candidates from the university’s School of Education.
CAVE demos
Molecules at the size of a room.
Visitors looked at molecules in 3D, picked out parts and explored how the pieces fit together.
How a CAVE visit works
- Put on shoe covers. Keep your shoes on and put shoe covers over them before you step onto the projected floor.
- Put on 3D glasses. Tracked 3D glasses let each visitor see the images in depth.
- Step into the room. The molecule fills the walls and the floor around the group.
- Use the controller. A handheld controller points at atoms and moves them.
- Talk it through. A guide at the control station explains what the group is seeing.
Simulation development
Where the models get built.
The Courseware Studio is the central workspace where the team develops and tests models for the CAVE environment, with computers, VR headsets and charging stations.
- Custom VR appsFaculty and researchers can ask for VR apps made for their own teaching or research.
- Job skillsSimulations introduce job steps, work settings and technical skills.
- Built to travelLessons and scenes built for a CAVE can travel, while the stationary room stays on campus for research and advanced teaching.