The Geowall

Our Geowall facility for true 3-D rendering consists of a 4' x 5' glass rear-projection screen, two NEC LT240 projectors with circular polarizing filters, three HP workstations with high-end graphics boards designed for visual applications, and four 19-inch flat-screen monitors. Use of the Geowall for 3-D visualization and analysis can provide greater insight into the characteristics of and relationships that exist in spatially-distributed datasets (particularly point-cloud data).

workstation with dual, flat-panel monitors

stacked projectors with circular polarizing filters

4x5-ft rear-projection screen

Portable Geowall System In addition to the fixed system, we have a portable Geowall setup comprised of a tri-pod, front-projection silver matte screen (43" x 57"), two NEC LT260 projectors, and a custom-built mini PC. With the portable system, we are able to bring 3-D imaging to the classroom.

custom-built mini PC

silver-matte, front-projection screen

No geovisualization lab is complete without a diverse assortment of software programs that allow for processing, manipulating, plotting, evaluating, and even animating geospatial data.  Installed on all of our machines is the latest ArcGIS family of products (www.esri.com), with full workstation capabilities.  The enormous data sets acquired with our ground-based laser mapping equipment are processed and manipulated using PolyWorks/IMView by InnovMetric.  Numerous other programs we use to plot, analyze, and manipulate data include: Surfer for 3-D contouring and surface plotting, ERDAS IMAGINE for remote sensing and photogrammetry, Generic Mapping Tools (GMT), Vulcan for 3-D geological modelling, and Unidata's Integrated Data Viewer (IDV), just to name a few. 

Plotter Finally, in our geovisualization facility we have an HP DesignJet 1055C Plus 36” plotter used to make posters for presentation at various conferences and meetings.

HP 36" plotter