Explore deep space With Virtual Reality Using Powerful, Open-Source Software VIRUP
Have you ever wished to check out outer-space? Now you can, without leaving Earth, thanks to powerful, open-source beta software VIRUP that builds– in real-time– a virtual universe based upon the most detailed contemporary astrophysical and cosmological data.
A journey though deep space– a short motion picture
With the release of VIRUP comes a short motion picture entitled “Archaeology of Light”, (ingrained above) one possible journey through the virtual universe enabled thanks to the open software.
The 20 minute motion picture begins from Earth, and charts out a voyage throughout the different scales of the universe, from our solar system, to the Milky Way, all the way to the cosmic web and the relic light of the Big Bang.
If youre impatient to see the movie, you can enjoy it in 2D (above), in 360 ° (listed below) and in stereo 180 ° (bottom) on YouTube. If you have access to a VR environment, you can immerse yourself in “Archaeology of Light”.
For the dome experience, the motion picture will be showcased at EPFLs next display, Cosmos Archaeology: Explorations in Space and Time, which opens on 21 April 2022 at EPFL Pavilions. A initial variation of the movie was shown at the Synra Dome of the Science Museum of Tokyo in September, thanks to support from the Swiss Embassy in Tokyo. VIRUP will exist this month at a display, in Dubai, as part of EPFLs Virtual Space Tour.
For the minute, VIRUP can already picture data from over 8 databases bundled together. You can also see big portions of the cosmic web– the filamentary large-scale structures that extend across the universe– coming into existence over billions of years, based on simulations from a data set called IllustrisTNG which consists of 30 billion simulated particles. “For this very first release of VIRUP, I have focused on rendering fixed information, so communicating with the information is still a bit rough and the making of simulations cant yet occur in real-time for example.”
Of course, its only possible to browse through the data and simulations imported into VIRUP. That being said, there is still a tremendous amount of data that can be checked out with the aid of VIRUP.
Funding: EPFL Seed Funding. Agora Grant.
Youre floating in area, simply above the Earth. The International Space Station is an arms length away.
This is the beginning of a journey into outer-space, in a virtual environment established by EPFL researchers.
Now, for the really very first time, you can get in the most detailed virtual universe based upon the current cosmological and astrophysical data, thanks to effective, open-source software established at EPFLs Laboratory of Astrophysics (LASTRO). The software application is called VIRUP, for Virtual Reality Universe Project, and a very first beta variation is being launched today.
” You can browse through the most in-depth map of deep space from the comfort of your own house,” describes Jean-Paul Kneib, director of LASTRO. “Its the possibility to travel through space, through time, and discover the universe.”
The VIRUP obstacle: envisioning terabytes of data at the same time
Astrophysicists and astronomers are gathering information about billions of celestial things in the night sky with the help of telescopes here on Earth and in area. There are currently decades of observational information. Even higher amounts of information are anticipated in the near future.
In order to get visual representations of the vast amounts of information, like a movie, its standard practice to pre-render specific series. What about producing a visual representation of the data in real-time, as if you were there, an observer at an approximate point in area and time?
Under a dome showing the virtual universe. From delegated right: Florian Cabot, Sarah Kenderdine, Yves Revaz, Jean-Paul Kneib. Credit: Alain Herzog/ EPFL
” Visualization of astrophysical data is much more accessible than showing graphs and figures, it assists to develop intuition of complex phenomena,” discusses Revaz. “VIRUP is precisely a method of making all of our astrophysical information accessible to everybody, and this will become a lot more crucial as we construct larger telescopes like the Square Kilometer Array that will produce significant amounts of information.”
Astrophysical, cosmological data and simulations
For the moment, VIRUP can currently envision data from over 8 databases bundled together. The Gaia information of the Milky Way Galaxy consists of 1.5 billion light sources. Theres likewise the Open Exoplanet Catalog which aggregates various sources of exoplanet data.
VIRUP also renders information sets of scientifically robust and modern simulations based on research. You can watch the Milky Way Galaxy and its future collision with the Andromeda galaxy, our galactic neighbor also understood as M31. You can likewise see big parts of the cosmic web– the filamentary large-scale structures that extend throughout deep space– originating over billions of years, based on simulations from a data set called IllustrisTNG which consists of 30 billion simulated particles. A significant obstacle is ensuring smooth transition from one database to the next.
” We thought about using existing graphics engines for envisioning the data, but in the end, I developed one particularly for the job. Its flexible, we can include more information as it appears, and its customized to astronomy,” discusses Cabot. “For this first release of VIRUP, I have focused on rendering static information, so connecting with the information is still a bit rough and the making of simulations cant yet happen in real-time for instance.”
Of course, its only possible to navigate through the data and simulations imported into VIRUP. That being said, there is still an incredible quantity of information that can be explored with the help of VIRUP.
Versatile immersive virtual environment
For the fully immersive, 3D, 360 experience, you d need a set of VR glasses and a computer system for running the VIRUP engine, plus storage area to keep a selection of cosmological and astrophysical information.
VIRUP is likewise capable of building a virtual universe in other VR environments, like a dome which is specifically useful for places like planetariums, panaromas, half-caves and caverns. The open-softwares shift from the rather personal and separated experience of VR goggles to the collective, theatrical experience offered by domes and caves, ended up being possible thanks to a collaboration in between LASTRO researchers and researchers at EPFLs Laboratory for Experimental Museology (eM+), and funded by EPFL seed financing for promoting interdisciplinary tasks.
” Its about information discovery. The immersive system means that you can embody the information which has an extensive effect on how you in fact view the data,” states artist Sarah Kenderdine who leads eM+.