We are developing a new multi-platform Virtual Reality (VR) environment called VIRUP which allows users to travel through space and time, ranging from the solar system and the outer confines of the Universe, to the nearby stars, the Milky Way disk and the Local Group.
Journeys in this VR environment show the hierarchical organization of our universe at different scales as well as developing intuitions for astrophysical processes. VIRUP is specifically designed to display outputs of cosmological simulations with up to several billion particles, while ensuring a high frame rate per second, essential for a comfortable VR experience.
In addition to standard VR systems, VIRUP is also compatible with specific immersion systems like the ones provided by the Experimental Museology Laboratory (EM+): the panorama, the half-cave or the dome.
Software
VIRUP is a C++/OpenGL/Qt flexible Free Software built on top of a custom-designed graphics engine. The code can be downloaded directly from gitlab.
Image Gallery
Development of VIRUP was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) through an AGORA grant. The project members were:
- Yves Revaz, EPFL (PI)
- Florian Cabot, EPFL (executive director)
- Jean-Paul Kneib, EPFL (Co-I)
- Romain Teyssier, UniZh (Co-I)
- Pascale Jablonka (EPFL)
- Lucio Mayer (UniZh)
- Laurent Eyer (UniGe)
- Ronan Boulic (EPFL)
- Joachim Stadel (UniZh)
- Jean Favre (CSCS)
- Marc Horat (Swiss Museum of Transport Planetatium)