January 2004


Reaching into the data through broadband

What will it take for future researchers, educators and students to access and maximize their use of the data created by the Sulman Mummy project?

For the Sulman Mummy research team, that meant taking over 2GB of CT Scan data and laser mapping data and combining them into 3-D models that were suitable for viewing in virtual environments such as a CAVE (Computer Aided Virtual Environment).

Once this information gets uploaded to a server connected to an ultra high-speed network capable of at least 100 MB per second, such as ORION, all a remote user needs is the software to manipulate the images in real time.

"Bandwidth of 100 MB would be ideal using software such as SGI's Vizserver to visualize the mummy over the Internet," said Niall Murray, Systems Manager at the National Research Council's Virtual Environment Technology Centre at the Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Institute (IMTI). Vizserver is an example of software used for high-performance large data set visualization and multi-site network collaboration.

"It only stands to reason that if you could get other artifacts processed in the way we did with the mummy, than research could be done simultaneously over great distances by viewing the information and manipulating the image from remote locations," added Gian Vascotto, Director of Systems Simulation and Control Research at IMTI.

Both Murray and Vascotto see possibilities that go beyond archeology into possible uses as a medical diagnostic tool.

"For example, if a person has a condition that requires a CT scan and there's an expert some distance away that needs to see the CT scan results, with broadband the expert won't have to settle for just a couple of the most relevant cross-section slices on slides as determined by the radiologist," explains Murray. "With a broadband connection, that expert can sit at a remote workstation and manipulate three-dimensional data in real time or even view the CT-scan in real time. It puts a whole new meaning on analyzing a patient's condition."

In the same vein, Vascotto added that virtual 3-D can also used by museums, schools and research facilities to bring interactive video displays on demand to revolutionize distance education and research.


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