Virtual Environments Research in the Air Force Institute of Technology Virtual Environments, 3-D Medical Imaging, and Computer Graphics Laboratory

The Air Force Institute of Technology Virtual Environments, 3-D Medical Imaging, and Computer Graphics Laboratory is investigating the 3-D computer graphics, user-interface design, networking protocol, and software architecture aspects of distributed virtual environments. In this paper we describe the research projects that are underway in the laboratory. These projects include the development of an aircraft simulator for a distributed virtual environment, projects for observing, analyzing, and understanding virtual environments, a space virtual environment, a project that incorporates “live” aircraft range data into a distributed virtual environment, a virtual environment application framework, and a project for use in a hospital emergency department. We also discuss the research equipment infrastructure in the laboratory, recent publications, and the educational services we provide.