NASA scientists to use Perspecta 3D display to analyze earth-science and astronomical data

JANUARY 14--Actuality Systems Inc. (Burlington, MA; www.actuality-systems.com), a leader in spatial 3-D visualization technology, has completed the sale of its Perspecta 3D system to the NASA Ames Research Center in California. The unique 360° display will be used as part of the center's work in 3-D imaging of scientific data in the fields of earth science and astronomy.

"Visualization of complex data is an important step in many of our programs here at Ames," said research scientist David Kao. "We can see various opportunities to use this technology for rendering 3-D volumetric data generated by our earth-science models and for displaying the 3-D clusters and structures of the galaxies in our astronomy lab. Since the system offers such a different view of the data, we also believe there are many other applications that will become obvious as we get familiar with the technology."

The Perspecta 3D system, which allows 360° visualization of objects, organisms, and data, consists of a dome-like spatial display and a programming interface for development of new applications. Perspecta takes standard 3-D imaging data and illuminates a record 100 million volume pixels within its transparent Lexan dome--more than 100 times more data than can be displayed on conventional computer displays. This is unlike 3-D displays that require special goggles or lasers to simulate multidimensional imagery, or flat-screen monitors that render 3-D data into flat 2-D images.

"Having NASA as a customer represents a valuable step in the commercialization of Perspecta 3D," said Cameron Lewis, chief executive officer of Actuality Systems. "The user-experience information we get from Kao and others at Ames will help us design increasingly valuable visualization products. These are difficult times for advancing new technologies, so it is a gratifying endorsement of the uniqueness and potential of Perspecta 3D to have the NASA Ames staff working with our technology."