Igloo CAVEs

But first – what exactly is a CAVE?

The CAVE, originally, was a product of the 1990s academic community. And it was put together by idealistically-minded academics who wanted to deliver the most realistic possible experience using the best possible components.

The word CAVE itself is an acronym for Cave Automatic Virtual Environment. It’s also a clever reference to the allegory of Plato’s Cave (which explores the nature of perception, reality, and illusion).

Typically they:

  • Are cube-shaped
  • Use extremely high-resolution projectors
  • Have projection on the walls, floor, and ceiling
  • Use rear-projection on the walls
  • Feature head-tracking and 3D glasses for the main user and 3D glasses for anyone else

Given their heritage, CAVEs have tended to be complex, costly, inflexible systems. Typically they run from clusters of servers, with one GPU per projector, and patch-in multiple other components. Consequently, the workflows tend to be complex and they have very specific use cases.

But first – what exactly is a CAVE?

The CAVE, originally, was a product of the 1990s academic community. And it was put together by idealistically-minded academics who wanted to deliver the most realistic possible experience using the best possible components.

The word CAVE itself is an acronym for Cave Automatic Virtual Environment. It’s also a clever reference to the allegory of Plato’s Cave (which explores the nature of perception, reality, and illusion).

Typically they:

  • Are cube-shaped
  • Use extremely high-resolution projectors
  • Have projection on the walls, floor, and ceiling
  • Use rear-projection on the walls
  • Feature head-tracking and 3D glasses for the main user and 3D glasses for anyone else

Given their heritage, CAVEs have tended to be complex, costly, inflexible systems. Typically they run from clusters of servers, with one GPU per projector, and patch-in multiple other components. Consequently, the workflows tend to be complex and they have very specific use cases.

The Igloo CAVE is different

We’ve designed a standardised, elegant, user-friendly solution that is much easier to use, much more flexible, and much more affordable – so it’s much more attainable for any organisation.


Elegant

With an Igloo CAVE, everything is run from a single box, the Igloo Immersive Media Player (or IMP for short). We’ve done away with complex clusters, and there’s no need to patch-in other technologies or components. So it has fewer potential points of failure, and is far easier to maintain and operate.


Affordable

An Igloo CAVE will generally be around 10% or 20% of the cost of a conventional CAVE, since you don’t need to purchase multiple media servers, extra components, and nor do you need to spend as much on maintenance.


Intuitive

The Igloo CAVE is designed so that anyone could get started – it doesn’t need a full-time, dedicated expert to run it. For example, Igloo Home is a user-friendly interface reminiscent of a smartphone screen that anyone can use to trigger software and content.


Flexible

While traditional CAVEs tend to be single-use systems, for specific organisational teams or academic departments, an Igloo CAVE (like our other immersive spaces) can provide benefits for a wide range of users, because it can be used to access any digital content, from any source.


Practical

Compared to traditional CAVEs, the Igloo CAVE offers smoother workflows to get your 3D models into the space, thanks to an ever-growing range of software integrations with all the tools you already use.


Content-agnostic

Powered by the content-agnostic IMP, any immersive or digital content can be accessed in an Igloo CAVE, including web-based content thanks to our Igloo Web app. Users can switch context quickly and easily between 2D or 3D content, and work with several types of content, in different formats, from different sources, all at the same time.

We can provide a standard solution, or a customised one

Our off-the-shelf Igloo CAVE offering provides you with everything you need from this kind of shared immersive space.

But, if you need something bespoke – something larger, something with custom software requirements, something even more powerful – we can work with you to specify, design and install your optimum solution.

With offices globally, we can deliver right around the world. And, thanks to our tight links with local integrators and AV installers, the Igloo CAVE is available to any organisation, anywhere.

Integrations with all the tools you already use – and then some

A key feature of the Igloo CAVE is that it integrates with an incredibly wide array of software and technology.

That includes tools like game engines, BIM software, and other real time content generators typically used in CAVEs.

And thanks to the content-agnostic nature of the Igloo IMP, you can access any digital content, in any format, from any source – you’re not tied to any particular provider to access your models, and you can find ever-more use cases for your Igloo CAVE.

 

What goes into an Igloo CAVE?

Immersive Media Player

An IMP III to provide all the power you need for complex model and data visualisations in 3D

Motion-tracking

Tracked 3D glasses and controllers, so that content is adjusted to users’ correct perspectives

The display

Projectors or LED screens, with displays on the floor, walls, and in 3D

Controls

Tracked controllers for interacting with 3D content, along with a range of methods such as Igloo Touch

Home screen

A customisable interface for simple content access

 

Integrations

Software integrations for all the tools and applications any CAVE-user requires

Get in touch with us for full specifications.

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