VIRUP -
The Virtual Reality Universe Project
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) is jointly developing the Virtual Reality Universe Project VIRUP together with the University of Zurich (UZH) and University of Geneva (UniGE). VIRUP serves as a Swiss science communication platform that enables users to travel through space and time, starting from our solar system to stars in its vicinity, and far beyond the Milky Way, up to the large scale structures of the Universe.
Through Virtual Reality (VR), the most modern communication technology, VIRUP provides insight into the most dynamical view of the universe, helping the general public to understand its hierarchical organization. Users will experience different topics covered by the Swiss astrophysics’ community, such as the origin of large-scale structures of our universe, the formation of galaxies and their spiral structures, but also stars, planets and exoplanet systems and artificial satellites, including space debris.
The Experience
Users wear a VR headset and embark on a 5-minute journey through space and time. Following a pre-set course–ranging from the solar system and the outer confines of the universe, to the nearby stars, the Milky Way disk and the Local Group–the 360-degree view allows to experience the dynamics and evolution of the universe.
The Technology
VIRUP is specifically designed to display outputs of very large cosmological simulations with up to several billion particles representing several TB of data. Benefiting from a recursive data structure (a k-d tree) combined with a PID (Proportional, Integral, Derivative) controller algorithm, it ensures to display 90 frames per second in a standard headset, 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.
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.
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EPFL Laboratory of Astrophysics (LASTRO)
The Laboratory of Astrophysics (LASTRO) at EPFL covers a wide range of complementary expertise, with a focus on advanced research and high-quality education of the next generation of astronomers. With a presence at two locations, the EPFL campus in Lausanne and the Astronomical Observatory at Sauverny near Geneva, the research team at LASTRO takes a leading role in various international consortiums and projects focused on extragalactic astrophysics and observational cosmology.
LASTRO is currently developing the VIRUP project, aiming to provide the most modern dynamical view of our Universe through one of the most modern communication techniques. VIRUP is a new multi-platform VR environment 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.