Three-dimensional
Engineering
CAVE2TM is a massive, 320-degree, 3D immersive environment on the USC campus
I
t’s no exaggeration to say
a revolution in education is
taking place at USC’s Sippy
Downs campus.
At its heart is a teaching and learning
facility that will completely reimagine
the student experience. Here students
can explore a virtually created village in
a remote part of the third world, or walk
around and examine a projected threedimensional image of a motor, a pump
or a bridge; rather than relying on twodimensional textbooks.
The $37 million Engineering Learning Hub
(ELH), a joint initiative with the Australian
Government’s Education Investment Fund,
is a multi-storey twin building that contains
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technology capable of totally reimagining
teaching, learning and research across
diverse scientific areas.
dimensional images, allowing students to
build and view life-like models of whatever
the data represents.
But it’s what lurks within that is truly
revolutionary.
Professor Leigh explains, “ It allows us to
view big data from multiple perspectives all
at the same time, and doing so means we
can make better, more informed and more
considered decisions.”
CAVE2 is a massive, 320-degree immersive
environment that combines visualisation
techniques with three-dimensional and
virtual reality technology. Only one of
two of its kind in Australia and four in
the world, CAVE2 has been embraced by
mechanical and civil engineering students.
Its inventor, University of Hawaii’s Professor
Jason Leigh, says, “CAVE2 essentially
enables close inspection of large amounts
of information.” In CAVE2 this information,
or data, can be projected as three-
And the applications are multi-disciplinary.
For example, to consider the impact of
climate change, we have to consider more
than scientific data. Data from economists,
engineers and policy makers is also crucial.
Using the ELH and CAVE2 all relevant data
can be modelled and viewed at the same
time, so that multiple perspectives and
outcomes can be considered.