Hi, I've been thinking about using PD and GEM in CAVE-like immersive virtual environments like the PORTAL at TU Berlin and the CAVE/CUBE at UIUC (www.math.tu-berlin.de/geometrie/f5/portal.shtml, www.isl.uiuc.edu). Has this been done before? I did find a few passing references to PD and sound in CAVEs on the web, but nothing about PD and GEM.
The basic setup of a CAVE consists of a number of projection screens, aka walls (three for the PORTAL, six for the CUBE), controlled by one computer each, plus one master computer. Here's what I have in mind: - The master does audio with PD and handles user input via mouse, keyboard, MIDI controller, etc. - The wall computers run visualizations with PD and GEM. Those visualizations are identical except they use different viewports for different walls. - The master controls the walls via netsend/netreceive. - A python script on the master handles CAVE-specific input (such as head tracking data) and updates the master via pdsend/pdreceive. It may be a good idea to build a little python extension that encapsulates the functionality of pdsend/pdreceive.
All this seems straightforward enough, but there are two issues I'm worried about: - Can I change the viewport in GEM? The FAQ has some comment regarding the default viewport, but little information on how to change it. - How well does GEM support stereo viewing?
Any thoughts would be appreciated! Best, Peter