Varrier Demo Instructions

General Startup

• Log in as user "demo".
• Open terminal, and type command "displays on".
• Type command "cd /DEMO/evl/varrier"
• Move the chair to the X on the floor.
• Run demo (see details below)
• To quit, press escape.
• To shut down, escape out of the black screen, and type command "displays off". Then log off.

Tracking

Normally, the tracking system should just work. If it doesn't, use the commands

 trackd stop
 trackd start

to restart the tracking software. If that still doesn't help set the KVM switch to the tracker PC (2xNumLock, then number 2 key) and close and re-open the DTrack software. Then go back to the Linux PC (2xNumLock, then number 1 key) and run the above trackd stop/start sequence one more time.

Mars Demo

• To run type command "./RUN_MARS" (notice the period at the beginning of the command here)
• To put it into stereo mode, click on black screen and press F9. For mono mode, press F5.
• To turn off the stars, press rightmost button on front of Flystick.

Earth Demo

• To run type command "./RUN_EARTH"
• CONTROL-RETURN toggles stereo and mono mode.

The source and data are owned by rlk (Robert Kooima), but they are universally readable and executable. I have changed the ownership of the run script to covise.

The Earth demo works just like the Mars demo, and the trigger button engages the navigation. It accesses a LOT more data, so it is much more susceptible to lag during data loading. Make smooth motions and everything will run smoothly.

The RIGHT button resets the view position. The SECOND-to-the-right button toggles monochrome shaded relief (which really shows off the terrain... it's how geologists view terrain data.)

CONTROL-RETURN toggles stereo and mono mode.

Calibration is similar to Electro: CONTROL-TAB engages calibration mode, CONTROL-ARROW keys tweak the tile. One difference: CONTROL-SPACE and CONTROL-BACKSPACE cycle through the tiles. The calibration is automatically stored in the home directory of the current user, so there's no need to worry about updating it by hand.

The data is layered. There are 5 distinct data sets in use:

1) Blue Marble Next Generation (BMNG) is a color map covering the entire Earth with a resolution of 86400x43200 (Yes, that's the same res as the demo on the wall upstairs). That's 10.4GB. It has a spatial resolution of 500m at the equator.

2) Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM/RAMP2) is a height map of the entire Earth with the same resolution (86400x43200). That's 7GB. It has a vertical resolution of 1 meter.

3) The SRTM/RAMP2 normal map allows for per-pixel illumination at that resolution, consuming another 10.4GB.

4) The National Elevation Database (NED) is a height map covering all US territory. It has a spatial resolution of 30m. It is not rectangular, so it's bounds cannot be easily stated, though it is 34GB of information. It too has a vertical resolution of 1 meter.

5) The NED normal map allows per-pixel illumination and shaded relief of US territory. It consumes 51GB of storage.

So, in the current state, there is a total of 114GB of raw data. This is mipmapped, which imposes a 33% overhead, giving 150GB of data. This is losslessly compressed to PNG, which reduces it to 38GB of data, spread across 189,582 files.

Surround Images

• Images from Dick Answorth: execute /home/DEMO/evl/varrier/bin/RUN_STEREO_PANS

This application is stable and shows medium resolution versions of the image. The n key on the keyboard moves forward one slide. the b key moves back. The mouse must be in the Electro window on the console. The joystick on the wand rotates the image right and left. The images include the Milwaukee art museum in and out along with an interior of the House on the Rock, image of Governor Dodge State Park and buildings by Frank Loyd Wright at Taliesin in spring green WI.

• Mars with labels: RUN_MARS_LABLE

• Mars pans: RUN_MARS_PANS