Foundation of the Hellenic World's Cultural Center in Athens Uses SGI
Immersive Visualization Systems to Expand VR Environments
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Just as the 2004
Summer Olympic Games commence, the Foundation of the Hellenic World (FHW) --
a not-for-profit cultural institution in Athens, Greece -- has expanded its
permanent virtual exhibits by opening an immersive 3D virtual reality (VR)
tour of the ancient city of Olympia, created on and powered by a selection of
high-performance visualization systems from Silicon Graphics (NYSE: SGI). At
Hellenic Cosmos, FHW's innovative cultural center/museum located in Athens'
Tavros district, the new tour driven by an SGI(R) Onyx2(R) visualization
system allows visitors to explore the history of 30-plus temples and secular
buildings of ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games and the site
of the first athletic event (a foot race) held in 776 BC.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040816/SFM035 )
The dazzling 3D visualization capabilities of the cultural center, powered
by SGI(R) technology, are also being used for an in-depth virtual tour of the
Temple of Zeus, ancient Olympia's largest building. The temple includes the
ivory and gold statue of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The father of the gods to whom the Games are dedicated, Zeus' statue is also
featured in a virtual visit to the workshop of Phidias, which shows how the
sculptor created the seated Zeus, with a miniature of Nike, the goddess of
victory, in his hand. Hellenic Cosmos is also premiering an immersive
pentathlon powered by SGI(R) technology, where the public can interact
virtually with ancient Olympian athletes in five sports, including the
200-meter sprint, discus throwing, wrestling, the long jump and javelin
throwing. Prior to this week's official FHW opening of the Olympia VR
environments, numerous members of the Greek Parliament have admired the
stunning 3D graphics of the ancient city that has been a source of PanHellenic
pride and unity for centuries.
A long-time SGI customer, FHW's Hellenic Cosmos currently uses an SGI
Onyx2 visualization system to power its ReaCTor immersive display with four
SGI(R) InfiniteReality2(TM) graphics subsystems to power the cave-like virtual
environment. A Silicon Graphics(R) Octane(R) visualization workstation runs
Fakespace Systems Inc.'s ImmersaDesk(R) to display additional content. At
FHW's main headquarters, located under the Acropolis, artists and software
developers use C++ to write their own framework for development of the
environments on Silicon Graphics(R) O2(R) and Silicon Graphics Octane visual
workstations, both running SGI(R) OpenGL Performer(TM), a real-time graphics
programming toolkit. Softimage|3D(TM) and Softimage|XSI(TM) are primarily used
for modeling. Over the years, SGI visualization systems have been used to
create the content of all of the Foundation's virtual reality environments,
including the three new environments created especially to coincide with the
2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games.
"We have relied on SGI's visualization power and expertise for many years
because SGI is easily upgradeable and very scalable," said Athanasios
Gaitatzes, head of the Virtual Reality Department, Foundation of the Hellenic
World. "We develop our virtual environments on O2 and Octane and run them on
Octane and Onyx2. SGI Onyx2 is extremely reliable, which is a big plus,
because almost every day during the winter we have about 300 children using
the exhibits -- we can't afford to have any down time. In terms of
scalability, being able to use our applications from the O2 up to the Onyx2 --
without making any changes -- is very efficient."
"We are very pleased to see the SGI Reality Center solution's technology
being used to present Olympic Games history beginning from the dawn of Western
civilization. The re-creation of the early city of Olympia at the Foundation
of the Hellenic World in Athens will inspire future generations of historians
and archeologists -- and Olympic athletes -- around the world," said Paul
McNamara, senior vice president and general manager, Visual Systems Group,
SGI. "On the occasion of our recent celebration of the 10th anniversary of SGI
Reality Center, and with nearly 700 Reality Center facility's deployed in
multiple industries, SGI congratulates our customers throughout the world who
continue to inspire us to deliver ever more powerful immersive visualization
technology so they can continue to revolutionize decision-making in the
sciences, energy, manufacturing and government industries."
In addition, FHW is making a major addition to the Hellenic Cosmos
cultural center that includes the development of 3D environments for a
128-seat domed theater. Construction will begin in early fall 2004, with the
completion and grand opening projected for 2006. The 3D domed theater will
join the two permanent VR installation areas -- "Kivotos" and the "Magic
Screen" -- where visitors wear special stereoscopic glasses and use a
navigational device, or "magic wand," in order to experience the landscape,
architecture, and culture of ancient Greece. The Kivotos is an entire room of
3 by 3 by 3 meters, where the walls as well as the floor are projection
screens, currently powered by the SGI Onyx2 system-based on Reality Center
technology. The Magic Screen, a large virtual reality display shaped as a
drafting table, was the first virtual reality system to come to Greece, and
runs on the Silicon Graphics Octane and Fakespace equipment. Its dimensions
(1.5 meters wide by 1.2 meters high) and angle provide the opportunity for six
visitors at any one time to interact with the digital content. As in the
Kivotos, the Magic Screen allows visitors to engage in interactive activities
and explore the virtual environment as they wish, not as mere onlookers but as
active participants.
About the Foundation of the Hellenic World
The Foundation of the Hellenic World (FHW) is a not-for-profit cultural
institution based in Athens, Greece. Established by Lazaros D. Efraimoglou and
his family with an initial endowment, the Foundation's creation and
constitution were ratified in September 1993 by a unanimous vote of the Greek
Parliament. As a privately funded institution, additional financial support in
the form of donations, grants, awards and sponsorship, from the private,
public and corporate sectors, are of vital importance to the operations of
FHW. Its staff is made up of archaelogists, historians, architects,
museologists, museum educators, computer scientists, graphic designers,
producers of multimedia programmes and 3D animation modelers. The Academic
Board and the Planning and Development Board of the Foundation include many
distinguished academics in the fields of History, Archaeology, Art History and
Architecture. The Foundation uses state-of-the-art, cutting-edge information
and computer technology in its pursuit of the research, awareness and
understanding of Hellenic history and culture. For further information, visit
http://www.fhw.gr.
SILICON GRAPHICS | The Source of Innovation and Discovery(TM)
SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, Inc., is a leader in high-performance
computing, visualization and storage. SGI's vision is to provide technology
that enables the most significant scientific and creative breakthroughs of the
21st century. Whether it's sharing images to aid in brain surgery, finding oil
more efficiently, studying global climate, providing technologies for homeland
security and defense, or enabling the transition from analog to digital
broadcasting, SGI is dedicated to addressing the next class of challenges for
scientific, engineering and creative users. With offices worldwide, the
company is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and can be found on the Web
at http://www.sgi.com.
NOTE: Silicon Graphics, SGI, Octane, Onyx, Onyx2, InfiniteReality,
Reality Center, O2, the SGI cube and the SGI logo are registered trademarks,
and InfiniteReality2, OpenGL Performer, and The Source of Innovation and
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Media Contact:
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