The University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) Department of Astronomy and the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA) – a partnership between UCT, the University of the Western Cape and the University of Pretoria – have released new virtual reality (VR) software.
In a statement, UCT says the release of the immersive Data Visualisation Interactive Explorer (iDaVIE) software by the IDIA Visualisation Lab (IDIA Vislab) marks a milestone and advancement in astronomy data visualisation and analysis, offering researchers a powerful tool to enhance their work using VR.
According to the university, iDaVIE was developed by the IDIA Vislab, in collaboration with the Astrophysical Observatory of Catania of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics.
It is designed to facilitate the visualisation and interrogation of complex astronomical and multidisciplinary datasets, exploiting the unique capabilities of VR, it explains.
Dr Lucia Marchetti, from UCT’s Department of Astronomy and director of the IDIA Vislab, comments: “We are thrilled to make iDaVIE available to the public.
“This software represents years of hard work, and we believe it will be a valuable resource for researchers around the world, as already proven by the many publications that have used iDaVIE while still under development.”
UCT notes the software is particularly beneficial for the astronomy community, enabling the analysis in unprecedented detail of 3D data cubes and catalogues like those produced by MeerKAT, and eventually, the Square Kilometre Array.
Among the key features, the software has interactive and immersive visualisation, which allows users to use easily accessible commercial VR headsets to immerse themselves in and interact with the data in real-time, providing a more intuitive understanding of complex datasets.
It is also capable of handling different types of data input, making it suitable for a wide range of scientific research beyond astronomy; eg, engineering and medical/biology research.
The release of the source code also encourages collaboration and further development by the global research community.
Professor Patrick Woudt, UCT professor of astronomy and interim director of IDIA, adds: “iDaVIE aligns with IDIA’s commitment to advancing data-intensive research and fostering innovation in South Africa. We are very happy to release this to the community and we look forward to the next developments that will follow.”
By making the software and its source code freely available, UCT and the IDIA Vislab say they aim to support the global research community and encourage the development of new tools and techniques in data visualisation, while hoping to foster new global collaborations in this field.
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