Photo report: Scared of the 3D spider

Illusion Manager: that’s what Frans van Hoesel calls himself. But the head of the Reality Center of the UG is not a magician who plays with your perception. What is an illusion, actually? A vision, an apparent reality. Yet the 3D images that Van Hoesel projects are solid and real – as are the physical feelings that they can conjure, too. So: illusion? ‘We once had a girl here who was scared of heights. It took half an hour before she dared to take a step towards the virtual precipice,’ says Van Hoesel, underlining the deceptive authenticity of images.

Of course, it is impossible to depict 3D effects in a photo. But, in any case, the photos give an impression of the unending possibilities. This is also the reason why researchers and students often use the 3D projections. Everyone who wants to work in some way with 2D or 3D visualizations may use the Reality Center. In this way, the Reality Center helps to identify excavated bones, to structure virtual cities in alternative ways, to research the effects of high waves against an oil rig or to plead in a virtual court of law. In the Reality Cube, 3D images are projected onto three walls as well as onto the floor. By creating a feeling of immersion, this is highly suitable for gaining insights into exposure therapy, for example. (Text continues below the photos)

As well as the Cube, there is also a Reality Theatre. Here, for example, Van Hoesel presented a visualization of the national landscape Middag-Humsterland, with windmills on barnyards. The attending representatives of the Municipality were thereby able to gain insight into the consequences of possible placement options of the windmills within the protected landscape. To make the visualizations, Van Hoesel and his team use geographic data from the UG’s Geodienst, among other resources. The third facility in the Reality Center is the VR lab, which mostly contains portable equipment. Here, for example, the development of lightning can be seen, which UG researchers have calculated on the basis of Lofar measurements.