National Science Foundation Awards Villanova Grant for CAVE System

This summer, the National Science foundation decided to award Villanova a grant of $1.67 million to build a CAVE system in Old Falvey. The CAVE is a room-like enclosure which has walls, floor and in some cases a ceiling made of rear-projection screens, allowing viewers inside the room to experience and interact with 3D immersive environments. The CAVE will be able to hold 10-15 students for research and classroom experiences and will be integrated with a mobile robot platform which will be developed at Villanova for telepresence experiences.

Dr. Klassner has been spearheading this interdisciplinary project. The overall vision for the use of the CAVE includes technologically enhanced teaching and will allow Villanova to foray into the Digital Humanities.

See the figure for a cutaway schematic view of the proposed CAVE facility.

Villanova has invited professors from all disciplines to attend two luncheons to learn about the CAVE's capabilities and to develop ideas for using the facility in teaching and research on campus.