UB Virtual Reality Laboratory

PEACE BRIDGE PROJECT

Goal
Modeling the various bridge and plaza options in an immersive 3-D environment which will help observers to walk or fly through virtual reality representations of each. Assist in making the choice of the bridge design chosen for construction.

Abstract
Decision making is not an easy task and any decision taken and its implementation has to be supported both in the scientific world as well as the real world. In this case, the problem was what type of bridge configuration to use - Cable, Concrete, Arch, Twin, Suspension ? The proposed designs were available in the form of blueprints and it is not easy to make a $350-million decision based just on these. Line drawings and blueprints cannot provide a sense of scale or how the bridge would fit into the surrounding landscape. This is when CCR, IBC Digital and the Virtual Reality Lab in the UB Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering came up with the idea of using virtual reality techniques to visualize the various bridge configurations and the surrounding plaza options."Seeing is Believing" and these options, when viewed in 3D, help in determining the aesthetics of each type of bridge. As these designs are animated in "before" and "after" configurations, they also bring to light the drama of how some of the options will affect the surrounding areas. | Read more.