BA prepares to launch VISTA system
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Alexandria, 25 December 2005— The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) announces the new insallation of the Virtual Immersive Science and Technology Applications (VISTA) system. This interactive virtual environment is the latest generation FLEX™ system. Expected to be inaugurated in January 2006, the system will display 3D stereoscopic images generated from a state-of-the-art PC cluster, on three 10-ft by 10-ft vertical walls and the floor.
The FLEX™ is the world’s first commercial re-configurable visualization solution for those whose viewing, collaboration, and presentation requirements cannot be met within the confines of a single visualization technology. VISTA is based on Virtual Reality which is one of the very practical tools of visualization during research.
Researchers are able to simulate the behavior of natural or human-engineered systems, instead of merely observing a system or building a physical model of it. This will save time and resources necessary for research and development (R&D) studies required for both scientific and commercial targets. Improving R&D capabilities is essential to the advance of information and knowledge accessibility which is considered the milestone for bridging the digital divide between the North and the South.VISTA is ideal in a vast number of applications in fields as diverse as medicine, engineering, architecture, socio-economic analysis, seismic interpretation, biotechnology research, manufacturing and design, fluid dynamics, and chemistry.
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina will be the first in Africa and the Middle East to provide researchers with such advanced visualization tools. Introducing this technology in the region will provide researchers with the infrastructure needed to cooperate and work closely with researchers from all over the world and will pave the road for further future collaboration, will thus be enhance, the area of R&D, a strategic means to securing sustainable development and growth in Egypt and the region.