VDI (Visualization Design Institute)

Inside Sheridan College there are some research units. The VDI is a unit working on the research about computer visualization and simulation. In the Institute they are development several projects correlated with design and interactivity.

We had the chance to see some of their projects and the technology behind the interface. They have done some work with Flash, using action script to provide to the user the possibility of interactivity. They have done some work for the Justice Knowledge Network to help the law enforcement community. They created a virtual environment in this project to help police officers to understand how to proceed after a car crash. How to measure the trail the car left. So, they produced all the interface animations and also a Random number responsible to generate a variety of scenarios.

Another interesting project is the 3D Ontario virtual world. This kind of project helps us to visualize how possible changes could materialize. They recreated the city with street cars to assist us on how the city would look like. The interactive cinema was really fun to see. A place where we can see a movie and also interact with, choosing the way that we want the story ends.

Here are some links:
- Interactive cinema
- Visualization & Simulation Center
- Virtual Tour
- 3D Brain
- Computer Animation

Computer Visualization and simulation is indispensable to support engineers, medics and designers on the elaboration of their real projects.