October 14, 2024
LED Cave Immersive Experience - Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ)
I had a chance of visiting The Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) in Munich with an invitation from XR Bavaria and the team of Art prize Tech during ther conference last week. We had a guided visit to their suer computing centre and their famous LED Cave .
The LED Cave is unlike any other immersive experience I’ve had. The Cave is made up of five LED walls forming an open cube. Both the walls and the floor are covered in thousands of square LED panels. The size of the space allows for two people to walk around comfortably, which naturally fosters collaboration and shared exploration. This setup creates an incredible sense of presence, immersing users in virtual worlds in a way that feels physically real.
The experience I tried was a reconstruction of the chamber chapel at Schloss Schleissheim, a place that is no longer accessible to visitors. Equipped with optical glasses and a controller, I could navigate the space with ease. The environment responded to my body movements and gaze, making the interaction feel seamless. I was able to closely examine the intricate details of the chapel, and the level of immersion was so powerful that it felt like I was physically standing in the actual chapel. The LED panels blurred the line between the physical and virtual, creating an almost indistinguishable experience.
The LED Cave isn’t just for designers or scientists, but for anyone looking to explore the possibilities of immersive environments. Historians, for example, can step inside reconstructions of ancient spaces, analyzing their architecture and artifacts in a way that feels completely authentic. Designers can experiment with spatial layouts in real time, testing and refining their concepts in a fully immersive 3D environment. The potential is big—whether it’s for research, creative industries, or collaborative problem-solving.
They’re also working on measuring the presence and realism of this immersive experience using tools like the IPQ (Igroup Presence Questionnaire) and spatial presence and realism questionnaires. This research aims to compare the immersive experience of the LED Cave to passthrough experiences with headsets, helping to better understand how these different approaches impact user engagement and perception.
