Visualization and Imaging in Distributed Collaborative Environments

The Optical Diagnostics and Applications Laboratory (ODALab) is investigating methods and technology for 3D visualization and imaging. Specifically, we're integrating and assessing systems driven by real-world applications that can benefit from or enhance distributed collaborative environments. Although optics is at the core of the research program, the research involves extensive knowledge from various science and engineering fields. Students in the ODALab can pursue graduate degrees in optics, engineering, physics, computer science, or modeling and simulation. The article surveys the research the ODALab program is doing in optical system design, fabrication, and assessment of innovative head-mounted displays (HMDs); the design of optical tracking probes for integration in HMDs; the development of mathematical methods and applications for augmented reality (AR); the physics-based modeling of anatomical joint motion and optical special effects for augmented environments; and 3D biomedical optical imaging.