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Minority Report-Style 'Data CAVE' Created By Purdue Researchers
By Bill Christensen
posted: 22 October 2004
06:29 am ET
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In Minority Report, Tom Cruise
plays a detective who uses an immersive computer environment to solve crimes.
The 'data CAVE' (Configurable Automatic Virtual Environment) brings together
information from disparate souces, making it easier for detectives to see
patterns and perpetrators. The film is based on Philip K. Dick's remarkable
1956 short story of the same name; in the story, the Precrime analytical wing stands by to interpret the fevered words
of the three precogs (from "precognitive") who see into the future.
Purdue University researchers are developing a visual
display environment with high-performance computers and artificial intelligence
software, with interactive features similar to the display Tom Cruise works with
in the film. The new 'data CAVE' takes a new approach to working with large
volumes of data. James Caruthers, professor of chemical engineering at Purdue,
explains:
"Instead of mining for a nugget of gold
[data-mining], knowledge discovery is more like sifting through a warehouse
filled with small gears, levers, etc., none of which is particularly valuable
by itself. After appropriate assembly, however, a Rolex watch emerges from the
disparate parts." Chemical engineers
are able to take huge amounts of data and turn the information into interactive
images. They are able to approach the research process in a new and more
efficient way. Dr. Venkat Venkatasubramanian explains:
"What we are talking about is an advanced
method for product design. The product design problem is this: I want some
material that would have the following mechanical, chemical, electrical
properties and so on.
"I know what properties I want in order to get my
job done, but I don't know what material, what molecular combinations, will
give me that. It is a bit like 'Jeopardy.' You know the answer, but you are
looking for the question." Scientists face a new challenge in dealing with the flood of data that
results from hundreds or thousands of experiments that are conducted
simultaneously. The Purdue team's approach is designed to work with the
voluminous results of this "high-throughput" experimentation.
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Minority Report 'data
CAVE': As usual, Tom Cruise makes
it look so easy.
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The new approach, called "discovery informatics,"
enables researchers to test out new theories and see how well their ideas work
in real-time using a 3D display. Data is visualized on a 3D 12'x7' display. This
allows scientists to see an entire problem, including chemical and atomic
structures, graphs and charts. It will be tested in a new Center for Catalyst
Design; catalysts account for billions of dollars in annual business revenues -
even slight improvments can result in significant increases in profits.
For recent advances in computer-aided data mining
techniques, see Data Mining In Three Dimensions. Read more about how discovery informatics goes beyond
data-mining; learn more about CAVEs.
(This Science Fiction in the News story used
with permission from Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction.)
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