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The CAVE artists

Nature Medicine volume 20, pages 228–230 (2014)Cite this article

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In the era of big data, biomedical databases are brimming with protein structures, image collections and genomic sequences. As the data mount, new 'cave automatic virtual environments', or CAVEs, are being built to help researchers pick through the files. Dyani Lewis meets the pioneers behind these large-scale visualization labs to see whether immersive virtual worlds can cut through the complexity.

In the virtual driver's seat is David Barnes, a radio astronomer by training who runs the new CAVE2 facility. He holds what looks like a chunky television remote controller with four lollipop-like baubles attached to the top. This wand, together with the similarly adorned 'reindeer glasses' and motion-tracking sensors, control navigation so that Barnes can fly across the surface of Mars, explore an Egyptian temple or examine pathways of neural activity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dyani Lewis is a freelance science journalist based in Melbourne, Australia.,

    Dyani Lewis

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  1. Dyani Lewis
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Lewis, D. The CAVE artists. Nat Med 20, 228–230 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0314-228

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0314-228

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