ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces UniCAVE, a free Unity3D plugin, which provides support for these types of distributed virtual reality (VR) rendering systems. The UniCAVE plugin works on immersive display systems driven by either a single machine or a cluster. UniCAVE accomplishes data distribution through a combination of Unity3D networking techniques that allow the sharing of camera transformations, user input, randomization seeds, and time step information. The UniCAVE plugin provides support for different stereo techniques. Techniques such as quad-buffered stereo, side-by-side stereo, or split-screen stereo are configured by way of setting up the correct camera and viewport configurations in the Unity3D editor. Input serves as a challenge when trying to create a distributed rendering system within Unity3D due to limitations in how Unity3D provides access to a project’s input definitions. UniCAVE supports basic input via interfacing with VRPN and furthermore supports basic distribution of the input across a cluster.
