Oort Continuum

The Oort Continuum

This application is based on the CAT (CAVE All Terrain) shared context software environment written by Marcus Thiébaux. The Oort showed at SIGGRAPH 96, the opening of the Ars Electronica Center, and at the Total Museum Conference. -- Navigation controls for CAT.

This is a cosmic collaboration of virtual artists; the adventure begins at the Oort Cloud ring where an individual can teleport or take a teleride to the next exciting location. The "locations" are comprised of the following VR pieces:

Jupiter Junction	Navigation Description: At Jupiter Junction, we are led to a virtual space where we can join the planets in their solar tours, and watch our own Earthly reference spin and drift aimlessly along in its precarious journey. Creator: Marcus Thiebaux
Artica Intergalaxia
	Navigation Description: Become immersed in an exploratory meditation of organic substances exhibited within a celestial gallery. Creator: Margaret Watson
Dream Grrrls	Navigation Description: Dream Grrrls invites you to explore dreaming in a labyrinth. Discover paths that lead to whimsical worlds where you can ride a see-saw in the clouds or be captured by an animated vessel that shakes you into another world. Follow the voices in the air or let experience be your guide in a place where one can only expect the unexpected... Creators: Margaret Dolinsky and Grit Sehmisch Contributors: Bor-Tyng Lin, Joe Reitzer
Gallery of Motions
	Navigation Description: A sculpture garden and gallery where even the plants and buildings move, with tours conducted by an animated guide. The garden is comprised of exhibits including kinetic objects based on the Philippine wine dance and three-dimensional harmonic motion, and knots that untie themselves. The gallery will contain rooms where the participant can control snowstorms and be vacuumed by strange attractors. Collaborators: Milana Huang, Alan Millman, Dan Sandin, Robert Grzeszczuk, Lou Kauffman, Joe Insley**** Sound by Sumit Das,Robin Barger,with Very Low Frequency (VLF) recordings by Stephen McGreevy
Push/Pop	Navigation Description: This visit to a virtual art space at first seems very familiar. But the black and white images are portals into alternative virtual realities. These unfamiliar areas have neither up nor down, they form the essence of a new digital realm where there are no laws of gravity and the spectator has to learn a new vocabulary for the ordering and comprehension of the space. Creator: Tom Coffin
Yes - Maybe - No
	Navigation Description: A piece that takes you from the virtual gallery through a 2-dimensional image into a dance with data overload. Collaborators: Gary Minnix and Tom Coffin
Aquasphere	Description: Take a deep sea dive in the futuristic Aquasphere, an artificial environment that houses a variety of aquatic life. This dive site also preserves the ancient ruins of Atlantis! Take a deep breath and enjoy the adventures of a scuba diver. Collaborators: Alan Cruz and Bor Tyng Lin Contributors: Ka Leung Jark, Grit Sehmisch Aquasphere only showed as part of the Continuum at SIGGRAPH 96.

© 1996 Marcus Thiébaux, Alan Cruz, Bor Tyng Lin, Ka Leung Jark, Grit Sehmisch, Tom Coffin, Margaret Watson, Deb Lowman, Margaret Dolinsky, Milana Huang, Alan Millman, Dan Sandin, Robert Grzeszczuk, and Joe Insley, Electronic Visualization Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago; Lou Kauffman, Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, University of Illinois at Chicago; Gary Minnix, School of Art and Design, University of Illinois at Chicago.