The flame-filled cave immerses its visitors in a world where fire shoots in pillars from floor to ceiling; the craggy stone ground is laden with sharp inclines and abrupt cliffs; and a heavy pendulum swings methodically back and forth, clearing a path of destruction. This world, which seems a little too close to reality, is confined in a 12-foot by 12-foot area on the edge of the ISU campus. But it’s not reality. It’s virtual reality. Nestled in the atrium of Howe Engineering, the nation’s first virtual-reality lab of its kind offers its visitors a chance to maneuver through the cave, explore the Notre Dame cathedral or hover miles above the earth. The Virtual Reality Applications Center at Iowa State, with its two virtual-reality labs, has been at the cutting edge of technology for years, said James Bernard, director of the center. “I think it’s fair to say that the VRAC has been leading in virtual reality applications for a long time,” said Bernard, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering. “The opportunity to use the atrium to do this was wonderful for us.” When construction on the VRAC C6 lab is completed in October, it will be the second virtual-reality lab on campus, along with the C2 lab in the Black Engineering Building, which has been operating since 1996. Glen Galvin, VRAC systems and support administrator, said the C6 lab is about 98 percent complete. “We are operational now,” he said. Already, faculty members and students in art and design, engineering, mathematics and statistics are helping to forge the frontiers of using virtual reality technology in businesses. Several corporate-funded projects have been conducted in which lab personnel have worked with companies to use virtual technology to enhance efficiency in planning and layout, or virtual prototyping, Galvin said. This time- and money-saving procedure is taking virtual reality to new heights, Bernard said. “I think the first thing we’re going to see is applications in more and more areas,” he said. “People are going to realize [virtual reality] is valuable to them and apply it to their areas.” Deere and Company has worked with VRAC personnel in a variety of projects, Galvin said, including a study to measure Computational Fluid Dynamic. “Basically, they simulate a fluid moving through something like a pipe, and you can take that to extremes,” he said. Deere sponsored a study to measure how well cotton flows through a picking machine to design the machine’s pipes, he said. In another project, Alliant Energy used the technology to analyze the flow of heat through furnace pipes, Galvin said. Simulated design projects allow the companies to manipulate the environment to see what design is most efficient. “We can simulate it here in a matter of days or hours, and if they want to make an adjustment, they can do it here,” Galvin said. “We can do it rather cheaply, and you can actually see what is going on.” The three-dimensional effects are achieved with special shutter glasses and a computer system that controls the images on the walls and floor of the lab. In the C2 lab, images are projected on three walls and the floor, while the C6 lab offers a 360-degree, three-dimensional effect. As the cost drops for the technology to connect computers and share information, Bernard said virtual reality will take off in directions beyond simulating prototypes. “The important thing we’re going to see in the future is using virtual reality for collaboration,” he said. “We might be in different labs, but we could see the same 3-D images. That’s going to be very important.” In addition, more sensation eventually will be added to the virtual experience besides sound and vision, Galvin said. In a simulated driving situation, he said, the driver will be able to see, hear and feel the forces normally experienced on an actual drive. Plans for the C6 lab began in January 1997, Bernard said. Construction on the project, which cost more than $4 million, began in December 1999. Iowa State funded the project with a grant from the National Science Foundation and several corporation donations, he said. For the VRAC personnel, which includes about 70 students, their involvement with the virtual reality labs is a dream that is as real as it gets. “This is the chance of a lifetime for me,” Bernard said. “I’m delighted to be involved.”