VR Juggler 2.0 Feature List

  • Modularization
    • Operating system abstraction (VPR)
    • Sound system (Sonix)
    • Java/C++ interaction through CORBA (Tweek)
    • Configuration system (JCCL)
    • Input system (Gadgeteer)
    • Virtual platform (VR Juggler)
  • Cluster support
    • Cluster plugins
      • Remote input manager
      • Synchronization layer
      • Application-specific shared data
  • DLLs on Win32
  • Mac OS X support
    • Requires X11 for OS X and OS X 10.3 (Panther) or newer—OS X 10.4 (Tiger) highly recommended
  • Windows XP Professional x64 Edition support
    • Requires patched version of NSPR 4.6 (NSPR 4.7 should have Windows x64 support integrated)
    • Requires Visual Studio 2005
  • Revamped configuration system
    • Simplified terminology
      • "Config chunks" are now called "configuration elements," reflecting that they are units of configuration
      • "Chunks descs" are now called "configuration definitions" to indicate that they define the structure of configuration elements
    • XML for configuration files and definition files
    • File format versioning
    • Configuration element versioning
    • XSLT for transitioning between versions of file formats and configuration elements
    • Automatic configuration file updating in the editor GUI (see below)
  • Keyboard/mouse input for graphics windows
  • Input logger for input playback and testing
  • No more CTRL-c to shut down applications
  • Multiple viewports in graphics windows
  • Support for new compilers
    • GCC 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.0
    • Visual C++ 7.0 (!VS.NET 2002), 7.1 (!VS.NET 2003), 8.0 (Visual Studio 2005)
  • Use of NSPR on certain platforms (e.g., Windows) to improve portability
  • Refactored Input Manager
  • Redesigned configuration editor ([Juggler.VRJConfig VRJConfig])
    • All-new GUI
    • Standardized remote communication protocol
    • Custom (high-level) editor framework
      • Custom editor for device/proxy relationships
      • Custom editor for display windows and viewports
      • Custom editor for simulator configurations
      • Custom editor for projection-based immersive VR systems
    • Configuration creation wizards
      • Wizard for projection-based immersive VR configuration
      • Wizard for device configuration
  • Revamped performance monitoring
    • Less intrusive API
    • New Java visualization plug-in
    • User-defined performance categories
  • Support for new graphics APIs
  • User-defined debugging categories
  • Fully cross-platform device drivers
    • Based on abstraction layer for termios and Win32 serial I/O
  • New device drivers
    • VRPN
    • Joysticks supported by Linux "joydev" (USB and game port)
    • Joysticks supported by DirectInput
    • Microsoft Speech API for voice input
    • 3Dconnexion SpaceBall and SpaceMouse
  • Clearer output messages (differentiating errors from normal status)
  • Python language bindings: PyJuggler
  • In-progress .NET language bindings (C#, !VB.NET, J#, etc.): VRJ.NET
  • New and expanded documentation created using Doxygen, JavaDoc, and DocBook