Cube-shaped ISU room is like nothing you've ever seen

Iowa State University's C6 simulator can take you inside a burning house, an active shooter situation and even a fire aboard the International Space Station.

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The C6 is a cube-shaped room in Howe Hall on the ISU campus in Ames. Every side of the cube lights up with images and with the addition of 3D glasses people go through a realistic virtual experience.

"Remember, it's a really, really heavy thing to do to close the hatch," said Nir Keren, an ISU associate professor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

"Everything becomes real," said Elmer Tse, a junior in Aerospace Engineering at ISU.

"Some of the video games are getting extremely good, life like, but what they're missing is a sense of depth, a sense of just presences and that's what the C6 brings," said Peter Carlson, a C6 project 3D artist.

The C6 is lit up by 100 million pixels, images made by a highly advanced projection system. Every single side measures 10 feet and each side of the cube-shaped room adds to a viewer's 3D experience.

"This is a very sophisticated lab that creates this real life experience," said Keren.

Keren and a kinesiology professor are using the C6 to study and test how humans make decisions and respond in stressful situations.

"We measure heart rate, blood pressure," said Keren.

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Cube-shaped ISU room is like nothing you've ever seen