Surround-Screen-Based Display Systems in Immersive Visualization Laboratories: Applications, Benefits, and Lower-Cost Solutions
Ross D. Tredinnick, Bryce Sprecher, Kevin Ponto · 2025
Over the past 40 years, immersive visualization laboratories have existed in various forms across academia, industry, and government. Common to many of these laboratories has been the presence of surround-screen-based immersive display systems, such as CAVEs, powerwalls, tiled display systems, and related variations. With the rise of consumer off-the-shelf (COTS) virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) over the past ten years, questions have arisen regarding the costs versus benefits of continuing to build, operate, and maintain surround-screen-based immersive display systems. This document highlights the benefits of continuing to promote these systems, both through a survey of existent systems post-2020 and by specifically showcasing low-cost approaches undertaken during a recent upgrade of a six-sided CAVE system. It will discuss applications unique to surround-screen-based immer-sive display systems, the advantages of these systems over COTS HMDs, and future needs and directions for these technologies to remain beneficial to users of XR technology.