The HSL Collaboration Center, in room 237 of the renovated Health Sciences Library at UNC Chapel Hill, was developed in partnership with RENCI in 2005. The HSL Collaboration Center showcases leading-edge visualization and collaboration technologies that can be used for research that spans disciplines, campuses, states and nations, for clinical services, community outreach initiatives or educational programs. Through the Collaboration Center, students in Chapel Hill can tune in to a biomedical conference taking place across campus or across the Atlantic. Researchers can share data, visualizations, and applications with colleagues around the world and local research teams can visualize their data in stunning high definition.
Features of the Collaboration Center
- A 10-foot x 8-foot high-resolution display wall, capable of resolution of 12.5 million pixels (4,096 x 3,072 pixel native resolution)
- A “smart” whiteboard that captures notes and diagrams during brainstorming sessions
- The Access Grid multicast system, which allows multiple groups worldwide to collaborate in real-time and to share data and applications
- A range of software tools, workstations, and LCD projection systems that aid collaborative learning and research
Although a number of high-end research labs have similar capabilities, the HSL Collaboration Center is unique because it is in a relatively public place and is available to all health sciences staff and students who can benefit from its unique capabilities. In addition the HSL center, through its Access Grid node, has a direct link to RENCI headquarters at 100 Europa Drive in Chapel Hill and will link to RENCI collaboration facilities now being developed at Duke and NC State. RENCI’s mobile units—called RENCI Outreach Vehicles for Education and Research (ROVER)—also will link to the HSL site through the Access Grid.
