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Metropolis: A Virtual Dublin at TCD

Posted on: 23 March 2009

Metropolis: Crowd Control – a virtual Dublin on a scale and level of realism never seen before will go on show to the public at the Science Gallery, Trinity College Dublin this week.  With a particular focus on its inhabitants, Metropolis is a novel project bringing together computer graphics, engineering and cognitive neuroscience research at Trinity College. 

Simulating crowds of millions, Metropolis aims for a high level of variety in animation, appearance and sound. Visitors to the Metropolis exhibition will be able to view demonstrations, take part in experiments and help researchers, including Professor Carol O’Sullivan of the Graphics, Vision and Visualisation group at the School of Computer Science and Statistics, Professor Henry Rice at the School of Engineering and Professor Fiona Newell at the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, find out more about how we perceive the appearance, motion, behaviour and sounds of virtual crowds.

The Metropolis project, led by Professor Carol O’Sullivan, will contribute towards the development of the computer games and film industry, urban planning, pedestrian and traffic modelling, evacuation simulation and assistive technologies for people with disabilities.

Metropolis reseachers professor henry rice of the school of engineering, professor carol o'sullivan of the graphics, vision and visualisation group at the school of computer science and statistics, provost dr john hegarty, and professor fiona newell of the trinity college institute of neuroscience.
Metropolis researchers Professor Henry Rice of the School of Engineering, Professor Carol O’Sullivan of the Graphics, Vision and Visualisation group at the School of Computer Science and Statistics, Provost Dr John Hegarty, and Professor Fiona Newell of the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience.

Commenting on the exhibition Professor Carol O’Sullivan said: “We have been working on the Metropolis project for nearly two years now, and it has been a fantastic collaboration between the disciplines of computer graphics, neuroscience and engineering. We want to encourage visitors to the Science Gallery to help us develop the Metropolis crowd simulations further by taking part in research into our perception of virtual crowds.”

In addition to participating in the Metropolis research, there will be a number of films, talks and debates on the theme of crowds and population including special presentations by world-renowned animations experts and a debate about overpopulation.

Metropolis: Crowd Control opens to the public on Tuesday, March 24th and runs until Sunday, March 29th. Admission is free. For further information please visit www.sciencegallery.com. Metropolis is a Trinity College Dublin research project which is supported by Science Foundation Ireland.