Screen test: evolving the art of panoramic projection.(Knowledge & Career)(ProjectionDesign )

While its technology can be found in numerous commercial applications, Norwegian projector manufacturer ProjectionDesign also plays a key role in advancing academic research through a number of initiatives. In particular, the company's relationship with the iCinema Research Centre of Australia's University of New South Wales (UNSW) has led directly to the development of new panoramic screen experiences that are having a major impact on the way we use and perceive audiovisual media.

The relationship between ProjectionDesign and iCinema began in 2003, when professor Jeffrey Shaw, iCinema's director, contacted ProjectionDesign's Thierry Ollivier to examine the suitability of the manufacturer's projectors for his 360-degree applications. Shaw, an international media art pioneer, had begun researching the potential of panoramic projection in 1995, when he was founding director of the ZKM Institute for Visual Media in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Shaw's initial use of ProjectionDesign products was for iCinema's Advanced Visualization and Interaction Environment (AVIE) system--the world's first 360-degree stereoscopic panoramic projection environment, which was launched in 2004 using 12 F1+ projectors.

AVIE comprises a cylindrical, silvered screen measuring four meters high by 10 meters in diameter; on the internal surface, 360-degree 3D panoramic multimedia content can be projected. The setup uses a cluster of seven PCs and 12 projectors, arranged in stereoscopic pairs fitted with polarization filters. The total resolution is approximately 8000x1000 pixels. The iCinema team also has developed custom warping and edge-blending software for a seamless, fully immersive experience.

Visitors to the AVIE environment can be tracked by infrared cameras as well as by real-time position and gesture-analysis software. This enables audience participation and interplay between real people and projected characters or avatars, and, in a training application, precise analysis of audience reactions and behavior.

Subsequent to AVIE, the iCinema team developed the hemispherical iDome, using ProjectionDesign's F30 1080p projectors. The iDome utilizes a three- or four-meter diameter fiberglass dome for 360x180-degree projection utilizing one projector and a spherical mirror as a reflection surface. The size and shape of this vertically mounted hemispherical projection setup covers the entire peripheral vision of the user standing directly in front of it, resulting in a truly immersive and interactive experience.

iCinema's panoramic production resources include a custom-built 24-megapixel digital video camera, called the Spherecam. With this ultra-high-resolution system, the cameraperson ...