Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 10, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Choosing a new car from a catalogue or a dealership on the basis of comparable models on display is one thing. Adapting the car to one’s own individual ideas through a design configurator is far more appealing. It is therefore easy to imagine the lasting impression that the configurator’s true-to-life 3D projection makes on visitors and prospective customers at BMW Welt.
Automotive constructors, engineers and product designers value Sony’s 4K technology. It brings complex 3D data models from development-department computers to the screen at the highest possible resolution and quality. The 4K projectors are based on Sony SXRD panel technology (SXRD – Silicon X-tal Reflective Display) and are designed specifically for visualisation and simulation. With a 4K model, computer-based development can show dimensions that would otherwise require more than four standard HD projectors. At its native resolution of 4096 x 2160 pixels, vehicle models can be displayed at full scale and camera movements in and around the model can be simulated.
BMW Welt uses the Sony SRX-S110 model. The image from the new-car configurator is rear-projected onto a three-metre-wide screen. Visitors can view the selected extras on their desired BMW at almost original size. On the 3D model, they experience digitally the effect of different colours, wheel and interior variants.
The 4K projector’s real-time simulation is controlled with software and visualisations from Realtime Technology AG (RTT). This brings, for example, the colours of the selected interior trim or vehicle paint very close to the original. Only the new car purchased later offers a more realistic picture.
RTT is one of the world’s leading providers of 3D visualisation technologies and services for industrial applications in the automotive, aerospace and consumer-goods industries.
The 4K projection was created under the direction of Videocation GmbH of Unterföhring near Munich. The company has 30 years of experience in sales and full service for electronic communication media. Its demanding range of services has been continuously developed, enabling it to identify pioneering innovations such as the Sony 4K projector at an early stage. Videocation GmbH was authorised as a “Sony Professional Partner” as early as 1989.
