Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 8, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
At this year’s IBC, the leading trade fair for the electronic media industry in Amsterdam, Fraunhofer FIRST and Fraunhofer IDMT will present the “Immersive Dome” for the first time. Here, the conventional flat cinema screen is replaced by dome projection that completely envelops the viewer visually. And instead of conventional surround sound, visitors can expect a three-dimensional sound experience.
Dome projection instead of a flat cinema screen - the “Immersive Dome” draws viewers into the middle of the action and allows them to participate actively. And instead of conventional surround sound, visitors can expect a three-dimensional sound experience. At IBC, the electronic-media-industry trade fair in Amsterdam, two Fraunhofer institutes will present the “Immersive Dome” for the first time in hall 8, stand C81.
Enveloped by Images and Sound
Imagine sitting inside a lava lamp. You are surrounded by larger-than-life liquid sculptures and are in complete weightlessness. Spherical sounds matching the amorphous forms adapt to the spatial movements of the liquid sculptures. In tomorrow’s dome cinema, visitors experience novel visual and acoustic impressions. For this purpose, the digital dome projection from the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology FIRST will be combined for the first time at IBC from September 11 to 15, 2009, with the “Spatial Pan” spatial-audio system from the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT. Another highlight: viewers can actively shape content. An image of your face is filmed by a camera and projected live onto a dome screen. With a 3-D mouse, you can move the projection on the screen and thereby alter the image and associated sound interactively.
Ralph Heinsohn of animation studio “Tilt” and sound designer Sven Lütgen produced the full-dome video “Liquidia” on behalf of the two Fraunhofer institutes. The film shows how high-resolution digital and interactive dome projection can be combined with three-dimensional sound. In the “Immersive Dome”, six projectors generate five partial images on the inner sides and one at the zenith of the hemisphere. FIRST’s “Screen Player” software controls the projector cluster and creates a colour-consistent overall image. The software can display cluster projections in real time at a resolution of 4000 x 4000 pixels. To do this, the shape of the screen is first reproduced virtually. The projector image is aligned to it and distorted appropriately. At the same time, three digital cameras capture the projected images and use image-recognition and colour-correction algorithms to join them with pixel precision and colour consistency. “Screen Player” has a preview function that shows the content in the geometry of the screen already. Conversion of the original to screen geometry takes place directly during real-time playback.
“Screen Player” has standard interfaces to other multimedia systems, allowing additional devices to be integrated easily - including IDMT’s “Spatial Pan” sound system. Unlike other three-dimensional audio-reproduction systems that use many loudspeakers to create a natural and spatial sound impression, the “Spatial Pan” spatial-audio system works with a reduced number of loudspeakers. Eight standard loudspeakers are used in the “Immersive Dome” at IBC to create a realistic and spatial sound experience for visitors. A third sound dimension is created by turning the dome itself into a sound body - without any additional loudspeakers. Special electroacoustic transducers are attached to the dome to emit impulses, trigger vibrations and thereby fill the interior with sound. FIRST and Carl Zeiss cooperate closely in the planetarium field. In addition to planetariums and cinemas, the “Immersive Dome” can be used in theme parks, simulators, multimedia installations and high-end home cinema.
