FP Technology powers immersive 360° 3D Dome at Brunel University London

London, UK
July 2018

Front Pictures fulldome technology is now at the heart of Inspire, a new cutting-edge teaching and learning facility at Brunel University London that inspires and engages children in science, technology, engineering, art and maths (STEAM).

The FP HDx8 projection system was supplied by NSC Creative, a UK based specialist in designing and integrating complex immersive environments and creating content and applications which communicate STEAM topics via immersive storytelling.

The system runs on 8 x BenQ LU9235 WUXGA projectors controlled and auto-calibrated by a single Screenberry media server to deliver 4K 3D 60fps playback on 8m dome. It is the first 3D dome in the UK to utilize laser phosphor light source projectors. The system is equipped with Xpand X106 3D glasses.

The Screenberry media server provides high resolution and frame rate 3D video playback along with a suite of real-time applications that allow simulation of the night sky and solar system, music visualisers, immersive presentation tools and interactive games. An SDK is available to encourage students and researchers to create their own native applications for visualisation and interactive group collaboration. The projection system can be controlled wirelessly via an iPad or Laptop using optimised applications.

The dome is loaded with award-winning Fulldome educational films from NSC Creative that utilise the built in DRM of the Screenberry server to allow flexible licensing options such as pay-per-view.

Front Pictures manufactured the 8m Rigid Frame Open-Sided negative pressure dome. It provides a high-quality but cost-effective solution, especially when compared to a perforated aluminium dome. Front Pictures was also responsible for the optical layout and software commissioning of the FP HDx8 system. The whole solution, dome, IT, AV and software was assembled and integrated onsite in less than 5 days.

“We have a state-of-art immersive visualisation and learning tool with material for all ages. What is great about NSC Creative is that they look beyond the technology and consider the audience experience, this is because of their long heritage of creating immersive content for these spaces over the last 18 years. They are pioneers in their field and we are thrilled to have one of their domes to inspire the next generation of big thinkers and makers for generations to come.” Michelle Evans, Head of INSPIRE, STEAM Learning Centre.

NSC Creative Dome Solutions is UK distributor for Front Pictures domes and servers https://domes.nsccreative.com/

Key equipment:
Screenberry media server
Front Pictures N-pressure 8m dome
BenQ LU9235 WUXGA laser projectors
Xpand X106 3D glasses
Datapath Fx4 video wall controllers
Magewell Pro capture HDMI 4K Plus
PulseEight neo:Ultra HDMI Extender
Kramer CLS−AOCH/XL active fibre cable
QSYS core 110F and CXD8.4QN amplifier
Ecler Arqis 5.1 Speaker System