The Earth seen through the eyes of an astronaut in the Technorama Orbitarium

An impressive exhibition in the Orbitarium of the Technorama Science Center in the city of Winterthur (Swiss) presents, thanks to projectiondesign technology, the planet Earth inside a huge glass sphere that gives the impression of floating above our blue planet.

Combining a globe projection and a panoramic canvas projection, ​​the Orbitarium of the Swiss Technorama Science Center has implemented the hardware of projectiondesign for both purposes, becoming one of the most innovative users of the Norwegian manufacturer's ReaLED light source technology. Located in the city of Winterthur, Technorama offers a series of experimentation spaces that offer visitors of all ages the opportunity to become familiar with natural phenomena in an informal way., practical and self-directed. One of these spaces is the Orbitarium, that gives visitors the astronauts' point of view of planet Earth and the natural phenomena that occur around it, like hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc.

The exhibition uses a projection of a globe as a centerpiece. But, as Thomas Hofer, Technorama Visualization Director, has explained, something was missing: “As important and interesting as natural phenomena could be, They appeared isolated and lacking relevance to real life in the original design of the Orbitarium. We decided we needed to develop a show that would highlight the uniqueness of our planet, and to put the Earth in the context of the space around it: the moon, the sun, the stars and so on “.

An installation that comes to life

This show has been named 'Planet Earth – Cosmic Oasis’, and Technorama's technical staff began working on ways in which the Orbitarium could be improved to make the show come to life.. “Life on Earth is not based solely on our planet”, continues Thomas Hofer, “is based on its neighborhood in the solar system, So what could be better than expanding the horizon of the Orbitarium with a huge panoramic canvas in the background?”

Although not even the panoramic and curved canvas, nor the projected globe are new ideas in themselves, combining the two together to create a 'Cosmic Theater’ in three dimensions is what makes the Orbitarium project stand out above any other installation. The creation of such a space entailed a series of technical issues, as Thomas Hofer has explained: “Fully illuminate the background, without the balloon creating shadows, was only possible with a combination of specific short throw projector lenses and the significant use of lens shift. Another challenge was controlling the presence of unwanted light that could come from three sources.: background canvas projection, the balloon projection, and the light from outside. All of them could project unwanted diffuse light on the wrong surfaces “.

Technorama staff carried out most of the design of the AV systems and their integration, using projectiondesign equipment. Thomas Hofer explained: “We are using two FL32 ReaLED projectors for the globe projection and two cineo32 projectors for the panoramic canvas. Both pairs of projectors are running at 1080p resolution. We have evaluated a large number of different projector combinations, but only projectiondesign was able to meet our specific needs”.

For all audiences

A fully automated multimedia show is projected twice a day and can be controlled by Technorama staff via a touch screen., for a maximum of 60 people at the same time, although it is not unusual for additional sessions of the 'Planet Earth' show to be held – Cosmic Oasis’.

Anders Løkke, director de marketing de projectiondesign, has manifested: “We are amazed by the way our end customers continue to find new ways to use our projection technology., and Technorama's Orbitarium is a great example of this. The more unusual the application, greater ability we have to offer custom lens combinations, Proven reliability and high service levels. We are delighted to be associated with this pioneering project and look forward to many more such installations in the future. “.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ8_lEeahgA[/youtube]