METASPACE, a Korean provider of solutions for astronomy and space science, installed a Screenberry media server at the 4D dome theater of the Gimcheon Science Museum in South Korea.

The ‘Green Future’ Gimcheon Science Museum opened its doors in 2014. Completely enclosed within a park, it communicates green technologies to a young audience in a modern way. Visitors can learn about nature through hands-on exhibits as well as educational shows at a 4D fulldome theater.

The Screenberry-powered setup replaced a fulldome system featuring a cluster-based media server architecture, 11 projectors, and third-party auto-calibration technology.

To output seamless 4K 3D-capable video onto the 15m dome screen, a single Screenberry media server drives and automatically calibrates 8 x BENQ LU9915 projectors. The media server also synchronizes the 360 video playback with SFX motion seats to enhance the immersive experience.

“Screenberry provides an integrated, ‘all-in-one’ solution for dome projection. The whole planetarium can be driven by one powerful media server. Meanwhile, the native 5-stage automatic projection alignment provides quick edge-blending, warping, gamma/geometry correction as well as unique black level compensation. These features provide not only top image and playback quality, but also make Screenberry-based solutions more reliable, easier to use, and more energy efficient compared to planetarium systems driven by multiple media servers,” says Front Pictures CTO Vitaly Slyusarenko.

“Before the installation of the Screenberry-based projection system, our client had issues with reliability and the stereoscopic 3D playback. Now, everything works smoothly. The projection system is mainly used for screening 3D shows. As Screenberry allows for easy third-party software integration, we also equipped the server with the free astronomy apps Stellarium and World Wide Telescope that the Gimcheon Science Museum can use for real-time astronomical visualizations,” says METASPACE project manager Jeongha, Gwak.

METASPACE is the official distributor of Front Pictures domes and Screenberry media servers for the planetarium market in South Korea.

A 360 projection dome manufactured by Front Pictures is now taking people on virtual reality tours at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. The dome is a part of an immersive installation VR DOME set up by QuaQua, an Indian digital experience platform focused on providing people with 360-degree travel experiences.

The 5m (16ft) negative pressure RFE (rigid frame enclosed) dome is located inside Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport. The dome’s exterior is made to grab guests’ attention. In addition to its custom-printed lime green dome cover, the mini planetarium also features an eye-catching geodesic exoskeleton and branded entrance.

“This durable but lightweight dome is great for semi-permanent planetariums and dome theaters. It offers excellent screen quality, comparable with aluminium domes. At the same time, it can be easily relocated and installed anywhere in a couple of days,” says Polina Shympf, Project Manager at Front Pictures.

QuaQua says that its VR DOME is the first permanent airport-based planetarium in the world. The team started working on the project in June 2019. It was ready to go live when the coronavirus lockdown closed many borders and severely restricted travel.

The 360 dome theater allows travelers to take a trip anywhere before they even step on an airplane. It instantly teleports them to a place of their choice at a fraction of the air travel cost. Currently, the experiences include a day/night walk-through of Venice, Italy, and of Luxor Temple, Egypt. New content is added based on audience feedback every 1.5 months.

QuaQua follows the airport’s strict safety protocol. The 30 square meter (323 square foot) dome is sanitized hourly. It can accommodate up to 16 people, while current social distancing rules allow for a maximum of four people for a chosen travel experience. One session lasts for five to seven minutes.