Heavens of Copernicus is the fi rst 3D stereo planetarium to be built in Europe; its content will include fi lms for all ages covering jour- neys into space, cosmology and evolution
“Heavens of Copernicus is the gemstone of the science centre. The client is very open to creating a contemporary facility in which to do new and exciting things”
IIA in the World and the fi rst Megastar in Europe. Lasers are being provided by HB Lasers of Germany, and we’re providing LED dome lighting that we designed spe- cifi cally for planetariums. The sound system is based on our
years of experience in providing sound for dome theatres. JBL speakers are built with modifi cations to enhance performance in a dome environment. Using 18,000 watts of amplifi cation and
digital signal processing allows us to cus- tomise the performance to accommodate any range of programme materials.
How does the technology work?
The 3D stereo technology is based on inter- ference fi lters provided by Infi tec of Ulm Germany. Originally designed by Daimler
AM 2 2011 ©cybertrek 2011
for use in-house, Infi tec is unique in that it allows 3D to function in full colour and from any viewing angle in a dome, without a special screen coating. This means we can switch smoothly between 2D and 3D. Our Spice Automation product keeps all systems running from one control point.
What are the challenges of working within a 16m dome?
Not too many – 16m is a great size. It’s large enough to give an open, airy feeling and the illusion of infi nite space when in the dark, but at the same time it’s not too large a screen that we’re challenged with projection technology performance. However, the dome screen was tilted
very low to make the theatre more immer- sive, but this position didn’t factor in the
fact that we have to mount very large projectors under the dome to project the images. Our solution was to raise the dome slightly and cut a large hole in the concrete fl oor to sink the projectors into. Another problem was the acoustics. The
theatre had a reverb time of more than one second, so we arranged to have the complete theatre recoated with acoustic dampening material to bring the reverbera- tion time back to a low and manageable number. Now we’re installing the dome screen (a nano-seam dome from Spitz Inc) and the audio system. The rest of the equipment is being
installed in by April ready for the soft open- ing in May and offi cial opening in June. I expect there will be a few more challenges before we’re done! ●
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital 27
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