Grand Canyon Visitor Center
This globe is pretty cool. It appears to be floating unsupported, and a film of the history of the canyon seems to be projected inside of it, turning constantly so everyone in the room can see it from anywhere. I couldn't figure out how it worked, but I found the explanation (turns out it's an illusion) on Wikipedia:
Science On a Sphere (SOS) is a spherical projection system created by NOAA. It presents high-resolution video on a suspended globe rather than a flat screen, with the aim of better representing global phenomena. Animated images of atmospheric storms, climate change, and ocean temperature can be shown on the sphere to explain these complex environmental processes. SOS systems are most frequently installed in science museums, universities, zoos, and research institutions, although new and novel uses for these systems in a variety of presentation spaces and contexts are starting to emerge.
The system is installed in more than 100 locations worldwide.
SOS uses many off-the-shelf hardware and software components combined into an innovative format. A spherical screen covered in ordinary latex paint hangs suspended in the center of a projection space. The screen is inert; it neither moves nor has any electronic parts. Surrounding the screen are four video projectors, positioned at ninety degree increments around the screen. Each projector is responsible for one quadrant of screen space. One CPU with three graphics cards (two for the projector output and one for the user interface) is used to control the system. The custom written SOS software runs on Linux.
Grand Canyon Visitor Center
This globe is pretty cool. It appears to be floating unsupported, and a film of the history of the canyon seems to be projected inside of it, turning constantly so everyone in the room can see it from anywhere. I couldn't figure out how it worked, but I found the explanation (turns out it's an illusion) on Wikipedia:
Science On a Sphere (SOS) is a spherical projection system created by NOAA. It presents high-resolution video on a suspended globe rather than a flat screen, with the aim of better representing global phenomena. Animated images of atmospheric storms, climate change, and ocean temperature can be shown on the sphere to explain these complex environmental processes. SOS systems are most frequently installed in science museums, universities, zoos, and research institutions, although new and novel uses for these systems in a variety of presentation spaces and contexts are starting to emerge.
The system is installed in more than 100 locations worldwide.
SOS uses many off-the-shelf hardware and software components combined into an innovative format. A spherical screen covered in ordinary latex paint hangs suspended in the center of a projection space. The screen is inert; it neither moves nor has any electronic parts. Surrounding the screen are four video projectors, positioned at ninety degree increments around the screen. Each projector is responsible for one quadrant of screen space. One CPU with three graphics cards (two for the projector output and one for the user interface) is used to control the system. The custom written SOS software runs on Linux.