Digital fulldome technology for content developers

Abstract

For some years planetariums internationally have been supplementing, and in some cases replacing, their traditional dedicated star projectors with digital projection systems. The user experience in a digital planetarium can be very different to traditional cinema, in particular, the frame around the screen has been removed. This filling of the viewers visual field of view leads to enhanced immersion and a sense of "being there".

Content developers of digital fulldome often struggle to come to grips with the technology, the limitations, and the new opportunities, or they end up re-inventing what others before them have already learnt. This presentation will cover all aspects of fulldome technology, from the projection systems, to the computer graphics techniques, photography and filming, and an insight into what works and what doesn't.