General Motors, one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers chose Christie‘s 4K 3D high frame rate (HFR) projection technology to modernize its 240-square-foot HD glass powerwall at the company’s Vehicle Engineering Center.
The upgrade comprises two blended Christie Mirage 4K25 3DLP 4K 3D projectors with Christie Twist and Christie AutoCal for automated blending and alignment for high performing projection at true 120Hz, as well as two Christie Spyder X20 video processors.
Dave Muscat, senior director, Americas Region, Visualization, Simulation and Control Room Solutions, at Christie, says, “We were honored to host [GM’s] executives at our Kitchener, Canada manufacturing facility in 2013 for a preview of the first Christie Mirage 4K DLP projector prototype.”
Christie’s two Mirage 4K25 3DLP projectors replaced nine outdated projectors for the powerwall, increasing the resolution from 8.4 megapixels to 12.4. This 4K resolution projector features up to 25,000 center lumens running at a high frame rate of 120Hz. Built on the Christie TruLife electronics platform and using Xenon-based illumination, it delivers superior brightness, smooth video, and vibrant, life-like images. Christie Twist for full image warping and blending ensures arrayed projectors are blended to display a single, uniform image without external devices, while Christie AutoCal software automates Twist and keeps the multi-projector display aligned and calibrated. Christie onsite tech support provides the company with daily systems monitoring, log system management and staff training.
Two installed Christie Spyder X20 video processors, with matrix switching capabilities, provide 20 megapixels of bandwidth for mixing, blending and windowing source formats. The processors’ integrated source monitoring enables simultaneous, real-time, full frame rate monitoring of all inputs. Included in the installation are eight HP computers, with 16 powerful pro graphics NVIDIA Quadro K6000 and Dassault Systèmes 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN software for real-time 3D visualization.
Christie technology also helped engineers in the Computer Aided Virtual Environment (CAVE) solution. The four-sided, room-sized CAVE solution provides an environment where users share true-to-life experiences. In the case of GM, engineers, while wearing 3D stereoscopic glasses, enter the CAVE and become completely immersed in the computer-generated graphics of the exterior and interior of a vehicle. Engineers then evaluate “view and obscuration” studies including the mirrors, placement of controls, overall layout and accessibility, styling, and design quality, such as gaps, fits and finishes.
With six Christie Mirage HD6K-M 3DLP projectors, each with 6000 ANSI lumens, and one Christie Mirage WU14K-M, with 12, 500 ANSI lumens, the total resolution increased from 6.7 megapixels to 12.5 megapixels compared to the former installation. With an Advanced Real Time (ART) virtual reality motion tracking system, the user can perform certain tasks using real world movements and actions.
“The journey to the virtual reality and 3D has been just that,” says Joe Guzman, Engineering Group Manager for General Motors, in a video for Christie, “A journey.”
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Video: 4K powerwall revs up product development at GM from Christie on Vimeo.
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