First digital all-dome projection for Middle East

The Director of the Science Club in Kuwait, Kharafi (left), and the Head of the Carl Zeiss agency in Kuwait, Alghanim (right), signing the contract.In the planetarium of the Science Club, the outdated technology will be replaced with a ZEISS SKYMASTER ZKP 4 projector and a SPACEGATE digital all-dome projection system. While SKYMASTER ZKP 4 projects an impressively natural reproduction of the stars onto the 10m diameter dome, SPACEGATE makes the entire dome into an image surface. The audience is completely surrounded by the projection and has the impression of being right in the center of the action. Here, the PowerDome computer and control system developed by ZEISS ensures the synchronous coupling of the opto-mechanical projector and digital image projection. The Science Club promotes popular scientific education and the pursuit of astronomy in Kuwait. With its range of educational capabilities including events in the planetarium founded in 1995 and in the observatory, it focuses sharply on the needs and interests of children and young people. It is the most important institution of its kind in the Emirate with its population of 2.5 million people. In Kuwait’s largest planetarium in the National Museum, Carl Zeiss will also be installing digital technology for all-dome projection. The 4DOME System supplements the existing STARMASTER planetarium projector from Carl Zeiss, whose display capabilities are now being expanded to include the digital projection of images, videos and complete shows. Carl Zeiss presented the new systems at the end of 2005 and has already received several orders, e.g. from Turkey, Austria and Brazil. The installations in Kuwait will be handed over to the customer by the end of 2006. With the leading edge ZEISS technology, Kuwait will be the first country in the Middle East to have the new all-dome technology.

Author: Gudrun Vogel

Bio.: Zeiss Jena

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