At the heart of Georgia State University's Petit Science Center is a +196 million pixel, 27ft wide curved Video Wall designed, built, and installed by CineMassive Displays. Believed to be the highest resolution visualization wall in the Southeast, the Georgia State Video Wall is distinguished by both its high resolution and its high level of usability. Situated directly adjacent to the Center’s supercomputer room, the visualization wall will be used by both researchers and students alike to visualize high resolution images and data sets at resolutions well beyond what could be seen on a standard desktop system.
For the Petit Science Center’s opening, GSU was looking for a high resolution visualization wall to compliment its new super computing lab. Researchers anticipated that the large data sets being processed by the super computer would require an equally large visualization tool. GSU’s Information Systems and Technology staff contacted CineMassive in late 2008, and began working with CineMassive on conceptualizing the project and choosing the right approach. After meeting with GSU IT staff as well as researchers, CineMassive was left with a challenging set of design objectives: to build a powerful, high resolution system that could be used for research, and to make it user friendly for both faculty and staff, some of whom would not have an IT background.
With these objectives, CineMassive designed a unique solution that stands apart from any other visualization wall of its kind: a high performance visualization wall designed with the user experience in mind. All aspects of the system were optimized for usability for students and researchers. The curvature of the wall invites users to approach it, interact, and truly immerse themselves. The height of the wall was selected so that users would not have to strain to see any part of the display surface. The wall was also given an attractive finish, so that users would be invited to interact with the wall without being intimidated by all of the technology behind it.
CineMassive also designed a software and hardware platform that complimented the design of the Video Wall. Four CineMassive high performance Bravo class Video Wall Controllers running the Windows 7 platform were built for the project. Each server controls one 3x4 section, and users can control the workstations one of three ways: direct interface just like any other workstation, via a remote client that can access any or all of the systems, or via a software KVM that allows users to move their mouse cursor and keyboard seamlessly across any of the four 3x4 sections. CineMassive also further enhanced usability with its unique set of multi monitor tools, including CineMastery and CineMatrix, and other interface enhancements that CineMassive has developed over years of experience with high resolution multi monitor systems. Although many similar walls use a rendering cluster instead of Windows based servers, this approach requires a high level of customization for any research application, hundreds and even thousands of hours annually of support and maintenance from IT staff, and creates a significant usability issues for students and researchers who do not have an intensive technology background. The CineMassive approach allows users to focus on research, exploration, and creativity, rather than on maintaining and administrating the technology.
CineMassive finished the installation of the wall in May of 2010. The result was a 196 million pixel visualization wall, believed to be the highest resolution visualization wall in the Southeast. The Center’s visualization wall is also one of the only walls of its kind to effectively combine both high performance and usability, demonstrating GSU’s status as a leading research university and CineMassive’s ability to develop unique solutions for high performance multi monitor and Video Wall applications.
Georgia State University is a leading research university located in Atlanta, GA. The Petit Science Center is a brand new, 350,000 square foot facility located in downtown Atlanta. The Center provides laboratory, classroom, and office space for a number of departments, including biology, chemistry and neuroscience. Once fully operational, the Center will further establish GSU as one of the leading research universities in the country.
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