The challenge

Scania being a global company specialized in transport solutions and services around the world decided to upgrade their virtual studio at their headquarters in Södertälje, Sweden.

In order to obtain a better image resolution Scania invested in upgrading the studio’s 6m*3m powerwall by advancing from 2K to 4K-projector while keeping the 2K-projector as back-up. Along with this upgrade Scania did also require an iPad application to remote control the complete set up.

Although this upgrade seemed rather straight forward there were three challenges to be met.

When the required space for projection is not available NANCO always uses a mirrored projection to overlap the “missing” distance. This technique was already in use in the original set up of the studio, where a mirror projected the image onto the screen. As the room was approx. 4m and the new 4K-projector needed 6m to project a 6m wide image on the powerwall, the mirroring technique was to be applied in this project as well. But as this solution consequently affects the positioning of the mirror and the projector, the positions become crucial and fixed once they are calculated for the exact projection. The challenge was thus to fit both the mirror and the projector into their assigned spot regardless of the limiting surroundings while the original 2K-projector was also to be placed in the room as back-up projector.

The second challenge was that the current visualization screen had aged unevenly due to the partial mirrored projection. In the original set up the mirror was too small to project an image covering the entire screen leaving out an “unprojected” area on the top side and on each side of the visualization screen. Years of usage and projection resulted therefore in an uneven wear creating a darker edge framing the projection above and on both sides of the visualized image.

Thirdly, while the A/V control systems in NANCO’s previous virtual reality projects had all been standard desktop applications with standardized interface and basic functionality, this project required a fully custom made application to meet Scania’s special demands.

The solution

As the upgrade to a 4K-projector required a full screen projection on Scania’s entire 6m*3m powerwall a larger mirror was needed. Pipes and wiring, however, limited the space for the mirror, which called for a custom made mirror: a 2.6m*1.4m large mirror was therefore manufactured and then successfully installed.

The space for the mirror is limited by pipes and wiring here in a ventilation shaft © NANCO

This new set up was to have both a 4K mirrored projection and a 2K direct projection as back-up, thus limiting the space in the room. It was therefore decided to place the back-up projector under the mirror. After switching to a short projecting lens for direct projection the stands for the back-up projector were modified to fit under the mirror. To fit the brand new projector into its assigned position special designed stands had to be constructed as well.

Secondly, as three of the screen’s borders were less worn off they rendered a darker area on top and on both the left-hand and the right-hand side of the projected image creating a visual defect. To compensate for this anomaly NANCO installed and programmed an image processor to render corrected colour shades through electronic image correction.

To meet the third challenge and Scania’s demands for a customized iPad application NANCO chose the JavaScript API-based CommandFusion iViewer as its tool to attain a complete automation to remote control hardware and software with fully customized interface, interaction and functionality and to graphically match the interface to Scania’s profile. The tricky part was to adapt and program the interface to every possible mode of interaction, which in the end became quite advanced, and to adapt its functionality to both the 4K-projector and the 2K back-up projector.

The outcome

Mirrored 4K projection and direct 2K back-up projection in case of emergencies © NANCO

The virtual studio at Scania’s headquarters is now fully equipped for high resolution 4K-projection on its 6m*3m powerwall using a completely customized iPad application. And in case of emergencies a 2K back-up projector is rigged, installed and programmed to immediately project a 2K-image with one simple touch on the iPad.