BARCO introduces transportable CADWall™ for high-end Virtual & Augmented Reality applications

Kuurne, Belgium – December 11, 2001 – Virtual and Augmented Reality (V&AR), also known as Visual Simulation (VizSim), is a large and rapidly expanding market. Virtual Reality systems are used for a wide range of application areas, such as medical training and research, virtual prototyping, entertainment, manufacturing (robotics), Oil&Gas and architecture. Especially in aerospace and automotive applications, virtual prototyping allows designers and engineers to work on a model before it is actually made. This mock-up is cost- and effort-saving, but also shortens the time-to-market considerably.

With large capabilities for electronic development and manufacturing, Barco has developed a new range of transportable, yet very performant tailor-made V&AR solutions. Barco’s transportable CADWall™ is a self-supportive freestanding projection wall with two channels and a flat screen of 2m by 4.5m, big enough to project a full-scale car. Four state-of-the-art BarcoReality SIM 6 LCD projectors are incorporated, providing bright images for passive stereo display for collaborative teamwork. Exceptional image quality is the result of a large number of proprietary built-in Application Specific Optimizations, such as Optical Soft Edge Matching (OSEM), Color Gamut Matching, Black & White Uniformity and 3D Optimization.

For collaborative work with large teams in bright environments, Barco’s transportable CADWall™ can be equipped with the latest Barco Galaxy DLP™ projector. The Galaxy features high-resolution digital micro-mirror technology and an extremely powerful optical system driven by a 1200 watt Xenon lamp to deliver high quality images with an amazing 5,000 ANSI lumen light output.

Barco’s transportable CADWall™ comes in three flight cases, which go through a standard door opening. Dimensions are such that the projection wall can easily be setup in any normal sized room. Set-up of the structure and projector fine-tuning only takes 6 hours for two persons.

Although first deliveries of Barco’s transportable CADWall™ were mainly in the Oil&Gas market, this solution is sure to offer many great opportunities to the automotive business.

Next to the transportable CADWall™, Barco is completing and upgrading its range of proprietary dedicated virtual reality solutions. Shortly to be introduced is Barco’s MoVE™, a multi-purpose virtual environment which can be reconfigured in any position ranging from a flat-screen (typical for collaboration and project review for a large team) over an immersive theater configuration to a sandwich configuration. It is one of the most sophisticated virtual reality solutions on the market.

Barco Simulation Products Background

Boosting own ASIC design, thick film, bonding, prints, coil winding and fibre optics capabilities, Barco is worldwide renowned for unique projection platforms with a large number of Application Specific Optimizations. In-house mechanical engineering facilities include an advanced model shop and fully fletched mechanics and plastics departments, developing and manufacturing total solutions for dedicated, high-demanding niche markets in electronic visualization.

Barco Simulation Products develops high-performance visual display products and solutions for flight simulators, ship bridge simulators, mission rehearsal simulators and entertainment applications. Active on a worldwide scale – with main offices in Xenia (Ohio, US) and Kuurne (Belgium) and with sales & support offices in Europe, North & South America, Asia and the Middle East – Barco Simulation Products has gained an international reputation for its customer-driven application engineering and projection system optimization know-how. Drawing upon its expertise in projection technologies, color calibration, opto-electronics and mechanics, combined with Barco Simulation’s leadership in virtual and augmented reality display technology, Barco Simulation Products and its partners provide the solution to meet any V&AR requirement.

 

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