GPU-Powered Planetarium Renders 64MP Projection 108
MojoKid writes "The Adler Planetarium has finished a major two-year upgrade project that's replaced the facility's forty year-old Zeiss Mark VI projector with a 'Digital Starball' system designed by Global Immersion Ltd. The new digital system is powered by an array of NVIDIA Quadro GPUs. The specs behind the system are impressive. The 71-foot dome of the Grainger Sky Theater now contains a score of military-grade projectors with an 8kx8k resolution. The final 64 megapixel image is generated by an array of 42 NVIDIA Quadro GPUs and offers an unprecedented degree of real-time modeling horsepower. The planetarium's model of the universe was created in part from high-definition photos captured around the world and via the Hubble telescope."
Re:Military grade? (Score:4, Informative)
What's with everything being "military grade" nowadays, from motherboards to video projectors? Is it some kind of fashion, or did US army have a huge sale?
I have two items that touted military grade components. A radar detector and an amp.
The radar detector has handled the punishing heat of a car window in the desert
for nearly 9 years now.
The amp I bought 25 years ago. Still working to spec even though it has seen
thousands of heat cycles.
So, maybe nowadays military grade is crap. But at one time, you were assured
that whatever that item was, it could go to the Antarctica or Death Valley and
work to spec and not become too brittle to use or melt.
Electrical specs are also held to greater tolerances. That amp, while every other
amp's THD varied wildly, held a very respectable number across their lineup.
It's sad if military grade doesn't mean that any more.
-AI