Science and Luxury – Musion3D

The Royal Institution in London is considered to be one of the oldest scientific societies in the world. Over the last two centuries, the building and labs have been home to ground-breaking science engagement, including the world-famous Christmas Lectures ¹. But for two days at the end of October it housed a demonstration of Musion3D’s heightened reality display – often referred to as holopresence.

As I entered the grand library of the institution, I was met with a very large pirouetting ballerina apparently floating above the stage that filled the far end of the room. These images are big! The size of the Peppers Ghost screen that partially reflects the image into the viewer’s line of sight and is the limiting aperture of the setup for the Royal Institute is 6m x 4m, but can be as large as 60m x 8m, according to Ian O’Connell, Director at Musion 3D.

Musion 3D holds the Guinness World Record for the largest hologram screen at 50m x 8m and largest hologram image at 48m x 6m – produced for Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) for the launch of their new tram network.

‘At Musion, we use an LED screen with dot size typically in the range of 1.5mm-2mm. The RI screen here is 1.5mm and measures 5760mm x 2700mm This produces really crisp images with 3840 pixels width x 1800 pixels height – 4K UHD Resolution. The clarity of image underpins the sense of reality for the viewer. And it’s a screen, not a projector, so there are no optics to align. The virtual image is like the image you see of yourself when you look in a mirror,’ Ian explained.

The virtual images seen floating in space above the stage are not only big. They are bright! ‘The LED screen which provides the images has a brightness of 2500 nits so that even when only 60% of the light is reflected from the Peppers Ghost screen into the room, it is still bright enough to overcome a windowed room in normal daylight, even bright sunlight (but not direct sunlight).’

This compares with around 1000 nits (candelas/m2) emitted from a high spec modern LCD TV screen.

The large aperture size of the partially reflective screen also increases the horizontal viewing angle of the display so that the room full of visitors at the RI could comfortably feel the impact of the display wherever they were seated.

This aspect of the Musion platform allows for greater flexibility in creating special events and generating repeat visits by keeping the content fresh. Interaction with the images is made possible by using technologies such as live motion capture and touch screen panels, enabling a more entertaining and hands-on experience.

Perhaps the most famous of Musion’s entertainment credits listed on its site is the lifelike heightened reality image of the late rapper Tupac Shakur on stage at the 2012 Coachella Music Festival, performing alongside living artists Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre (see HN September 2023). It was named as one of YouTube’s most watched videos of 2012.

But Musion is looking to the future and, after the success of the RI show, Ian is excited by the prospect of opening a shared demonstration space in central London.

‘The Royal Institution was such a fantastic venue for us. It’s a science destination at the heart of the luxury retail area of London – from where we draw many of our best clients. So, if there are any retailers, gallery or studio spaces out there that are looking to share their floor space with a high-tech hologram display, give me a call.’ You can contact Ian at ian@musionevents. com.

Musion Digital Resurrection Peppers Ghost of 1970s/80s Iranian singer Hayedeh (Ma'soumeh Dadehbala), displayed in true 4K UHD using 1.5mm pixel pitch LED (© Musion 3D).

1 - www.rigb.org/whats-on/christmas-lectures-rehearsal-night-2023