AlloSphere

The AlloSphere is an amazing 3-story-tall spherical instrument/theater. The $10-million immersive multimedia computational interface is a joint effort of the graduate program in Media Arts and Technology [MAT] at the University of California Santa Barbara [UCSB] and the California NanoSystems Institute [CNSI].

The AlloSphere is designed to allow scientists and researchers to understand huge amounts of data by transforming it into 3D audio and video projections which can be explored from within. Up to 30 people stand on a 7-foot-wide bridge and navigate through the virtual environment with a joystick while wearing special 3D glasses.

The structure is one of the largest anechoic chambers in the world. There are currently 16 four-inch speakers and two subwoofers connected to firewire interfaces, and plans are in place for a total installation of 512 speakers for truly immersive surround sound. Inter-host streaming of large numbers of channels of high-resolution (24-bit/96 kHz) audio will likely use both the CSL/RFS and SDIF networked audio protocols. The system will support all popular synthesis and processing techniques and will easily work with MIDI and OSC along with third-party platforms, such as Csound, Max/MSP and SuperCollider.

Composer JoAnn Kuchera-Morin, Professor of Music, founder of the Center for Research in Electronic Art Technology [CREATE] and Director of the AlloSphere Research Facility, has high hopes for the future of the AlloSphere. It will be used to further studies in nanotechnology and bio-imaging along with many other projects in science, engineering and the arts. Think of the artistic possibilities...

I look forward to experiencing the AlloSphere. I can only dream of performing in it someday.

Links:

Audio in the UCSB CNSI AlloSphere [pdf]

Immersive Audio and Music in the AlloSphere [pdf]

http://www.allosphere.ucsb.edu/

http://www.independent.com/news/2008/nov/06/enter-allosphere/

Photo by Paul Wellman