New Multimedia Experience at Vienna International Airport Brings Visitors into the Cockpit

Six Christie GS Series laser projectors are bringing visitors into the cockpit of today's modern jetliners at Vienna International Airport -- and you don't need a boarding pass. Fully automated tours have participants guided through several themed multimedia areas that simulate 24-hour operations, wrapping it up with the cockpit tour.

Visitors can follow a suitcase's journey from check-in to loading into the cargo hold in fast motion or experience the world of air traffic controllers in the tower and the pilots in the cockpit up close. For the large-scale projection in the cockpit area, the operators relied on six Christie DHD850-GS laser projectors with UST 0.36 ultra-short throw lenses. Christie's valued Viennese partner, Panatronic GmbH, supplied and installed the equipment.

The projectors are in a semicircle on the floor less than three feet from the back wall, providing one single overall picture with the panoramic view of a cockpit. The control and content feed to the projectors is via a central server with a content management system installed and six PCs. A curved screen serves as the projection surface. Despite the minimum projection distance and the short viewing distance of the visitors on the other side of the screen of the cockpit simulation, the wide-angle lenses with ultra-short distance capabilities provides a uniform image.

"Due to the size of the projection screen, the low construction depth and the curvature of the screen, we had to work with ultra-short throw lenses. The projectors are located directly behind the screen and the projection beam is directed upwards," says Roman Binder, managing director, Panatronic.

Peter Bast, technical director, Christie, who supported Panatronic in configuring the projectors, adds, "The curvature of the screen is really extreme on this installation; perfect warping of the images was essential."

The Christie DHD850-GS comes with built in warping and blending capabilities that support the configuration of complex, large projections with difficult spatial conditions. The integrated BoldColor Technology ensures precise color reproduction without loss of brightness.

Guest groups are guided through the four multimedia rooms several times a day. "This is no problem for the projectors, they are designed for continuous operation," says Binder, who noted the flexible installation options with portrait orientation and quiet operation were also pivotal in choosing Christie.

The result is impressive: Shortly after the opening of the new visitor center, a large fan base developed, and in 2018, over 160,000 people came to see the visitor center.

The advantages of the laser projection with its vivid colors and integrated configuration possibilities in combination with the new ultra-short throw lens ensures that the "wow effect for all age groups" that artist Thomas Brezing, the creative mind behind the concept of the new world of experience, wanted is implemented as realistically as possible.