Fulldome: an international network of high-end specialty theaters that keep pushing the technology envelope

Jeri Panek of Evans & Sutherland is presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from IMERSA, during the 2014 IMERSA Summit. From left: Michael Daut, Panek, Ryan Wyatt, Ed Lantz, Judith Rubin and Dan Neafus. Location: Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Photo: Ben Shedd.

By positioning the fulldome niche within the larger context of family leisure offerings, IMERSA strives to help dome theaters and content creators become more competitive. Over the past 15 years, hundreds of planetariums around the world have replaced or supplemented their opto-mechanical starball projectors with sophisticated multi-projector, 360 digital dome video (“fulldome”) systems - quietly growing an international network of high-end specialty theaters that keep pushing the technology envelope – some all the way to 8K stereo 3D at 60 frames per second.

With close to 200 delegates, the 2014 IMERSA Summit was at capacity. About half of the people who gathered at sessions and screenings in the Summit's four venues (Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Sie Film Center, Holiday Inn Denver East Stapleton, and Fiske Planetarium) represented exhibitors of one sort or another: planetariums, museums, science centers, educational institutions, and entertainment operators.  Delegates hailed from the Americas, Europe and Asia....

Click to read "Jeri in the sky with diamonds," about Jeri Panek of Evans & Sutherland, honored for lifetime achievement at the Summit.