VIOSO Key to High-Profile Mapping Project

	The Rheinturm in Düsseldorf, Germany

Standing at a height of a 234m, Düsseldorf's Rheinturm -- a telecommunications tower in the heart of the city -- is impossible for visitors to miss. Although its concrete shaft usually features a series of light spots that act as the world's largest digital clock, for ten days in March 2021 it housed striking projected content created by renowned artist Leon Löwentraut.

The content was being displayed as part of the #Art4GlobalGoals campaign, which supports the public notice of UNESCO's 17 Global Goals for a better future together with cooperation partners Geuer & Geuer Art GmbH, Marcus Schäfer, and Löwentraut himself.

He created 17 pieces of art, which reflect each goal in their own distinctive way, as well as taking 200 portraits of children, recalling the aim for achieving the Global Goals.

"These masterpieces were made for projection by virtue of their colourful tones and high contrasts," says VIOSO's Emanuel Züger. "We are very honored to support such a cause and thank all partners for the amazing cooperation."

Urban experience specialist, Pronorm BV was tasked with covering the landmark with six Digital Projection M-Vision 21K projectors, which were operated by a VIOSO Anystation Media Hexa server.

VIOSO calibrated the projectors and mapped the content by making good use of two of its brand-new products.

"For show control software, we used ioversal's VERTEX VIOSO -- whose AV Production Suite now includes our fully integrated VIOSO Core," says Züger. "As well as this, we used our new VIOSO Wideangle HQX Camera Calibration kit, which compensated for the fact that having to calibrate from such a short distance was quite tricky."

Pronorm was initially brought onto the Dusseldorf Rhine Tower project by VIOSO, due to Pronorm's vast experience with outdoor installations of this kind. Following this introduction, Pronorm provided all of the necessary hardware for the project, including the weatherproof housings required for the projectors.

Since the project was in VIOSO's hometown, the company naturally had a good deal of involvement.

"There was only a single server, which made the system easy to use," says Züger. "The main challenge for the team was projector calibration and mapping due to the sheer size and shape of projection surface."

A key aspect that allowed the team to cover such a massive surface with only six projectors was the exceptional brightness of the Digital Projection M-Vision 21K.

"The desired effect can be achieved very efficiently by combining portrait and landscape projection in a smart way," says Züger. "Luckily, the ambient light surrounding the tower was comparably low, so the light intensity was sufficient. Otherwise, we may have had to use bigger projectors, or stacked more of them."

Since this was a completely outdoor projection, no special measures against COVID-19 were needed, other than the usual social distancing, mask wearing, and hygiene standards.

"The viewing spots themselves were scattered throughout the city, so too many people gathering was not an issue," says Züger. "The reception so far has been extraordinary. Projection mapping still seems to be a bit unknown to a broad audience in Germany, so people were pleasantly surprised with what we were able to achieve."

A short video documenting the Rheinturm project can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpAFnXviNe4