Pushing the Envelope

The crystal-clear depictions of high-definition photos, stereoscopic videos, 3-D visualizations and interactive games featured in Deep Space expanded the boundaries of technical feasibility. Now, in 2015, Deep Space has been taken to the next level.

Total Makeover

Following a major technical upgrade in the summer of 2015 and the installation of eight 4K projectors running at 120 Hz (as compared to the previous equipment’s 30), the imagery screened in what’s been renamed Deep Space 8K is in 8K resolution—each picture consists of 8,192 × 4,320 pixels. The data stream it takes to generate these images—an awesome 23 gigabytes per second—is processed by special high-performance computers in real time.

Lab and Stage

For one thing—and to the delight of audiences in the Ars Electronica Center’s premier attraction—this raises the quality of the visual and spatial experience to a never-before-achieved level. For another, this opens up a whole series of possibilities for developing and experimenting with new visualization concepts. Thus, the upgrade from the “old” Deep Space to Deep Space 8K is an enhancement to which the often-overused term quantum leap can justifiably be applied. Visiting the 2015 Ars Electronica Festival wouldn’t be complete without beholding Deep Space 8K.

With the friendly support of XI-Machines and Ton&Bild

Deep Space 8K Program

Deep Space 8K

Now, in 2015, Deep Space has been taken to the next level.

Deep Space 8K: Best of

The very best of the regular Deep Space 8K–Program.

Deep Space 8K: Making of

As much sophisticated knowhow on the part of Ars Electronica Futurelab engineers went into the conception of Deep Space 8K as high-performance technology went into that concept’s execution.

Deep Space 8K: The Soul of the Cube

The Soul of the Cube (SOTC) is a virtual being, an abstract creature that is visible in between applications, it is both a “host” and the inner self of its complex infrastructure.

Deep Space 8K: Inside Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design

New mobility concepts, trailblazing interfaces, the language of forms and the future of brand identity will be the subjects of talks by Vera Schmidt (DE) and Holger Hutzenlaub (DE).

Deep Space 8K: The International Teletext Art Festival – ITAF 2015

The works singled out for recognition this year that are being presented at the 2015 Ars Electronica Festival explore the aesthetic-artistic latitude the teletext provides.

Deep Space 8K: Cinematic Rendering – in Medical Diagnostics and Virtual Anatomy

On the basis of physical fundamentals, Siemens has developed an innovative rendering algorithm that provides superbly detailed, photorealistic images.

Deep Space 8K: Universum Mensch – Life is Motion: New Trends in Medical Imaging

In this presentation, Matthias Günther (DE) of the Fraunhofer Institute for Medical Image Computing (MEVIS) focuses on the function of the heart.

Deep Space 8K: The Universe Within – In the Virtual Anatomy Theater of the Future

An application developed by the Ars Electronica Futurelab transforms Deep Space 8K into a virtual anatomy theater in which viewers can observe the human body in 3-D.

Deep Space 8K: Cultural Heritage: The Scottish Ten, Rome´s Invisible City in 3D: A BBC Film, CyArk

Deep Space 8K now lets visitors behold virtual reconstructions of historical sites in 3-D and walk through them in the truest sense of the word.

Deep Space 8K: White Point

*White Point* is based on the premise that the observer is situated in the vanishing point. Visitors thus seem to move into the center of the light inside this single pixel

Deep Space 8K: TIME OUT

All three works are takes on “cooperative aesthetics” in which visitors to Deep Space 8K explore the changes their own movements bring about in the displayed projections and, in some instances, on the acoustic level too.

Deep Space 8K: GameSpace

GameSpace turns the Ars Electronica Center’s Deep Space 8K into an interactive multiplayer gaming arena.

Deep Space 8K: Timelapse

Combining highly detailed, fast-forward motion pictures with the extraordinarily high degree of resolution in Deep Space 8K opens our eyes to everyday events that we’ve never seen in this form before.

Deep Space 8K: Gigantic World Record 360º Gigapixel Photography

Jeffrey Martin specializes in creating photos of cities, usually shot from the top of a tower or skyscraper.

Deep Space 8K: IN2WHITE – MONT BLANC LARGEST PANORAMIC IMAGE and Wide Angles – Vast Land

In2White is a personal homage by photographer Filippo Blengini (IT) to the glacier-and-snow-covered realm of the white mountain: Mont Blanc.

Deep Space 8K: Post Refugee City

*Post Refugee City* records the realities of everyday life in a refugee camp—in this case, Al Zaatari in Jordan—and represents an effort to find new ways to deal with such modern-day mass migration.

Deep Space 8K: What Does Peace Look Like?

The Alfred Fried Photography Award is more than just a photo contest; it’s the world’s only competition that asks entrants to visually answer the question of what peace looks like.