For the real-time mask control that allows guests to fade the external view down at the same time as the internal view fades up, 7thSense added a Dynamic Transparency feature to Delta. This enables the guests to use a simple slider control to adjust the level of the internal view, relative to the external one.

Another key element of the Giant Heart – and perhaps its single most compelling feature – is its ability to synchronise its beat with that of the guest, so that the audio and video of the pre-programmed movies are matched to the visitor’s heart rate, as read into the system via two handgrips on the touch console.  This amazing interface between a guest and the Giant Heart was made possible by BBI and Chicago-based leading fitness manufacturer and pulse capture interface company, LifeFitness.

For 7thSense, this posed yet another technological challenge, as Macpherson explains: “Delta was designed as a fixed-rate movie server, but for this project we added the ability to send in a simple external control command which alters the playback rate to the incoming demand immediately.  Not only does this keep the audio in sync with the video, it corrects its pitch in real time so that the sound itself is not altered as the tempo changes.”

BBI proprietor Mark Roos concludes: “7thSense technology is extremely capable to begin with, but for this project the company really went the extra mile – adding unique features to Delta, assisting with the on-site integration and alignment, and generally making themselves available whenever we needed them.  To pull off a project such as the Giant Heart, with its multiple channels of seamless projection and synchronized Dolby 5.1 surround audio, is never an easy task.  Having partners such as 7thSense just helps everything run that little bit smoother.”

For more information about YOU! The Experience and the Giant Heart, please visit www.msichicago.org/you. YOU! The Experience is made possible through the generosity of Abbott; the Abbott Fund, the philanthropic foundation of Abbott; and the Pritzker Foundation. Additional major funding provided by J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family, Mazza Foundation, and Robert S. and Susan E. Morrison.

About 7thSense

7thsense is an award-winning creative design house with expertise in high-end media serving and projection onto any surface, whether flat, curved, full dome or even non-standard shapes.  The company markets their own Delta Media Server product family which provides real-time uncompressed video serving, show creation and display matching for a variety of markets including 3D theatres, Visitor attractions, Live Events and Planetaria. 7thSense founders have created several patented real-time products in the audio-visual field which are often used in some of the world’s most interesting and challenging of video and audio environments.

www.7thsense.co.uk