Panoram Technologies

Seamless Matrix Blending

INTRODUCTION
Although this fundamental capability has existed in Panoram's edge blending technology since the introduction of the Company's PanoMaker III series in 1996, the current iteration of the Seamless Matrix Blending system employs a new patent pending blending algorithm that solves the daunting "four corner region" where the image from up to four projectors converge. The solution is both elegant as well as easy to set up and maintain. This is critical if one is to meet the goal of arraying together larger and larger groups of projectors.

Panoram's side by side edge blending technology is world renown for its many qualities. In this example, three projectors are lined up with a piece of the image from each projector overlapping the other. Video Panoram® edge blending then compensates for the brightness artifacts in that overlap region.

Arraying projectors vertically is basically the same idea except that the image created is then very tall. This has been a rare request from customers but offers some intriguing possibilities that have yet to be fully explored.

Seamless Matrix Blending (SMB) involves arraying projectors both horizontally and vertically to form the composite image. As you can see from the illustration, there is a "Four Corner Region" that requires the overlap aberrations from all four projectors to be smoothed into an artifact free composite image.

In Panoram's first implementation of this capability in 1996, this process was so daunting that even though the Company supplied several systems to specialty simulation application customers, the setup and maintenance was difficult enough so that Panoram never commercialized it into a standard product line offerings.

WHY SMB IS NEEDED
The need to solve the challenges of a fully scalable projection technology has become ever more important as several technology trends converge.

Digital projectors: By digital projectors, we mean non-CRT projection systems that have a fixed native resolution. These resolutions have been increasing over the past few years and for single projectors, 1280 by 1024 pixel systems are now readily available. Nevertheless, a scalable solution is needed for extreme resolution requirements and where either the size and or the aspect ratio of the native systems is inadequate.

Some higher resolution digital projector solutions will be coming onto the market soon such as JVC's QXGA DILA projector (2048 X 1536 native resolution) recently presented as a prototype at INFOCOMM 2001 in Las Vegas. These projectors will remain exotic, expensive and large for some time to come. Meanwhile, there is a another trend in the projector industry towards simple, low cost, bright and very small projectors. These projectors are just starting to move toward a native 1280X1024 making them ideal building blocks for matrixed arrays.

Extreme Resolution Graphics: Computer graphic capabilities have exploded in the past five years. What was once the specialty domain of visual super computers is now commonplace for standard business desktop and even laptop machines. A thousand dollar graphics card can provide performance and resolutions undreamed of on anything but extreme $250,000+ graphics systems only a couple of years ago!

The graphics cards will be able to service higher and higher resolutions driven by an upcoming trend in extreme resolution flat panel displays. This was amply demonstrated by IBM at the 2001 SID convention in San Jose, CA where they demonstrated an amazing QXGA flat panel display. Although IBM needed to use a lab level graphics card to present their panel at the show, it will not be long before readily available graphics cards will carry output capabilities that include 2560 X 2048 resolutions and more.

Multi-Channel Graphics: Multi-monitor graphics cards or the ability to put multiple cards into a single computer chassis is finally available as a standard capability on every operating platform. This includes Windows 98/ME/NT/2000, Unix and Max OS. With the Operating System managing the multichannel graphics and not the software application, almost any software can now run on these computers in any window, placed anywhere and at any size across multiple graphic channels.

This is a perfect companion technology to the resolution revolution and again calls for a scalable arrayed projection systems that can match these capability.

Scalable Computing Architectures: Using the new high performance graphics cards, the extreme resolutions we referenced above are fairly easy to achieve with industrial priced computers. The challenge is already fully met when dealing with flat, 2D images such as graphic stills, maps, xrays, spreadsheets, etc… However, some of the most powerful visualization applications require real-time 3D imaging. This includes simulation, data interpretation and exploration, digital prototyping, etc… In these applications, the limiting factor is the computer's ability to calculate and interpret incredibly huge databases into real-time, 3D, photorealistic, interactive graphics.

Until recently, Giant, single purpose, incredibly expensive graphics super computers were the only method to implement these graphics requirements. There is a new architecture appearing on the market in the form of "modular graphics servers" that provide a fully scalable real-time graphics solution. These systems are about to come onto the market from companies like Hewlett Packard. In these architectures, groups of regular high-end computers or workstations with advanced graphics cards can be arrayed and integrated to operate as single monolithic visual super computers with massive compute, real time graphics and image resolution capabilities.

Using these ubiquitous building blocks, the new Modular Graphics Server architectures can be scaled to the user's needs. This same components can be applied from basic engineering all the way to solutions for the most challenging computing tasks on the planet…. Just keep adding more blocks.

Panoram's Seamless Matrix Blending represents a perfect companion technology to the current trends in projectors, graphics cards, operating system features and the scalable Modular Graphics Server architectures.

HOW FAR CAN YOU GO?

The basic four projector cluster is the building block of the SMB technology. This building block can be accommodated in a single PanoMaker® chassis. For larger systems, multiple chassis can be networked together allowing the expansion to an array consisting of any number of projectors.

The limitation is really practical rather than technical. Imagine a 3X3 array of nine projectors:

The nine projectors form a matrix with four corner regions located in several places. By working in cluster groups of four, the user simply addresses four groups of two by two arrays. It works like this:

All but the first cluster of four projectors are blanked and the first cluster is set up and adjusted.

The next cluster of four is then addressed. This includes two of the projectors from the previous cluster. This process is repeated until all nine projectors and all four corner zones are blended.

RESOLUTION CHART:
By varying the percentage of overlap in the common regions and by changing the number of vertical and horizontal projectors, plus using projectors of varying native resolutions, virtually ANY resolution that can be generated, can be accommodated.

To put this into perspective, a 7 by 7 projector array of 49 projectors would result in a 7,000 by 5,500 pixel image. Making such an image with today's computer and graphics technology would be a definite challenge. But, if it can be generated, SMB technology can display it.

49 projectors is a bit extreme, but with higher resolution projectors coming onto the market, this same resolution result will be achievable in a few years with only 9 projectors. This falls into the "manageable" category of projection arrays.

DEPLOYMENT
So who needs this? Although Panoram is only now exposing the market to the SMB displays, the Company is finding a surprising number of ready and eager customers for extreme resolution matrix displays.

These customers are all working with intensely image demanding tasks that include satellite image analysis, medical imaging, maps and situation awareness, pattern evaluation, command and control displays, electronic specialty cinema, and electronic art exhibitions. As Panoram has discovered over the past decade of offering innovative technologies, no matter how much we try to define the user applications, it is ultimately our customer's needs and imagination that define the most vital applications.

As we expose this technology over the next months, we look forward to a variety of suggestions for applications for this exciting new display technology from our customers, website visitors and friends.