The Allosphere are UC Santa Barbara is a immersive environment for real time simulations and visualizations.  The inside of the 3-story dome is a cylinder with two Barco 3D projectors (active shutter) stitched together on either side of a central bridge, and a 500+ speaker sound environment, all driven by computers in real time.  A number of movie directors, game developers, and other creatives have toured the facility and are thinking of using it in their work.  Tours can be arranged through the office of Dr. JoAnn Kuchera-Morin, Director, Professor of Media Arts and Technology, and Music.  Contact info is here.  I highly recommend the experience.

Here is Dr. Kuchera-Mori’s 2009 TED talk with video from inside the Allosphere.

You’ll find more info at the Allosphere website here: http://www.allosphere.ucsb.edu/

by Phil Lelyveld