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Limitless AI immersive show tests limits of media servers

Seven Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2s are feeding vast quantities of visual data to 63 HD projectors at an immersive experience which draws inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci and Stephen Hawking.

Limitless AI immersive show tests limits of media servers

An army of Hippotizer media servers are feeding vast amounts of visual data to 63 HD projectors inside ArtsDistrict Brooklyn’s Limitless AI immersive experience, filling the 1,000 sq m gallery space with a 360° video.

Created by Istanbul-based Ouchhh Studio, Limitless AI transports audiences into a world of culture, science and nature. AI reimagines terabytes of data, taking in billions of brushstrokes by Leonardo da Vinci, physics teachings by Stephen Hawking and brainwave responses by musicians as they perform.

The 60-minute experience is presented as five separate chapters, and features a finale with live music and an opportunity to influence the video via interaction.

At the core of the real-time video data manipulation are seven Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers, controlled by a grandMA3 console.

Sofia Claudino, video lead for Limitless AI, said: “We have presets in Hippo for each show chapter and the TD computers are generating live data that is being fed over NDI to the Hippo servers. Everything is driven by the Boreal MK2+ servers, which communicate to the grandMA3 via a multi-controller and DMX component. Triggering then happens via the console, with the help of a precise universal clock system that syncs the video and audio systems. It is a complex system and we are impressed with the ability to run a timecode-based show that requires out-of-sight calling solutions, as a continuous timeline doesn’t fit our needs.”

The cavernous size of the space required media servers that could feed projections on to multiple surfaces, including a revolving stage with concave and convex surfaces, and 14 walls with a height of more than four metres.

“We are looking to add more projectors,” said Claudino. “There are so many that it was necessary to use the Boreal MK2+ servers to entirely cover our main gallery. We are using 21 units of DataPath that help to control and adjust the output of the images, hence  the necessary ability to support 4K, an internal drive with 4TB that enables our main show at almost its capacity, and a 10Gb Ethernet for super-fast media transfer since. We are also using an NDI feed from Touch Designer machines to our Hippotizer servers.”

The 4TB of graphical data is being processed, manipulated and fed to the projectors by the Hippotizer servers, with the Strata Drive accommodating all of the media. “The fast processing speed is important,” added Claudino. “There is no glitching or stuttering for a second.”

Arts District Brooklyn’s chief of business development, Jacob Feldman, said: “We chose the Boreal+ MK2 servers because the show was envisioned to be live from the start, changing each night depending on the music and performers. The final chapter feeds live data from EEG monitors on the musicians into TouchDesigner and then through NDI to the Hippos. The music that is performed can – and does – change with every show which, in turn, requires extra triggering/calling abilities from a back-stage perspective.”

After a soft launch this summer, Limitless AI is set to open to the public in December.


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Posted: 5th December 2022


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