"Become a Guardian of Al Wasl": Developing Productions for the World's Largest Real-Time Interactive Projection Experience

Abstract

At the time of writing (2021--22), "Become a Guardian of Al Wasl" represented the world's largest interactive experience. Designing, producing and deploying an immersive interactive experience at the monumental scale of the Al Wasl Plaza 360° projection surface necessitated the research, prototyping and testing of proposed solutions, including systems architecture, to meet the scope and specifications of the project. Four problem spaces emerged during development; real-time rendering, projection-mapping, redundancy, and content synchronisation. In addition, budget constraints, Covid-19, and remote deployment motivated the exploration of other innovative solutions. As there is limited research on the design and development of interactive dome experiences, this paper will present the challenges encountered in developing productions for the world's largest dome display system and in building the underlying real-time display and support systems.