Headquartered in Bavaria, Germany, UNWARE has launched the latest generation of its UNWARE Holodeck, a portable VR CAVE that delivers cinema-grade immersion without a single wearable device. Inspired by Star Trek's holodeck simulation room and designed for enterprise use, the system surrounds participants with a 6.5-foot-high, 220‑degree curved screen, multidimensional spatial audio, and latency-free, AI-powered body tracking.
[Splish Splash, Disney+'s Percy Jackson Billboard Takes Immersive to New Level]
Inside the UNWARE Holodeck are four short-throw laser projectors that create edge-to-edge imagery onto the wraparound screen, while hidden loudspeakers anchor sounds exactly where they belong. “To create the visuals, we’ve integrated Scalable Display Technologies,” said Frank Egle, co-founder and CEO of UNWARE. “If you want a huge, immersive picture, you generally need either a very large, expensive curved OLED or LCD screen—or, more realistically, projection. Scalable’s technology blends the output of these four projectors into a single seamless image."
Scalable’s camera-based, warp-and-blend software automates geometry, color and brightness correction across multiple projectors. “We use a fisheye camera mounted on a motorized arm that extends from the wall and centers on the screen," Egle explained. "With one button press, the camera captures calibration images and automatically adjusts all four projectors to create a perfectly blended picture. It’s a true one-button solution and no manual calibration required.”
The Holodeck enables natural, collaborative experiences that can last for hours, making it a practical solution for industries ranging from aerospace and defense to advanced manufacturing and real estate. The rigid yet modular frame of the UNWARE Holodeck packs flat and ships on a single pallet and can be reassembled in less than a day.
Unlike conventional VR CAVEs, which still rely on handheld wands or optical markers, UNWARE’s proprietary tracking software delivers full-body and gesture control through AI alone, liberating users from any physical encumbrances. "In VR glasses, head movement is tracked through built-in sensors. In comparison, in our UNWARE Holodeck, we’ve built a camera system powered by a neural network that recognizes human body landmarks, like head, shoulders and hands, without needing any trackers,” Egle added. "The result is a room you can step into and feel like you’ve been transported somewhere else.”
