SOS Features

Ancillary Monitors

The Science On a Sphere system can display ancillary information that is synchronized with the data being displayed on the sphere. The ancillary information is piped out one of the VGA outputs from the control system and can be split and directed to other monitors in the enclosure or somewhere near the sphere. In the past, we have used this technique to drive PowerPoint-like presentations onto two plasma display monitors to provide a more detailed description of the data on the sphere. The slide file format is a simple JPEG and can be dumped out from numerous presentation packages.

Synchronized Sound

The Science On a Sphere system can play sound files, synchronized and associated with each discrete data set. As the system switches from one data set to another, the appropriate sound file is piped out the sound card on the network control computer. This feature provides the foundation for running Science On a Sphere in an un-attended mode of operation, where the sphere is displaying data in sequence, with audio accompaniment. For our traveling exhibit, we pipe sound into a simple mixer and send the sound to speakers positioned around the perimeter of the enclosure. A wireless microphone system can be tied in for other, narrator lead demonstrations.