- - The durability to operate continuously for the entire day of museum operation.
- - High reliability to minimize maintenance.
- - High brightness and high definition to express the magnificent beauty of nature and water.
- - The Geometric Adjustment function to project undistorted images onto curved wall surfaces.
- - A high-precision Edge Blending function to achieve seamless projection from multiple projectors.
Kurobe River holds a massive amount of water and is surrounded by precipitous mountains. It is well known that the large-scale electric power development in this secluded area was a major challenge for the Kansai Electric Power Company.
The Kurobe River Electric Memorial Museum, which displays this remarkable accomplishment and introduces the hydroelectric power activities of the Kansai Electric Power Company underwent renewal. The dynamic images from the Panasonic projectors leave a lasting and breathtaking impression on visitors.
The Kurobe Gorge was well known as a largely untrodden area.
The full-fledged hydroelectric power development that began in 1924 has resulted in ten electric generation plants along the Kurobe River that flows through the Kurobe Gorge, making it one of Japan's major power-producing rivers. The Kurobe River Electric Memorial Museum was established by the Kansai Electric Power Company in April 1987. The natural beauty of the Kurobe Gorge and the human drama that accomplished the construction of the Kurobe Dam, which is said to be the "Project of the Century," are presented here.
To cope with the aging of the museum's facilities and introduce the role and advantages of hydroelectric power generation, which is a form of renewable energy, to as many people as possible, the museum underwent a major renewal centering on a large-scale projection system.
This museum operates for 10.5 hours a day, 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM, seven days a week, from April to November.
This requires projectors that can operate continuously for long periods of time, and that are highly durable against dust.
Also, because the museum is located in a mountainous area, it is not easy to travel to in the event that a problem occurs,
so the amount of maintenance had to be minimized.
Furthermore, in order to impress visitors with the beautiful nature of Kurobe River and the power of the abundant
water attained by the large-scale dam, it was necessary to provide more than simply flat-screen images.
The ability to project intricate images onto curved walls, a pool filled with water and bubbles, and a 3-dimensional
diorama was required.
The first sight from the entrance is a Water Theme Theater with a white wall and round pool.
This theater was achieved by a projection system using advanced Panasonic projector technologies.
The white wall background is curved, and water flows over the wall surface. In order to project undistorted
images onto this curved wall covered by flowing water, the Geometric Adjustment of the PT-DZ8700 was used.
A part of the projected light reflects off of the flowing water to show the visitors that water is flowing,
creating a theme that is called "Coexisting with Water."
is used for projection.
A round water pool is positioned under the wall. The water in the pool is clear, which means that images projected
directly onto it could not be seen. To enable the images to be seen, fine micro-bubbles were generated to cover
the water surface. This enabled the dramatic effect of projecting images onto the layer of bubbles.
In order to project the images onto the round pool from the ceiling directly above, a projection system with
a combination of four ceiling mounted PT-DZ6700L projectors and mirror reflection was used. The mirror reflection
and ET-DLE080 short-throw zoom lenses make it possible to project a large, dynamic image even from a short distance.
The Edge Blending function adjusts the overlapping portion of the projected image to achieve seamless images
with no perceivable boundaries.
At the end of the image content presentation, there is a scene of the Pelton Wheel that is used at the Kurobe River
No. 4 Power Generation Plant. When the pool's bubbles disappear, a full-scale model of the Pelton Wheel used at
the plant appears from the bottom of the pool, leaving viewers with an impressive surprise.
Projection by mirror reflection
from the four PT-DZ6700L projectors.
A seamless image is projected onto the round pool
covered with micro-bubbles.
Micro-bubbles covering the pool.
A white diorama is installed on the far wall of the display room. An exciting new projection technique called
"projection mapping," which is used to project images onto objects, projects 3-dimensional images onto the diorama
to show the process of constructing the Kurobe Dam ‒ the "Project of the Century" ‒ and the magnificent
nature surrounding it.
Three PT-DZ6700L projectors are used, and their Edge Blending function seamlessly projects images onto the diorama.
Together with the image content, which traces the 3-dimensional shape of the diorama, this system entertains viewers
with the extremely interesting effect of projection mapping.
achieved by projection mapping.
The main reason that the design company and installation company for this project decided to use
Panasonic projectors was their ability to operate continuously for long periods of time, their strong resistance
to dust, and their durability.
The ability of these projectors to satisfy the durability performance demanded by professionals received their
highest evaluation. Also, since the museum is located in a mountainous area, the fact that maintenance is
required only twice a year was an important assessment point, considering the operating cost and
maintenance cost of the projection system.
Also, in addition to the bright, high-resolution images, the precision of the Geometric Adjustment function and
Edge Blending function, and the selectable ET-DLE080 short-throw zoom lens was highly evaluated.
Previously, the museum focused mainly on displaying a 1/60 scale model of the Kurobe Dam and a diorama
of the Kurobe Gorge to introduce the Kurobe River power generation process, but with its renewal,
the significance and system of hydroelectric power generation, which is a form of renewable energy,
have been added. Its Water Theme Theater and projection mapping of the Kurobe Dam, among other displays,
allow visitors to learn about the history of Kurobe River electric power development, the nature surrounding
the Kurobe Gorge, and the present status of hydroelectric development in a highly enjoyable manner.
As various types of power generation are under discussion today, it is important to have as many people
as possible learn about magnificence of hydroelectric power generation, with its ability to coexist with nature.
This projection system reflects the desire of the Kansai Electric Power Company to convey this message.
Panasonic System Solutions Marketing Co., Ltd. (Kanasi),
Murayama Inc., Kyoeisha Co., Ltd.
* The PT-DZ6700L is a lens-less model.
The PT-DZ6700, a model with a lens, is also available.
