Christie GS Series laser projectors have been installed at Atomic Golf, a new attraction on the Las Vegas strip. Opened at the end of March, the four-story venue is spread across 99,000 square feet with over 100 golf bays and eight virtual putting areas. The virtual putting areas were created and designed by Beaudry Interactive, with 32 Christie GS Series laser projectors, selected by Coherent Design to illuminate the areas.
The virtual putting areas are located outdoors, with an environmental enclosure over the top, where the projectors are housed. Each green is 10ft wide by 20ft long, with 200 ftL of luminance achieved by four Christie DWU1100-GS projectors. The image is bright enough to use the areas day and night and the content also punches through the bright ceiling lights, with playable time reaching up to 20 hours daily.
Featuring laser illumination and WUXGA resolution, the Christie DWU1100-GS 1DLP projector delivers 11,850 ISO lumens (10,000 ANSI lumens), quiet operation of less than 37dBA, 20,000 hours of illumination lifetime, a full suite of lenses, and 24/7 durability.
Coherent Design worked with Christie to determine the number of projectors needed, the brightness, and the portal glass for the enclosures. Las Vegas’ Simply Connected installed the projectors.
Infrared cameras track the balls on the greens. The cameras run at 170 frames per second to minimise latency, and the projectors feature a low-latency mode, minimising the delay between tracking and projection mapping to enhance performance and ensure seamless execution.
David Beaudy, principal, Beaudry Interactive, said: “Atomic Golf was looking for an option to entertain guests who may not want to use the driving bays. The other half of our R&D effort was all the maths that brings it together, to ensure that a golf ball moving along the putting green is seamlessly transitioned from one camera to the next.”
Additionally, the system is designed to distinguish between players’ balls, allowing for competitive head-to-head play on the same putting green. There are currently three inaugural putting games to choose from, designed for all skill levels.
Guests hit targets to score points, instead of aiming for a cup, while cameras track each player’s ball on the green in real time.
“The project started off with an R&D effort. We were curious to see if we could track any golf ball – with or without a marker and regardless of colour – and then do a gameplay overlay,” explained David Beaudry. “That was about half our efforts for the first year: building the math and the technology in the camera arrays to be able to track golf balls over a course of any size.”
The R&D resulted in the ability to track balls within a few millimetres of their location on a putting green.
Paul Dumpel, sales manager, Christie, concluded: “With so many entertainment options in Las Vegas, it can be hard to stand out. But Atomic Golf has done just that. It’s a sports entertainment venue that’s not just for seasoned golfers but for anyone who wants to come out and have fun. What Coherent Design and Beaudry Interactive have created is truly unique and we’re thrilled that Christie projection was selected.”
