World’s First and Largest 3D Screen (16’6”) Video Simulator Ride having 20 Seats Built on 35’ Truck Chassis with Expandable Auditorium On Wheels India’s First Simulator Ride ON WHEELS Built on Multi-purpose Expandable Auditorium Designed and Developed by Dr. K. GOPALAKRISHNAN, Professor Emeritus, CIT, Russian Federation (Rospatent) International Patent No. 152801.

NDRF-IEI IPR Cell: The First International Patent from Russian Federation (Rospatent) has been presented to Dr. K. Gopalakrishnan, Professor Emeritus, CIT&Chairman, R&D Committee and Dr. K. Ramachandra, Director, NDRF for the “World’s First Expandable Mobile Auditorium On Wheels with 7D Simulator Built on 35’ Chassis having Largest 3D Screen (16’) and 20 Seats”,

An official delegation including The Institution of Engineers (India) President has accompanied the Hon’ble President of India Shri Pranab

IEI Delegation with Indian Foreign Secretary, Mr. S. Jaishankar and MHRD Secretary (Higher Education), Mr. SatyanarayanMohanty L to R: Dr. K. Gopalakrishnan, Professor Emeritus, CIT and Chairman, R&D-IEI, Mr. S. S. Rathore, Past President, IEI, Mr. S. Jaishankar, Mr. SatyanarayanMohanty, Dr. L. V. Muralikrishna Reddy, President, IEI, Mr. A. Basa, Immediate Past President, IEI

Mukherjee during the state visit to Russia, from 07 - 11 May 2015 attended the 70th Victory Day Celebrations at Moscow to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Victory in Great Patriotic War (World War II)

IEI Delegation with Indian Foreign Secretary, Mr. S. Jaishankar and MHRD Secretary (Higher Education), Mr. SatyanarayanMohanty L to R: Dr. K. Gopalakrishnan, Professor Emeritus, CIT and Chairman, R&D-IEI, Mr. S. S. Rathore, Past President, IEI, Mr. S. Jaishankar, Mr. SatyanarayanMohanty, Dr. L. V. Muralikrishna Reddy, President, IEI, Mr. A. Basa, Immediate Past President, IEI

L to R Sitting: Shri. Manoj Sinha, Minister of State, Railways, Hon’ble President of India Shri. Pranab Mukherjee and Shri. P. S. Raghavan, Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation L to R Standing: Prof. Bimal K. Roy, Director, Indian Statistical Institute, Dr. K. Gopalakrishnan, Dean R&D)-NHCE and Chairman, R&D-IEI, Mr. A. Basa, Immediate Past President, IEI, Mr. S. S. Rathore, Past President, IEI, Prof. R. K. Shevgaonkar, Director, IIT Delhi, Dr. L. V. Muralikrishna Reddy, President, IEI, Mr. SatyanarayanMohanty, MHRD Secretary,

Prof. Dinesh Singh, Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi, Dr. Jayant B. Udgaonkar, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Prof. DevangKhakhar, Director, IIT Bombay and Prof. BhaskarRamamurthi, Director, IIT Madras (not seen)

Indo-Russian Academic Delegation led by Hon’ble President of India Shri Pranab Kumar Mukherjee during the state visit to Russia, from 07 - 11 May 2015 attended the 70th Victory Day Celebrations at Moscow to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Victory in Second World War. Indian Side: IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, University of Delhi, the Institution of Engineers (India), the Indian Statistical Institute. So, we have three IITs, we have Delhi University, Institution of Engineers, and the Indian Statistical Institute.

Russian Side: Tomsk State University, the Ural Federal University, the Tomsk Polytechnic University, the Skolkova Institute of Science and Technology, the Higher School of Economics of Moscow, the Lomonosov Moscow State University, and the Russian Union of Scientific and Engineering Associations.

Instead of just sitting in your theatre seat watching pictures, how about flying in a war plane? Bullets whiz past you as the fighter pilot flips the aircraft upside down and twirls around to escape his opponent. Water sprays on to your face as the jet travels past a cascade. Though it all feels real, it is a virtual creation, part of the exhilarating experience at the newly opened 7D theatre in the city.

“Please call it as 7D+ Video Ride Simulator,” clarifies K. Gopalakrishnan, advisor, 7D+ Fun Corner. “It is an innovative edufotainment venture for the entertainment-starved people of Temple City.”

Films with three-dimensional effects are already popular, but 7D is a giant leap in the technology. It brings together an immersive experience on-screen and sensational seat simulation coupled with special effects that are bound to transport the audience to a different world. The simulator combines sophisticated audio-visual equipment including extreme performance control systems and high-end simulation.

The simulator is at the Vishaal de Mal. It has a 24-seater auditorium, control room and power room. The complete 7D+ system consists of motion seats and special effects (SFX), projection or video equipment, audio equipment, motion controllers and drivers, and hardware and software to co-ordinate the synchronisations.

“The entire visual pleasure is built on Stereoscopic 3D Technology or S3D,” says Gopalakrishnan. “The technique of enriching the illusion of depth in an image or a video footage by presenting two offset images or video footages separately to the left and right eye of the viewer is called 'stereoscopy' (also called stereoscopic vision or 3D imaging or stereo 3D or S3D),” he explains.

When seated in the motion seat, the guest moves in synchronisation with the events on-screen. “These motion seats are indigenously developed in order to simulate real life sequences that appear on-screen and are powered by pneumatic actuators that makeup the motion base,” says Gopalakrishnan.

Each motion base moves in three different axes -- the seats move up and down, forward and backward, and sideways. They also come with flexible air tubes that tickle your ankles, water spray, a butt tickler thrusting upward from the bottom seat cushion, a back poker thrusting forward from the back seat cushion, a seat vibrator, and a powerful jet of air on the back of your neck.

“Cinema theatres screening 3D content can adopt this technology,” says Gopalakrishnan. “If not for the whole theatre at least a section can be provided with the facility. We have developed 45 animated contents exclusively for screening in our fun corner,” he adds.

With indigenously developed technology, the company aims to provide stereoscopic 3D visualization, animation, intelligent imaging solutions, image enhancement, stereo 3D, 4D, 5D, 6D movies and special effects, stereo 3D learning resources, stereo 3D studios, virtual reality simulators, designing and running games and demonstration of visual or immersive projection technologies.

Gopalakrishnan, who is an alumnus of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, says 7D+ Fun Corner also wishes to help interested researchers in engineering colleges and technical universities in setting up stereo 3D studios or intelligent imaging centres with equipment and training. “We are also interested to nurture and mentor new ventures at various cities including Tier II cities," he says.

The video ride simulator is not recommended for pregnant women and persons with neck or back pain and heart patients. However, all age group in general and kids in particular will enjoy this ride.

The Fun Corner is open from 11 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. during weekends. Each show is 15 minutes long and a ticket costs Rs.150 on weekends and Rs.130 on weekdays. “For bulk booking and for school students we offer discounts,” says P. Sugumaran, another advisor, 7D+ Fun Corner. At a time when cinema theatres are witnessing a sudden drop in the number of visitors, this technology may bring movie goers back.

Madurai for long has been tagged as an entertainment-starved town. But of late people are spending time in style. Games, multi-dimensional video screens and other entertainment arenas have come closer. Weekends are no longer meant to be spent at home. TV watching, temple visits, kadai veethi cruises and kulakarai gossip are gone, and families descend on malls to window shop, eat out, and have fun.

The latest hotspots are gaming lounges in Vishaal Mall, installed by local and global companies. From mamas and mamis to kutties, everyone goes gaga over these games.

For sports lovers the right place is the ten-pin bowling alley that opened four months ago. “Unlike olden days, people are ready to splurge for fun,” says Kalidas, manager at the bowling alley. “Most of the gamers are kids and teenagers apart, from a few oldies. The bowling alley has become a family recreation spot.” Brought to town by a Hyderabad-based entertainment firm, the alley is nearly 56 metres long and is built over 620 square feet. It has three lanes.

Mahesh, winner of the Chennai district-level bowling tournament, explains, “It’s a simple game. Ten frames are counted as one game and a frame includes two shots. If a player clears all the pins at the first shot, it is called a ‘strike’ and if it takes two shots to clear, it is known as ‘spare’.” He adds, “This is the only place in South Tamil Nadu to have a bowling alley and on average we get 70 gamers per day.”

Abbas, a regular bowler, says, “It is fun-cum-fitness. Bowling burns calories and promotes weight loss. It strengthens joints, ligaments and tendons.” According to Muthukrishnan, system administrator, bowling is a great way to gauge one’s state of mind as the game reflects the concentration levels of an individual. “As it is a group activity, it also helps you make many new friends.” Though there are rules for the game and the score board keeps showing your points, most of the people who come to the bowling alley are playing for fun. Swanky well-lit interiors and a chirpy young crowd make you feel upbeat and peppy. A game costs Rs.100 per head and the alley is open on all days.

If you are more interested in video gaming, then walk into an adjacent play area that has over 46 machines with various 3D games, including car races, shooting games, puzzles, and dancing and motion sensor games. Reveals Kalidas, “Apart from the kids, even homemaker mothers play these games.” Some of the games popular among children are Fast and furious, Time Crisis, Hippo Park and Candy Factor. Racing games are fancied by middle-aged women. Sarada, a homemaker, says, “I don’t drive on real roads. But virtual car driving gives me a similar feeling.” Valli says her children find the mall play areas the place to relax. “Tamukkam ground was the only place we used to go for entertainment as kids,” she says.

If these don’t excite you, head for Horror House, a walkthrough designed to terrify. Once you enter the house, a corpse hanging upside down gives a deafening scream and a real-looking rubber snake falls from above. Next is a raised platform that shakes as you step on it. You cross ghosts and finally come out sweating! Horror house has seven stages to scare you. “We have planned to add five more stages,” announces Gopalakrishnan, the MD. “The idea came from my visit to Hong Kong. We have used pneumatic operations to enable automatic actions.”

Props and installations are bought from China, while compressed air is used to activate the machines. Motion sensor is installed all over the walkthrough so that the sounds and lights automatically turn on. Manager A.P. Murugan says, “Such walkthroughs are used as techniques to dispel feelings of fear and exhaust the shock quotient. It has been only 15 days since we opened and the response is tremendous.” He adds, “In countries like Singapore, men disguise themselves as ghosts and operate. But here we have made it fully automatic.”

Says Dinesh, a student who experienced Horror House along with his friends,

“It was a stomach-churning encounter. The thrill was worth the time and money.” One round inside the house costs Rs. 40 per head and people mostly enter in groups.

If horror is not your take, sign up for a simulator bull ride or dashing cars. Air hockey, balloon shooting and basketball are some of the other games ready to entertain Maduraiites.

Discos, pubs and clubs still remain a distant dream, but for the time being young people in the city are enjoying themselves.

A. SHRIKUMAR
I don’t drive on real roads. But virtual car driving gives me a similar feeling.