Pushing the Limits of Imaging: David Brady’s Camera Lab Launches OASIS Display Wall
David Brady (center) stands with students James Skowronek (left) and Gordon Hageman (right), not pictured Adel Al-Ghazwi, in front of the new OASIS Display Wall with a prototype camera between them.
The future of the super camera is here—and it’s only getting sharper. At The Camera Lab, led by David Brady, J.W. and H.M. Goodman Endowed Chair in Optical Sciences and professor of optical sciences, researchers are developing super cameras that push beyond conventional imaging limits. This revolution is moving toward terapixel per second capture rates. In 2012, Brady led the team that developed the world’s first gigapixel camera as principal investigator on the DARPA AWARE program. Today, he's taking the work to the next level, building a display that can keep up.
Illuminated Las Vegas Skyline with the Las Vegas Sphere central to the image, in Las Vegas, NV.
To showcase the capabilities of these advanced cameras, the team built the Optics for Autonomous Services and Interactive Systems (OASIS) Display Wall, an ultra-high-resolution interactive media platform. Composed of 36 4K monitors, the wall reaches an astounding 298.44-megapixel resolution (24,000 by 12,000 pixels!)—even surpassing the core display of the Las Vegas Sphere. Unlike traditional large displays, the OASIS Wall Display is designed for deep zooming, allowing viewers to move closer to explore minute details, seamlessly integrating with the lab’s wide field-of-view, high-resolution cameras.
Also unique to the OASIS Display Wall is a custom-built, real-time neural processor that generates media specifically for the wall, enabling immersive, high-fidelity visualization. The system is powered by nine NVidia GPUs, ensuring smooth, high-speed processing of vast imaging data. As Brady explains, "A new form of ultra-high resolution media is emerging, with the prototypical example being the Las Vegas Sphere... Our screen is a minisphere for development and demonstration of sphere-like applications."
With the OASIS Wall Display now operational, the Camera Lab is forging new partnerships across industry and government to develop next-generation optical imaging and immersive media experiences. This groundbreaking work not only enhances the frontiers of imaging technology but also opens doors to applications in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and beyond.