vital for high framerate interactive content and games to be experienced with zero lag . This requirement necessitated sourcing bespoke “ golden cables ” to achieve sub-frame latency . Low lag monitors are common , displays and projectors that are viewable by the whole team and are low latency are rare . This configuration allows the entire team and faculty to play or observe a game as designed , with no degradation from using a projector . All of the monitors and projectors are part of SMU ’ s new Video Over IP project which allows tablets , phones and laptops to cast their screen ( with appropriate security restriction ) to any or all of the displays in building .
Online and remote learning was part of the fundamental design for Ford Hall . All of the classrooms in Ford are equipped with a camera that will track who is speaking . For example , during a lecture , when a student asks a question , the camera AI will automatically pan the camera from faculty to student , allowing online participants to follow the action . The AI is aware of the primary speaker and will follow the faculty , even if there are multiple voices at once . Multiple microphones can triangulate sound and distinguishing speakers , so that both students and faculty voices are clear to remote viewers .
The design of our classrooms proved their efficacy with 2020 ' s unexpected COVID-19 challenges . Thanks to our prior thoughtful future-proofing attention to architecting and implementing advanced in-class AV and IT systems , embedding technologically advanced features for digital collaboration throughout our facilities , SMU Guildhall was able to quickly make needed shifts to successfully move to online learning structures during the pandemic when others were struggling to figure it out .
One such advancement in AV is Ford Hall ' s Visualization Lab , a multi-purpose , flexible , digital cave . The encompassing large-format touch display allows multiple users to interact with the visual environment . Its screen can display massive amounts of data due to its large size and high resolution , and it allows multiple people to simultaneously work ( with touch controls ) on individual projects on the wall . If they choose to collaborate , they can easily slide data back forth between users . Gaming is in SMU Guildhall ' s DNA and the faculty and students are already exploring the design potential of creating custom game content for this this space . Additionally , the backwall to the VizLab can be opened to convert the space into a theatre for presentations and events .
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