Chapter 2 What is MP/SOS?

Magic Planet is a presentation system that uses a projector from below to display images or video on a spherical screen.

Magic Planet at UMBC

Magic Planet at UMBC

Science on a Sphere is a similar system created by NOAA that uses multiple projectors to display video and images on a larger spherical screen than Magic Planet.

Both are commonly used to visualize earth systems and processes on a globe.

2.1 Processing Software:

You will need a software called “Processing” to implement the code that turns equirectangular visuals into azimuthal.

  • Download the free software “Processing” from https://processing.org/.
  • Once Processing is downloaded, make a folder called “Magic_Planet”
  • Save the Magic Planet code (Magic_Planet.pde) from the Colab 2019 folder archived in the library in this folder
  • Save magicPlanetShader.glsl (from Don) in the Magic_Planet folder
  • Create a “media” folder to put your media in
  • Open Magic Planet code (it should automatically open in Processing by double clicking it)
  • Press the green play button

2.2 How to Operate:

The Magic Planet is located in the π² Lab in ITE on the second floor.

  • Plug in HDMI cord
  • Press the power button on the Magic Planet (below the sphere, labelled “On”)

Once you are displaying your media on the Magic Planet, you can either use your laptop keys or the remote.

  • Tab button can switch between azimuthal spherical view and equirectangular view (laptop only)
  • Forward key = skip to next “slide”
  • Back key = pause/play
  • Top key on remote (or enter button on keyboard) = start/stop