Contact:
Eric Sloss
412-268-5765

For immediate release:
May 8, 2006

Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center Brings USS Requin to Life with Multimedia Installation

Images like these can be found on kiosks throughout the USS Requin.

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) has created a multimedia installation aboard the USS Requin designed to tell the story of the Cold War-era submarine moored on the Ohio River at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. The Carnegie Science Center will open the submarine exhibit and the installation, titled "Living History," for media at 10 a.m., May 10. It will open to the public May 12.

"Sailors are great storytellers, and it is so much more engaging to hear their stories than to just read them," said Patty Rogers, Carnegie Science Center's coordinator of historic exhibits. "'Living History' gives us a chance to share some of the great Requin stories in a way that makes submarine life real for our visitors."

The ETC team developed interactive touch-screen content for six of the Requin's compartments. The stories include audio and video recordings of Requin veterans describing life and experiences on the sub. Each kiosk explains an aspect of nautical science and then connects that information to real stories aboard the submarine.

To engage visitors' senses, each kiosk has dynamic sound effects with surround-sound speakers and speakers underfoot. Visitors can feel the floor shake at the launch of a torpedo or hear ice scrape the hull during Arctic exploration. They can also hear the crew talk and the officer give orders. Flat-screen television monitors with hypersonic speakers play educational videos in the stern room, the submarine's exit.

"We hope this project will have a broad influence on the way historic exhibits are shared with the public," said ETC team leader Vamsi Bandaru, a second-year graduate student in the program. "Rather than using static text panels, 'Living History' conveys the science behind the submarine and stories of the men who served on the ship in a fun and imaginative way."

The USS Requin, which holds the distinction of being the Navy's first radar picket submarine, was state-of-the-art and battle-ready when she set out just days before the end of World War II. During the Cold War, the Requin was deployed on classified scientific missions in the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Mediterranean Sea.

The Carnegie Science Center recreates life aboard the Requin in exacting detail to present how the submarine would have looked onboard during her time of service. More than 1.4 million visitors have toured the Requin since she docked in Pittsburgh in 1990. It is open daily for self-guided tours and exploration from March to November, and on weekends during winter months.

The Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon offers an interdisciplinary master's degree program with the College of Fine Arts and School of Computer Science. Although students come from both fine arts and technology backgrounds, they are not expected to master both fields. Instead, the program focuses on honing the students' existing skills and teaching them to work effectively with other professional groups. Carnegie Mellon is the only university to offer a Master in Entertainment Technology (MET) degree.

For more information on this or other ETC projects and awards, visit www.etc.cmu.edu. For more information about the College of Fine Arts, contact Eric Sloss at 412-268-5765 or ecs@andrew.cmu.edu.