Museum of Military Medicine has Deep Space 8K plans By Owain Clarke BBC Wales health correspondent 18 November 2019 A £30m military medicine museum planned for Cardiff Bay hopes to become the first in the UK to offer a super-high definition 8K immersive video space.
The technology, called Deep Space, will offer 2D and 3D visuals, exploring science, medicine, art and history.
The project would see the Museum of Military Medicine (MMM) move from Keogh Barracks to Cardiff Bay in 2022.
Alongside exhibitions and "immersive" visitor experiences, the visual room could also be used to train doctors.
The new four-storey building would be built in Harbour Way, near the Norwegian Church. It is on the site of an old visitor centre, known as "the Tube".
An artist's impression of the museum, which it is hoped would attract 250,000 visitors a year
Image copyright SCOTT BROWNRIGG What would the museum look like?
The current Museum of Military Medicine (MMM) has nearly 20,000 objects and archive from different corps
It tells the story of how war - despite its horrors - has led to medical advancements in the likes of X-rays, trauma and burns care
It will also showcase medical innovations - with its facilities used as a teaching environment for students and young doctors.
There are estimates of 250,000 visitors a year with the aim of marketing it as a major attraction with Visit Wales
It would be only the second time the Deep Space technology has ever been used - it was pioneered by the Museum of the Future in the city of Linz, Austria.
What happens next?
Museum of Military Medicine's proposal to move to Cardiff and to transform the museum was first announced in 2016 and is now in the planning process, with a date for a decision expected in early 2020.
It would involve relocating an old lock-keeper's cottage to a spot nearby.
If given the go-ahead, it is hoped building work would start early in 2021 with opening by the end of 2022.
The museum said it was "actively fundraising, with a mix of grants and investment" but not intending to need public money.
The museum would be on land near the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay
One of the key aims of the Cardiff museum is to inspire children to become interested in medicine and healthcare.
Jason Semmens, director of the MMM, said: "We've had an amazing amount of support in bringing it to Cardiff.
"Our existing set-up is quite limited and means we can't expand. So it gives us a chance to re-think what the museum is about.
"Perhaps what people don't realise is how many of the advances in military medicine actually went on to benefit the wider population.
"It's a story of innovation and one of the reason we went to Linz was because they've developed this very innovative, revolutionary way of presenting their story with Deep Space and that fits in with our objectives very well."