ZEISS Planetariums Show ‘ZEISS – Into the Infinite’ WorldMediaFestivals 2026 Berlin; Gold and Grand Awards plus audience award
International recognition for ZEISS Planetariums Show
International recognition for ZEISS Planetariums Show
Oberkochen, Germany | 11 August 2026 | ZEISS Planetariums
With “ZEISS – Into the Infinite,” an immersive brand experience has been created that connects science, technology, and emotion into an eight-minute journey through the cosmos and the hidden worlds of life. The fulldome and VR production, developed jointly by ZEISS and Munich-based creative agency visuarte, won several international awards in 2026 and fascinates both expert juries and the audience.
Poster for the fulldome experience “Into the Infinite” by visuarte in cooperation with ZEISS Poster for the fulldome experience “Into the Infinite” by visuarte in cooperation with ZEISS
Poster for the fulldome experience “Into the Infinite” by visuarte in cooperation with ZEISS
An underwater sequence from “ZEISS – Into the Infinite” under the dome. An underwater sequence from “ZEISS – Into the Infinite” under the dome.
An underwater sequence from “ZEISS – Into the Infinite” under the dome.
Artistic visualization of neural structures featured in the immersive ZEISS show. Artistic visualization of neural structures featured in the immersive ZEISS show.
Artistic visualization of neural structures featured in the immersive ZEISS show.
Scene from “ZEISS – Into the Infinite” featuring the Moon and Earth in a planetarium setting. Scene from “ZEISS – Into the Infinite” featuring the Moon and Earth in a planetarium setting.
Scene from “ZEISS – Into the Infinite” featuring the Moon and Earth in a planetarium setting.
At the WorldMediaFestivals 2026 in Berlin, “ZEISS – Into the Infinite” received the intermedia-globe Gold Award, the intermedia-globe Grand Award in the Corporate Communications category, and the audience award. The jury honored both the creative and technical execution and the production’s special ability to convey complex content in an emotional and understandable way. The WorldMediaAwards are among the internationally renowned prizes for TV and corporate media and have been awarded for over 20 years.
“ZEISS has shaped our view of the world for decades, from looking into distant galaxies to peering into the cells of a living organism. We didn’t want to explain this connection; we wanted to make it experientially tangible,” says Florian Rothenberger, Managing Director and Creative Director at visuarte. “Fulldome offers a unique language for this: the audience is not simply spectators, but is moved to the center of the action, which becomes entirely tangible and literally larger than life,” adds author and director Melanie Müller-Ittstein.
After world premiere at the Fulldome Festival Brno and international premiere at the Fulldome Festival Fukuoka, “ZEISS – Into the Infinite” has since been presented at several international festivals. In Germany, the production ran at, among others, the 20th Fulldome Festival at the ZEISS Planetarium Jena, aligned with a special anniversary. The world’s oldest planetarium celebrated its 100th anniversary simultaneously, and after a comprehensive modernization is now regarded as one of the technologically leading hybrid planetariums.
Dive in, don’t just watch
Planetariums are dedicated to knowledge dissemination and the exploration of space, stars, and galaxies—under the dome, with breathtaking imagery. With digital fulldome projections, 360-degree films and animations can be brought onto the dome. ZEISS and visuarte jointly developed a visual language that combines scientific content, historical milestones, and future technologies into an immersive experience. The production leverages the special capabilities of modern fulldome systems—from high-resolution 360-degree plus sphere visualizations to spatial sound and seamless transitions between scientific representations and computer-generated worlds.
For ZEISS, the inventor of planetarium technology and a leading provider of hybrid projection technologies for domes, a fulldome show is the perfect format to present itself. “Presenting the entire fascinating spectrum of ZEISS in an immersive or virtual experiential space opens up new perspectives: we dive into the smallest dimensions and extreme details of the nanoworlds and micro-organisms, into neural networks and the vastness of space. In the planetarium, we can fully exploit the technical possibilities of a fulldome show—deep black, resolutions up to 8K, and spatial sound,” says Ansgar Seelen, Head of Creation and Design Strategy at ZEISS. “Our brand promise ‘Seeing beyond’ becomes a gripping experience. We generate attention and demonstrate strikingly how ZEISS continually expands the frontiers of knowledge.”
With the show, ZEISS takes the audience on a spectacular journey: from the cosmos to Earth and into the invisible worlds of cells, the brain, and artificial intelligence. The close relationship between ZEISS and space exploration is reflected not only in the use of planetarium technology but also in the showcased technological milestones, such as the photography of the first moon landing with ZEISS lenses or today’s satellite technology. The focus is on technologies that shape research and science, medicine, industry, and everyday life.
“ZEISS – Into the Infinite” begins with a deep black dome, two children gazing at the starry sky, a shooting star streaking by, and the journey begins. The audience moves through galaxies, participates in photographing on the Moon, dives into Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, and approaches hidden worlds: biological cells, the human brain, and artificial intelligence. With 360° imagery and spatial sound, science and art, data and emotion, connect from macro- to microcosm.
ZEISS experience for home and on the go
The show is equally suitable for VR environments, where the immersive presentation can also be experienced. It will be shown in selected planetariums, at festivals, at events such as the Long Night of Science in Jena, and at the ZEISS Museum of Optics in Oberkochen.
For those who don’t want to wait, the multimedia app “Explore ZEISS” is available on smartphones. Here, selected milestones and personalities as well as modern ZEISS applications in microscopy, photography, or semiconductor technology are presented in stories, videos, texts, augmented reality scenes, and 3D models. If you want to look through the “Moon Camera” virtually, you can do so easily here. “Explore ZEISS” is available for free in the iOS and Android app stores.
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visuarte creative media agency, based in Munich, develops immersive experiences at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and space. The company conceives and implements international projects in fulldome, XR, brand storytelling and activation, exhibitions, and audiovisual communication. Clients include technology companies, research institutions, industrial companies, and public institutions. visuarte’s work has been awarded multiple times at international festivals and combines complex content with emotionally engaging, visually striking storytelling.
ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. In the previous fiscal year, the ZEISS Group generated annual revenue totaling almost 12 billion euros in its four segments Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology, and Consumer Markets (September 30, 2025).
For its customers, ZEISS develops, produces, and distributes highly innovative solutions for industrial metrology and quality assurance, microscopy solutions for the life sciences and materials research, and medical technology solutions for diagnostics and treatment in ophthalmology and microsurgery. The name ZEISS is also synonymous with the world’s leading lithography optics, which are used by the chip industry to manufacture semiconductor components. There is global demand for trendsetting ZEISS brand products such as eyeglass lenses, camera lenses, and binoculars.
With a portfolio aligned with future growth areas like digitalization, healthcare, and Smart Production and a strong brand, ZEISS is shaping the future of technology and constantly advancing the world of optics and related fields with its solutions. The company’s significant, sustainable investments in research and development lay the foundation for the success and continued expansion of ZEISS’ technology and market leadership. ZEISS invests 14 percent of its revenue in research and development – this high level of expenditure has a long tradition at ZEISS and is also an investment in the future.
With over 47,400 employees, ZEISS is active globally in around 50 countries with more than 60 sales and service locations, around 40 research and development facilities, and 30 production facilities worldwide (March 31, 2026). Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. The Carl Zeiss Foundation, one of the largest foundations in Germany committed to the promotion of science, is the sole owner of the holding company, Carl Zeiss AG.
About ZEISS Planetariums ZEISS has been a pioneer in planetarium technology since developing the world’s first star projector more than 100 years ago. Today, ZEISS offers a complete portfolio of optical-mechanical projectors, digital fulldome systems and visualization software, enabling planetariums worldwide to create inspiring experiences of astronomy, science and culture. ZEISS Planetariums is located in Jena, Germany, and part of the ZEISS strategic business unit Photonics & Optics.
Into the Infinite Fulldome-Poster Poster for the fulldome experience “Into the Infinite” by visuarte in cooperation with ZEISS 782 KB Download
Immersive underwater scene in the planetarium An underwater sequence from “ZEISS – Into the Infinite” under the dome. 4 MB Download
Immersive underwater scene in the planetarium
Neural network visualization Artistic visualization of neural structures featured in the immersive ZEISS show. 5 MB Download
Earth and Moon in the fulldome show Scene from “ZEISS – Into the Infinite” featuring the Moon and Earth in a planetarium setting. 4 MB Download
Earth and Moon in the fulldome show
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“Into the Infinite” is a fulldome and VR experience that presents ZEISS as a journey in eight minutes. The immersive show captivates both experts and audiences alike.
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