If you've been to the North American International Auto Show, you've seen it. It's a HUGE rock wall with a big opening in the middle, where jets of water rain down in graphics and words, transfixing bystanders for minutes. Chrysler got an interview with George P. Johnson's John Tulloch, and he answered our burning question:
We use a computerized system that is a technology that was developed by a water professor, of all things, at the University of Wisconsin. He's done several applications with a water fixturing company in Wisconsin. We have known of him for many years and we've now worked with him for seven years in different waterfall applications all over the world. The system itself is several thousand water jets, similar to an inkjet printer. We come up with computer programs, put it into that system, then according to what that image is it's scanned and water droplets or jets and valves are turned on and off to make that figure.
For more info on work by GJP, check out Joel's post here.
[Source: Chrysler]