Technologies of the Future (未來科技狂想曲) could be one of the most memorable exhibitions you’ll see in Taipei this year, if only because of the mind-boggling absurdity of its assumptions and the high-tech interactive gizmos on display.
Those who think the folks at the National Science Council (NSC) aren’t soothsayers with a sense of humor, think again. Here under one roof we have “bio-ink” that will allow us to “print off” and grow human organs, a dancing teddy bear that curbs low self-esteem, and a toilet that rates your health based on the shape of your stool.
Organized by the NSC and a who’s who of Taiwan’s research institutes — Academia Sinica, National Taiwan University and the National Space Organization, to name a few — the exhibition supposedly presents innovations that scientists and engineers predict will benefit humankind over the next three decades.
Photo: Noah Buchan, Taipei Times
In reality, the gimmicky displays, which seem directed toward children, don’t seem to reveal much about the direction of technology, but they do make for a fun trip to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (國立中正紀念堂), where the show runs through Friday.
The exhibition’s sections — Future Life, Future Education, Future Exploration, Future Medical Care and Future Mission — are arranged in 23 “zones,” or futuristic rooms that look like a mix between the interior of a space station and a psychedelic dance club.
The hallucinatory atmosphere is set at the beginning with Space-Time Corridor (時空迴廊). Using inverse perspective technology within the confines of a long hallway, the organizers project a floating and futuristic city of dazzling light. So overwhelming is the sensation of movement that my equilibrium was completely upset before I was even halfway down the hallway.
Photo: Noah Buchan, Taipei Times
Many of the technologies are conveniences meant to ease the drab routines of daily life. Does dressing yourself in the morning exhaust you? No problem. The Spiderman (蜘蛛人) does it for you by spraying on “a set of customized clothes.” Tired of cleaning the house? The Magic Housekeeper (魔法管家) gets the chores done by responding to messages sent from your body.
And in one exhibit, smokers and drinkers no longer have to worry about their lungs or livers, as scientists will soon be able to engineer “bio ink” from stem cells that will grow the needed organs. A placard promises that the Organ Farm (器官製造工廠) will “help you grow customized organs.” I’ll take a Louis Vuitton stomach, please.
Though the future looks bright, it isn’t hard to imagine some technologies being used against us. The Brain Maze (大腦迷官), for example, employs a technology that analyzes your eyes so as to “reveal your thoughts.”
Photo: Noah Buchan, Taipei Times
Augmented technology will also be used to prodding effect. The Future Education section presents zones where visitors can manipulate images of rocks and butterflies “as vivid as life,” according to the information sheet.
“Sometimes a teacher can’t control the entire class,” said one of several workers mingling throughout the space and helping with the various gadgets. “This will help them to do so.”
The problems with learning, these zones suggest, are books and teachers. Remove them from the equation, or at least “augment” them with something more exciting, and whammo! You’ve got a class of controlled and academically concentrated kids.
Photo: Noah Buchan, Taipei Times
But does it work? My observation went as follows: An adolescent sat down at the console, expanded and contracted an image of a rock and read the captions. Moments later he shrugged, got up and wandered a few meters over to the Singing and Dancing Bear (唱跳熊), which probably caught his attention because the fuzzy toy with mirrored sunglasses was convulsing like it was trying to kick a heroine addiction.
It turns out this zone uses sensory technology to help develop “creative abilities and overcome shyness and stage fright” by having the teddy bear imitate the movements of the human subject, who stands on a platform adjacent to it. Unfortunately, the kid I was watching wasn’t at all interesting in getting onto the stage.
I’m no Luddite. This exhibition is a blast, even though some of the inventions are defeated by faulty logic and, to put it bluntly, fail to make good use of cutting-edge technology. Livening up Paintings on the Tabletop (指觸顯微互動桌) proclaims that “with interactive technology … you may finally be able to get your hands on the famous paintings of the National Palace Museum!”
Move your finger over the top of an image of a rare painting (placed vertically on a table, not horizontally on a wall), and the image expands and contracts. Aside from enlarging and reducing the picture, how this differs from a magazine is anyone’s guess.
Potentially more useful will be the Awesome Toilet (犀利馬桶), located in the Future Medical Care section. The device evaluates your health based on the shape of your excrement, placing it in one of seven categories it calls “unco types” (型便便), whatever that means.
There are, for example, the conical-shaped “premium unco type” (最優型便便, healthiest), the “banana unco type” (香蕉型便便, pretty good) and the “solid unco type” (硬邦邦型便便, see a doctor).
With all the effort that’s gone into assembling this exhibition, you would think that the prognosticators at the NSC would provide readable signage. As it is, each zonal commentary — in Chinese, English and Japanese — is located within the same hologram placard. It’s hip and it’s funky, but it’s also somewhat annoying and difficult to read.
Although I’m not sure what role Taiwan’s research institutions had in this exhibition, Technologies of the Future left me with the impression that someone has a little too much time and money. Though the interactive gizmos are entertaining, it’s hard to escape the idea that much of what is on display is meant to justify current research budgets and promote the tech companies that sponsored the exhibit.
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