A pair of filmmakers at the prestigious TED Conference used virtual reality (VR) to allow people to experience the ravages of deforestation — from the perspective of a tree.
A presentation on Thursday titled Tree combined sound, sight, smell and touch to let people feel first-hand what is lost when lush forest burns down.
“It was very real: At one point I was going to take the headset off and ask about the fire,” TED attendee Elle Luna said after trying Tree. “Your thinking mind sort of stops and you just feel it all.”
Photo: AFP
The experience gets under way when participants step onto a platform surrounded by tall, potted plants.
Each person buries a seed symbolically in soil before donning virtual reality headgear and an interactive vest that squeezes or vibrates on cues.
From there, they virtually become the seed.
Looking down, roots are seen sprouting and the participants are transported by the smell of rich earth as they rise to the surface and break into sunlight on a forest floor.
They grow to be tall trees, with birds, monkeys and other creatures perching or climbing on arms transformed into long branches under a glorious sky.
Fans simulate wind. Heaters provide the illusion of the sun’s warmth. The platform and interactive vest tremble as you grow or sway.
Then comes the sound and shake of engines and chainsaws. The smell of smoke, provided by a member of the Tree team lighting a match in the real world, draws attention to a fire devouring the forest.
In the final moments, one becomes a virtual ash floating away. A seed appears to float in the thick smoke in a parting hint of hope that life will start anew.
“It is the story of life and death of being,” one of the creators Milica Zec said. “Everything is amazing until humans come to the forest, then we replace that with forest and everything is taken away from you.”
Not wanting people to end Tree on too grim a note, they are given a real seed to plant along with information about how to connect with the Rainforest Alliance for ways to help fight deforestation.
“We are able to dissolve the screen; now you are the subject,” Tree co-creator Winslow Porter said. “People leave and tell their friends they were a tree.”
AVOIDING CONFUSION: Passengers are to be able to check in two items of luggage, while the free weight allowance is to be increased to conform with other airlines EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday announced that from June 23 it is to adopt a new baggage allowance policy for all passengers with a higher weight limit as it aims to benefit passengers and increase efficiency. The airline currently has a two-system baggage policy: It allows passengers flying to the US and Canada to check in two pieces of baggage with a free weight allowance, while for those flying to Asia, Europe and Oceania there is also a free weight allowance, but no limit on the number of pieces of baggage. From June 23, passengers would be able to check in two
MORE THAN BUZZ: The chip designer said it has received numerous orders from automakers to supply 5G modem chips, as it works to expand beyond smartphones MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said it would ship the first 5G chips for vehicles to customers in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the year, as it moves to expand the reach of its 5G chips beyond smartphones. The Hsinchu-based chip designer said it has been developing 5G chips for connected vehicles over the past few years, targeting applications such as telematics and in-vehicle information systems. “We are seeing demand for 5G technology from numerous makers of connected cars, including electric vehicle makers. We have obtained numerous orders from automakers to supply 5G modem chips with highly integrated features,” J.C. Hsu
INVENTORY DOUBLED: Key parts have backed up in warehouses, halting notebook production, as Acer’s CEO said that a gradual reopening would not solve the problem PC vendor Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday said that lockdowns in China to control COVID-19 upended key component supply and disrupted PC production, although chip shortages have been improving. While chip supply constraints largely eased in the first quarter, the company faces uneven supplies of key components due to COVID-19 restrictions in China, Acer chairman and CEO Jason Chen (陳俊聖) told an online news conference. “Semiconductor shortage was the biggest problem in the first half of last year,” Chen said. “Now, we are beset by a supply chain issue caused by China's lockdowns.” With key components unable to be delivered and backing up in
Qualcomm Inc yesterday said it would maintain its supply chain strategy of sourcing chips from multiple foundry partners, including advanced chips from two major suppliers, to ensure a sufficient chip supply amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualcomm is reportedly working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co on advanced products, such as 4-nanometer chips, for its new flagship 5G chips, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 series. Qualcomm is sourcing chips made by mature technologies from several foundry partners, the company said. Alex Katouzian, general manager of Qualcomm Technologies Inc’s mobile, compute and XR business, told a virtual media briefing that
RSS