Gigantic images, 3D thrills, 360-degree views and mixed reality thrill visitors to Aichi exhibition
A trip to the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi prefecture, Japan, takes visitors to another world altogether. Call it 'Planet of the Screens'. This is the first World Exposition of the 21st century, and many of the exhibiting countries, corporations and groups are using the latest imaging technologies to their advantage.
There are screens everywhere, from a giant outdoor display to its even bigger 52-metre wide sibling inside, not to mention screens so small they can only be seen through binocular-style viewers.
The most innovative presentation belonged to Hitachi, which is showcasing 'mixed reality' technology in its 'Nature Contact' show. The mixed reality show puts visitors into virtual safari trucks, kits them out with binoculars and hand sensors, and assigns them a wise cartoon owl as guide.
The binoculars give you a 3D version of the show, while the hand sensor brings you into the picture, quite literally.
Put out your hand and you receive a bunch of virtual bananas, which you can then throw to a monkey who dashes to pick them up. In the virtual aquarium, you can put your hand under the hawksbill turtle and tilt it left or right. It looks obligingly confused as you do so. If you make the animal turn turtle, it starts waving its flippers around frantically until you put it right way up.
In the savannah section, you come eyeball to eyeball with a giraffe, who puffs into your face with his virtual nostrils.