blooloop: The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is launching an augmented reality (AR) experience that highlights the connection between people, orcas and the ocean.
Critical Distance, opening on September 29 at the Smithsonian museum, immerses visitors in a holographic pod of orcas struggling to survive in the Pacific Ocean’s Salish Sea.
9 comments:
The Smithsonian museums always go above and beyond with their exhibits. Those were always some of my favorite field trips as a kid, and to this day I enjoy museums because of it. It is awesome that they are embracing and playing with exciting new technology in their exhibits. AR is a great way to introduce people to new topics and allow them to interact directly with their education. With different kinds of marine life, this could be especially effective. There are so many large marine mammals that people have misconceptions about, many of which have contributed to downward trends in their populations (hunting, unfounded mass-hysteria, etc). I hope that perhaps one day they will do this with other animals! Sharks, elephants, large cats, and maybe even extinct species. Conservation being at the center of their message absolutely encourages awareness and caution, and I hope they are able to raise funds to support organizations that practice this.
As we advance in our world humans invent things that make us money. This is especially true in a capitalistic society such as the United States. But a virtual reality experience like this can hold much more than the money it makes. This is a new age for tourism. A virtual reality attraction that provides a unique and educational experience with no need for actual animals? That sounds like a great idea, especially in the world we have already destroyed so much of. Part of what makes this concept so appealing to me is that it would mean animals are no longer required to live in captivity so that we can see them. With that being said, some animals need to remain in captivity to stay alive or even to keep that animal from becoming extinct. But this experience could take away the need for tourist attractions like Zoos and Sea World that have a history of animal abuse.
This is really interesting. Humans have a tendency to bond with things very easily, hence why we give inanimate objects names so by bringing us up close and personal with the whale’s plight will encourage a greater understanding and care from the public. It is easy for us to distance ourselves from something or someone when we are divided by a screen as even though we are easily exposed to different perspectives, we still know deep down that it is only a screen and pixels we are staring at so the use of AR technology they are able to bring the audience even closer to the subject, sparking greater empathy. This is also interesting to think of in the context of theatre. Although it would be easy to assume that tv or the silver screen would take over this kind of technology in entertainment I find it to be much more likely within live theatre. To be completely honest, it is probably comparable to a performance up close in the round.
Wow. This looks absolutely incredible. I'm a little bit sad that I probably won't find myself anywhere near DC for the run of this exhibit, but I have high hopes that something high profile like this could kick off similar exhibits and projects. AR and VR have a long way to go, but they've reached the point where the technology is available enough, inexpensive enough, and usable enough that at least large institutions like the Smithsonian can really use them effectively and open these entire new mediums to audiences and patrons. I've been waiting for years for these technologies to really catch on, because I think that they just have so much potential. In terms of mediums, art has always been a little limited. Art is about how you perceive something. We've always changed the something in order to change the perception, but with AR and VR technologies, we have much much more ability to change directly the perception. That's a really cool place to be as an artist.
I read an article last week on developments of a more accessible kind of AR goggles, which reminded me that technology in the realms of virtual reality and augmented reality are no longer a faraway future fantasy; the contents of this article further emphasized this point. The innovative use of AR in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s newest orca exhibit is so fascinating. AR and VR are still generally advanced technology in today’s world and its implementation into a museum exhibit is very exciting. The purpose behind this special display is also admirable; ocean pollution is a severely alarming problem that needs more awareness and concern worldwide, and the Smithsonian’s inclusion of it in this exhibit is valuable. And along with being an incredibly stunning experience of entertainment and education, this type of technology has the capacity to pave the way to more ethical and environmentally considerate exhibits of marine life (and flora and fauna life in general) in the future.
The first thing I did after reading this was send it to my friend in DC to ask if she'd go with me. I've always been extremely interested in marine and aquatic life in general and since I don't know much about orcas this seems like a very cool and interactive way to learn. I've been to a couple museums that very successfully utilized VR to inform viewers visually about habitats that are hard to visit directly such as the rainforest but AR is new territory. I don't know if I'd feel weird about seeing the animals out of their habitat in front of me in the real world. I do wish this exhibit had more time at the Smithsonian. 9 months doesn't feel like long enough to really judge the effectiveness of AR learning as well as conservation learning in that manner across age groups. I'm sure the interactive and audio/visual nature will appeal greatly to kids who are the future of our conservation programs.
Augmented reality has always been one of those science fiction technologies that have slowly been brought to real life. I remember when I first heard about augmented reality and thought this will be the new big thing when it comes to films and video games, and while we have seen this technology pop up in some cases, it certainly has not been as widely applied as I once thought it would be. This Smithsonian exhibit really seems like a once in a lifetime experience and I can not say that I am too surprised. Like Sammy said, the Smithsonian always goes over the top with their exhibits and, in this case, makes marine biology education fun and interactive for a wide variety of audiences. I have always been curious about what this content creation looks like on the front end and how some of these softwares work with designers and programmers.
I think the idea to present marine animals in a realistic and educational aspect through VR is phenomenal. I grew up loving marine life. I also grew up in the state of Florida meaning that seeing those animals should have been pretty accessible to me. However, from a young age, I was aware of animal captivity and the harm that comes from Zoos. I have still never been to SeaWorld or a zoo. I have never seen many animals, let alone a whale close up. The Smithsonian offering this exhibit and subsequently introducing this type of technology is great for future generations. I think it means we could see a decrease in zoo and aquatic center patrons. Hopefully causing animal captivity to end. If the more ethical approach of VR becomes more popular than live animals, then in the spirit of capitalism, most places would gear audiences towards that in place of live animals.
For some reason, this article and the images really reminded me of the scene in Jurassic World where it shows the main lobby of the Innovation Centre, and in it there are projections of dinosaurs. Anyway, I think it’s super cool and just shocking how things we see in films are now happening in the real world. I have always liked museums that incorporate technology in their exhibitions because I think technology can be a really powerful medium. It can help with showcasing pieces/works, or it could be an educational platform. In this case, it allows the visitors to reach a whole new level of immersive experience. Using MR, the combination and connection of physical objects in the exhibition and the digital content are stronger than ever. It’s obviously not an easy thing to do, considering all the adjustments and jiggering that goes in this process. But I think the advantages of using MR/AR is that you can alter the contents (i.e. what visitors see through the glasses) and you can really save a lot of space because you don’t have to fit everything into the room now. I don’t know how developed this technology is in the field of exhibitions, but I’m positive that in the near future, there will be more VR/AR/MR used in museums.
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