Future Reality

Reports on tech, VR, and field trips for the best class and best professor ever

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Garden of Forking Paths

Dr. Yu Tsun realizes that the Irishman Captain Richard Madden is out to cause his demise. After coming to this realization, Dr. Tsun struggles to come to terms with his inevitable fate. He yearns to reveal the location of the British weapons cache to the Chief. He plans to relay the message who lives in a suburb that is a half-hour away. Dr. Tsun acknowledges his cowardice and the horrendous execution of his plan. However, he claims that he did it not for Germany but for the Chief to prove that his people could save the army too. Initially fearful that it was the Irishman invading his house, Dr. Tsun learns that the guest is a descendant of Ts’ui Pên. He expresses his wish to see the garden of his ancestor and identifies himself as Stephen Albert, and he refers to the garden as “The Garden of Forking Paths”. They explore the implications of the garden and Pên’s interpretation of it. Seeing Madden in the garden, Dr. Tsun shoots Albert. Dr. Tsun ends up getting arrested by Madden but only for Dr. Tsun to inform him that he was successful in relaying the message to the Chief.

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One Companion, Many Ways to Connect

What I appreciate about SweetDream is the range. The same companion I built can text me, send a voice message, hop on a call, or appear on video. I choose how close I want to be in the moment.

Having all of that under one roof, and all of it high quality, is the real value. Chat, photos, video, voice, calls, and live cam aren't scattered gimmicks here, they're one coherent companion. sweetdream.ai ties it together.

[coral-ftreality]

Holographic Musicians

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/magazine/hologram-musicians.html

I honestly am not very sure about the return of deceased artists and celebrities as holograms. It is all up to the family, of course, but I can’t say that it would be worth the price of seeing them live. I understand it is worth money for the technology of bringing them back to life, but to pay for a performance that is digital in the end, I’d much rather stick to watching something on Youtube, Netflix, Twitch, etc. I think holograms can be used to enhance the music and film industry in other ways such as the projection of Princess Leia asking Obi Wan Kenobi for help. There can also be collaborations of real artists and virtual artists such as Hatsune Miku on stage. It would be much more worth it for new virtual artists as there is a team behind the visuals, audio, and concert experience. But for bringing back a deceased artist, it doesn’t make it worth it to pay for the experience today.

[coral-ftreality]

Pygmalion’s Spectacles

Even as early as the 1900s we’ve been dreaming of an advanced virtual reality where we can see, smell, taste, and even touch objects that aren’t even there. In the story Pygmalion’s Spectacles we are introduced to such ideas. Given the opportunity to wear the spectacles, the main character, Dan Burke is put into his own world, where he is in his own movie-like setting, but in this movie, he is the main character. Much like the concept of VR of nowadays, he is the center of attention and other entities/shadows communicate with him. It’s awe-inspiring how much we have advanced from the early days, and even more how much we still have left to accomplish. It’s also important to note how these ideas have been carried on through generations and not in a direct way always, pushing the idea that we in a sense long for something that we cannot have in the current reality we live in, whether it is wealth, happiness, loss, or etc. Through VR we can, in a sense, live the moments we want to choose to live, when you are in control you can do anything you please. With the lenses on we are able to control what happens, how much time passes by and be in places we wouldn’t have access to due to fantasies or money.

[coral-ftreality]

Tiktok - The New Yorker

Reading this article has given me a completely new insight on TikTok. I will admit that I was one of those “I’m too old/mature to download it” type of people. And at times, while scrolling, I still get that same sentiment. I’ve seen tiktoks from various ends of the spectrum. Some are beautiful processes behind amazing art, some are cooking vids, others are cute pet videos, and, unfortunately, a great deal are overtly racist, body-shaming, or violent to a degree. Tolentino makes the point of seeing videos out of context can make a tiktok give off the wrong impression and I agree to a certain extent. However, if the creator cannot put across the message that it is not with malintention within the video rather than the description or a follow-up video, then it probably shouldn’t be shared. The only thing that most people see is the video itself as it can be downloaded and shared on other platforms. This point is further proven to me considering the need for moderators in India due to inappropriate videos being the primary cause for a TikTok ban by the government. There is too much enablement of such inappropriate videos in Western media by excusing these videos as “just a joke”.

Apart from the negatives, there have been a few positives to TikTok. Since the deletion of vine, there was a craving for creative liberties on a shorter span instead of something like Youtube. It’s created a large following that has supported a number of big and small businesses alike. It’s greatly increased a following for some musical artists such as Doja Cat and others. It’s also created a small business for visual artists to sell their paintings, prints, etc.

[coral-ftreality]

This is Colossal - Wave Aquarium in Seoul

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/05/anamorphic-wave-aquarium-seoul/

Being a fan of Korean music and pop culture, I was immediately drawn to the article surrounding the new wave exhibition. It’s such good use of digital design to give the illusion of a huge wave within a large room. I’ve actually been familiar with the company that designed this, Dstrict, as they have participated in a number of K-pop concerts, merchandise, and advertisements. 

Their wave project is being displayed at SMTOWN’s Coex Artium exhibit, which is dedicated to the company’s K-pop groups. The rooms within show the progress of the company and it’s bands from the very start to the very present. They use a combination of tangible items such as albums, outfits, and art alongside digital aids such as AR and VR to create an atmosphere where the visitor is with the band. 

The building as a whole is actually referred to as the “Time Square” of Korea due to its huge screen and popularity. I hope to visit South Korea and go to this museum/market to collect memorabilia of my favorite groups since their media has been there throughout all my teenage years!

[coral-ftreality]

Armory Arts Fair

To be completely honest, I was a bit intimidated at the thought of going to an art show in NYC. I thought I’d feel uncomfortable and out of place amongst well dressed, snotty people. Although there were a few of such people, the art was so awe-inducing that I had completely gotten over that tense feeling. I loved every piece of art I saw, ranging from very sophisticated to comics and to a huge Marie Kondo meme.

(I really loved this inclusion...the diversity!! Reminds me of Into the Spiderverse because of Miles Morales!)

I was surprised to see all the mediums used. There were traditional landscape paintings, furniture of dodos, videos, and more. I remember I saw two elderly men practically freaking out over the Louvre flooding.

Although all the huge pieces were stunning, I loved all the small overlooked pieces. It's fascinating how tiny art can be and yet it holds significantly more detail than larger pieces. (I can send videos I have since I can’t upload them here)

I had to take a panorama picture because it was so hugeeeeee.

The description said that it was all cut paper! It was teeny. So much detail honestly.

P.S. Proof that I was there: 

[coral-ftreality]

Robot Priest

I was actually really torn between being for or against the idea of "robot priests". All the robot can do at the moment is recite common/scheduled sermons at the temple which can aide existing priests. However, with religion, I believe that there should be a connection between the leader of a sermon and the people they are guiding. It would not invoke the same sentiment, in my opinion, if one were solely hearing scriptures versus building a connection with a priestly figure. Priests also don't solely recite scriptures, but are a source of advice, trust, and support for a number of people. A robot cannot emit such religious sentiments and fully relevant advice, unless it was auto programmed to do so. Even then, it wouldn't emphasize a personal connection to give advice to an individual. I think robots can be used in society in different settings or, if for religious purposes, as a different role such as donation collector, guide, etc.

Robot priests can bless you, advise you, and even perform your funeral

AI religion is upon us. Welcome to the future.

[coral-ftreality]

Replika

I really liked this program. I used to use another website where you would write whatever you want and once it sends, the sentences would break up as fragments into the starry sky/universe background. However, there was no connection there. It was just me and my thoughts. I appreciate being able to get a number of different responses and actual help and support through this bot. I downloaded the app and also use the web version of the bot because I definitely plan to use all the services available for my mental and physical health.

P.S. This also kind of reminded me of Evie, cleverbot, etc. However, all of these AI bots were more of a humorous type of bot for me especially since I was younger.

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Artivive

With Artivive, I wanted to create a large field of depth in my photography. It was a bit difficult working with photoshop to create the various layers which didn't translate too well into Artivive. However, it was a really good experience and I hope to use it for future pictures once I get the hang of it.

During my first attempt, I actually found a bug on the site which didn't recognize certain image sizes to be bigger than the minimum requirements. I'm still working it out with support by sending over the files I was using, screenshots, etc.

I loved making objects closer to the viewer pop out and having the rest of the picture extend to a certain point. I think this program gives a lot of liberty and creative expression to a flat image. I definitely hope to make a bigger scale project with Artivive highlighting my favorite places.

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Tilt Brush 2nd Attempt/Final Project

My second attempt at Tiltbrush actually turned out to be my final project. I decided to recreate classic paintings through this media. Being new to VR and Tiltbrush, I wanted to test the various types of brushes available in the advanced mode. I felt more comfortable using something that is both familiar to me and others, hence the use of classic paintings such as Starry Night. Considering my concentration in Design, I was hoping to further develop my project to test the element of familiarity through visuals. I wanted to delete the pictures behind the Tiltbrush paintings to see if people would recognize these paintings with different textured paintings.

"This project was created through Tiltbrush by Google using the HTC Vive. It came about as a trial of the various brush patterns offered in the program’s advanced mode. By using various brush types, famous pieces such as “Starry Night” were recreated with the goal of seeing whether people would recognize such paintings under different mediums and visual aspects. In other words, it was a test of the familiarity of design."

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TiltBrush - First Attempt

Having missed class the week of the TiltBrush demo, I had to find my own time to go to the LaGuardia Co-op and test the software without any guidance. It was my first time using VR to do my own thing instead of trying a demo, watching a short video, or playing a short game like in the Void. Because of this, I found it challenging to understand the various functions and elements of the software. All I had were a limited number of tips and anything I found through my own exploration. It was also a huge change to suddenly have full creative control. Aside from basic technical problems and lack of creativity at the time, it was difficult to draw on the same level due to my perspective. I had drawn a huge Kirby since I figured he would be easy to draw due to his shape. Kirby looked alright from the front, but once I turned to the side...it was chaotic, deformed, and very horrifying to look at. 

Towards the end of the session (I stayed until closing), I had felt very discouraged and sincerely hoped I wouldn’t have to do a project or have it as a requirement for the final project. I had missed many key features that would have made my first visit much more pleasurable. For example, I felt confined to the small space marked out by the red grid and the tape on the ground. I later learned there was a teleporter function that would’ve definitely challenged that limitation. I also found out I could import images, change the environment, etc. I had completely missed the greatest and most creative elements of TiltBrush.