Science Museum Shows "Future of Gaming"

Event showcases technology from the future

Posted by Staff
The Science Museum will be playing host to an event showing off ‘the future of gaming’. The event, dubbed ‘Future Playground’, will take place over the 18th, 19th and 20th of December in twice daily sessions.

Future Playground will give the public access to cutting edge display and human interface technologies, namely: an interactive chair combined with a revolutionary 3D screen, a giant spherical television and a unique sound activated film.

The event will run parallel to the Science Museum's history of gaming exhibition entitled Game On. As we reported previously, Game On is already pulling its weight for the games industry with discussions on how gaming is affecting medicine and science and a playable Wii and PS3.

Here's the rundown on the tech according to the Science Museum:

The Active Chair
“The Active Chair - created by robotics expert Dr Brian Duffy - is a translation of commercial simulator technologies into an interactive chair for individuals. It will be on display with a curved 3d personalised screen system, created by Immersive Displays ltd, showing new animations by SMARTlab artists. Capable of moving up, down, left and right with a large degree of motion, the Active Chair's possibilities for video gaming and entertainment applications are obvious.”

PufferSphere
“The PufferSphere is a huge spherical display device with a diameter of two and a half metres, developed by a company spun out of the University of Edinburgh. The Puffersphere will be displaying specially created animations, providing a unique insight into the future of display technologies. But it's not just something to stare longingly at; uniquely for a display device, it's also very tactile, and visitors will be encouraged to touch the screen.”

Sound Activated Animation
“This marriage of sound and vision provides visitors with a screen displaying a series of short animations, which are changed when the viewer sings a specific note. A computer analyses the sound to make sure the sung note is within the tolerated range. In practice, this translates to an interactive film that reacts based on viewer input. If the viewer sings the right note for long enough, the screen may appear to smash. Designed by Dr Christopher Hales, this technology shows how integration of sound and vision will form the future of entertainment.”

We hope Nintendo is paying attention…

So: if you're already over next-gen and you're itching for next next-gen get down to the Science Museum (in the that London) over Christmas.

If of course, you don’t live in or near London – and don’t have the inclination to sully yourself by visiting it, then its time to local it and your local showcase of things historical (museum, library, your house) to get these events on view in the ‘provinces’.

Then let us know what you think in the Forum.

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