No matter what we do as humans, and no matter what technologies we develop there are still some basic things that we are programmed to do. Instinctual reactions, the desire of fight or flight, being wary of certain combinations of colour and finding others calming. It’s a combination of the primal force along with what we’ve been taught growing up. What we understand to be the norm and/or acceptable. It’s something that a great many entertainment experiences play off of, often successfully, to garner a response from their audience. The deliberate pushing of people’s buttons is common in virtual reality (VR) too, and we’ve seen it explored in items such as digital out-of-home entertainment (DOE) experience Derren Brown’s Ghost Train at Thorpe Park.
One thing that often provokes a strong response is flying. It is after all something we are not designed by nature to do. And yet it is because of that, that humanity has always been fascinated by it. Entranced by the birds and their abilities to defy gravity and wishing we also could soar through the clouds with them – but at the same time many of us are afraid of heights.
A new experience in Hong Kong looks wants to bring you the feeling of flight but combine it with the knowledge of just how high you are already up in the air, helped largely by the fact it’s happening in Hong Kong’s tallest building, the 468m high International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon, Hong Kong.
It’s here on floor 100 (appropriately enough) that you can find the sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck, already the home of a number of quirky tributes to technology in its “Sky-High Tech Zone” which includes the use of augmented reality (AR) in its photo booth. Now however, it has branched out into other uses for immersive technology by bringing you a new 360 degree experience that puts you squarely in the air over the city. Your birds-eye view isn’t totally perfect though as along with the changing of the seasons you’ll experience all kinds of weather, including a tropical cyclone! Everything is then rounded off by travelling through a spectacular firework show.
sky100 are also introducing 360 degrees as a novel way to ‘compensate’ for people not able to visit in the day, or during good weather. Tourists are able to borrow a cardboard viewer and use the relevant app from sky100 to see exactly what the view is like on a clear day.
Something to look into if you’re visiting that part of the world, and VRFocus will be bringing you more news and features from around the globe throughout the day.
via Mint VR