An unprecedented new
AR experience is coming to San Jose!
In partnership with
the Institute
for the Future, The Tech created the Iris AR system, which allows
visitors to view and interact with 3D models and virtual objects including a
heart, eyeball, digestive tract and skull. Imagine walking all the way around a
beating heart floating in front of you through the AR lens, or, wandering
around an eyeball and optical nerve, and then being able to step inside for an
internal view.
Funded by Ann and
John Doerr, Body Worlds Decoded opens October 15, 2017.
The Tech Museum of Innovation reinvents Body
Worlds exhibit with unprecedented augmented reality experience
The Tech will premiere Iris, a custom AR
experience that allows visitors to examine anatomy like never before, in Body
Worlds Decoded, opening Oct. 15.
SAN JOSE, CA – October 10, 2017 – The Tech Museum of Innovation will open a new exhibition, Body Worlds
Decoded, on Sunday, Oct. 15. This groundbreaking experience uses augmented
reality (AR) and other emerging tech to put a Silicon Valley spin on Body
Worlds, the display of plastinated human bodies that have sparked curiosity and
awe around the world. The Tech will also debut Iris, its custom AR system that
allows visitors to examine organs and body systems through immersive graphics.
“Body
Worlds Decoded is an experience like no other, and it is only fitting that this
blending of nature and technology should be celebrated in Silicon Valley,” said
John Doerr, the chairman of Kleiner Perkins who with his wife Ann is
contributing $5 million to The Tech to make the exhibit possible. “Ann and I
are thrilled to help bring this experience to life, and it is our dream that it
will inspire youth and contribute to a greater understanding of the life
sciences.”
In partnership with the Institute for the Future, The Tech created the Iris AR system, which allows visitors to view and
interact with 3D models and virtual objects including a heart, eyeball,
digestive tract and skull. Iris uses ARtifactor — content authoring and management software developed
by IFTF — and runs on
the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, a Google Tango-enabled mobile device. The Tech will add
new 3D models, animations and other content to the 5,000-square-foot
exhibition, so visitors will always have something new to discover.
“This is the future of museums — AR is about to transform
how we interpret our world and how we approach education,” said Toshi Anders
Hoo, lead AR consultant and director of the Institute for the Future’s Emerging
Media Lab. “The Tech
has emerged as a leader in the exciting AR movement, offering a whole new world
of immersive technology that will influence museums and exhibitions globally.”
The
Tech aims for Body Worlds Decoded to become Northern California’s premiere
public anatomy lab as well as an AR testbed. Teachers and professors will be
able to take biology lessons out of the classroom, and doctors can recommend a
visit for patient education. The AR industry will also be invited to use the
exhibition to prototype advances in software and hardware with the community.
“Body
Worlds Decoded is one of the most ambitious and exciting anatomy experiences
ever created,” said Tim Ritchie, president and CEO of The Tech Museum of
Innovation. “The human body contains so many mysteries, and the implementation
of AR and all of its capabilities stands to provide valuable clues in unlocking
those secrets and inspiring the next generation of advances in medicine and
physiology.”
In
Body Worlds Decoded, displays of real human bodies — eight full-body
plastinates and more than 60 individual specimens — will help visitors explore
the smallest organs to the most complex systems, including nervous,
respiratory, cardiovascular, urinary, reproductive, digestive and locomotive.
They can participate in live demonstrations of Anatomage, a 3D virtual
dissection used at the nation’s top medical schools. Body Worlds Decoded also
explores the artistic side of anatomy with installations of art inspired by the
wonder and mystery of the human body. Pieces by local artist Lauren A. Toomer
will be displayed, and visitors will be invited to create their own artwork.
“The
human form has intrigued artists throughout history,” said Lisa Incatasciato,
Exhibit Content Developer at The Tech. “Despite technology giving us a more
accurate look, there’s still something mysterious and inspiring about creating
your own visual interpretation of the body. You don’t have to love anatomy to
enjoy this exhibit, but we bet you’ll appreciate it before you leave.”
Body Worlds Decoded opens Sunday, Oct. 15,
2017, and is set
for an unprecedented 10-year run at The Tech. The bodies and specimens were
preserved by Dr. Gunther von Hagens’ Institute for Plastination, which created
BODY WORLDS exhibitions to help people better understand the human body and its
functions.
About
The Tech Museum of Innovation
The Tech is a hands-on technology and science museum
for people of all ages and backgrounds. The museum — located in the Capital of
Silicon Valley — is a non-profit experiential learning resource established to
engage people in exploring and experiencing applied technologies affecting
their lives. Through programs such as The Tech Challenge, our annual
team-design competition for youth, and internationally renowned programs such
as The Tech for Global Good, The Tech endeavors to inspire the innovator in
everyone.
