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Oudomxay to Celebrate Khmu New Year This Weekend

Baci ceremony in Khmu New Year in 2022. ( Photo: Aea Vilaiphet).

Oudomxay Province will organize the largest Khmu New Year celebrations in the country from 21 to 22 January.

Hong Kong Baptist University heralds future cinematic experience by establishing the Visualisation Research Centre

  • Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) took an important step forward in heralding a new cinematic experience for the future by establishing the Visualisation Research Centre recently. The Centre is home to the world’s first 360-degree immersive LED Visualisation Cinema and the 180-degree iDome Cinema.

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 20 January 2023 – Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) took an important step forward in heralding a new cinematic experience for the future by establishing the Visualisation Research Centre recently.

Professor Jeffrey Shaw is leading the pioneering art-tech project “Future Cinema Systems: Next-Generation Art Technologies” which will develop an integrated system for artists and the creative industries.
Professor Jeffrey Shaw is leading the pioneering art-tech project “Future Cinema Systems: Next-Generation Art Technologies” which will develop an integrated system for artists and the creative industries.

The Centre is home to the world’s first 360-degree immersive LED Visualisation Cinema and the 180-degree iDome Cinema. The newly established facility will provide innovative platforms for theatre, dance, music and sports, and transform multimedia archives into post-cinematic encounters that people can explore and experience.

Creates new platforms and possibilities

The Visualisation Research Centre is one of the key deliverables under the two-year art-tech project “Future Cinema Systems: Next-Generation Art Technologies“, which is led by HKBU in collaboration with the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. The pioneering project has been awarded HK$35.4 million in funding from the Innovation and Technology Support Programme under the Innovation and Technology Commission of the HKSAR Government.

“With the new appreciation of the relationship between art and technology, there has been a global demand for new forms of cultural experience and digital entertainment. At a time when technical capabilities are developing rapidly, our challenge is to create new artistic platforms and new creative opportunities,” says Professor Jeffrey Shaw, Chair Professor of the Academy of Visual Arts at HKBU, who leads the project.

360-degree cinema offers fully immersive experience

Walking into the Centre’s eight metres wide, four metres tall 360-degree cinema consisting of over 400 LED panels (26 million LED pixels), the audience can fully immerse themselves in a three-dimensional environment. Viewers are not merely looking at panoramic movies or photographs; they also get the sense of stepping inside a spectacular virtual landscape, whether it is an exhibition hall at a museum, historical monuments across the ocean, prominent heritage sites or even the setting of video games.

This expansive visual experience is amplified by a 32.4 channel surround sound system that further substantiates this total sense of immersion.

Using high-resolution stereoscopic 3D technologies, the cinema lets viewers interactively engage with the visualised content by enlarging the focus on their areas of interest. This in turn adds new layers of understanding and meaning to the materials they see.

AI-powered evolving interactions with the audience

The new cinema further challenges the conventional passive relationship between the audience and the screen. When watching movies or a theatrical performance, people usually just sit tight in their chairs in the dark. With the Future Cinema Systems, interactivity will play an important role.

“We are developing technologies that will enhance interactivity between individuals and groups of people. In our cinematic environment, up to 30 visitors can interact with the imagery and with each other,” says Professor Shaw.

Using wearable sensors and biometric devices, this new cinematic platform can for example track the viewers’ physical position, behavior, gesture, facial expression, body temperature and heart rate to understand what they are looking at, how they are behaving with respect to other viewers, and how they are responding to the content being presented to them.

A co-evolutionary narrative engine, which comprises artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, will enable the audiovisual manifold to react and respond to the sensory prompts provided by the participants.

Boundless applications

The other innovative facility at the Visualisation Research Centre is the iDome Cinema, which comprises a laser DLP projector, a vertical hemispherical screen that is four metres in diameter, and surround sound audio equipment.

Ideally suited for museological exhibitions, the iDome Cinema uses a fisheye lens to project spherical photos and videos that can be interactively rotated. Visitors can almost literally walk inside its 360-degree representations to enjoy this immersive interactive experience. The facility can also be used as an educational tool for visualising scientific data.

With the new facilities in place, the project team is working to produce scalable outcomes that can be experienced by the general public. The deliverables of the Future Cinema Systems project will first be deployed at selected facilities in Hong Kong, such as the Hong Kong International Airport, M+ Museum and Tai Kwun.

“We are developing the project in particular relation to Hong Kong’s cultural contexts. It will give local artists and institutions opportunities to explore the next- generation creative potentials of art and technology,” says Professor Shaw. “We are about to experience something truly transformative, as the Future Cinema Systems project opens the door to boundless new horizons in the arts and creative industries.”

Hashtag: #ArtTech #HongKong #FutherCinema #HongKongBaptistUniversity #Immersive

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Millennials have big wellness ambitions, but lack the means to achieve them, Bupa survey finds

Fewer than half of Hong Kong millennials are satisfied with overall health and wellbeing

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 20 January 2023 – Millennials in Asia care about health and wellness and they are willing to spend on what they care. According to a survey by Bupa, over six in ten Hong Kong millennials consider themselves health conscious, but fewer than half (48%) are satisfied with their overall health and wellbeing, the survey found.

Bupa surveyed over 500 Hong Kong millennials aged 25-40 to examine their health and wellness trends and habits. The survey discovered that millennials today care deeply about their wellbeing, but struggle with how to prioritize it. They struggle to get enough sleep, to find healthy meal options during the hectic work week, and to do regular exercise. The survey also revealed a number of workplace-specific wellness concerns, ranging from eye strain to back pain to managing mental stress.

While previous generations saw “good health” as the absence of illness, millennials take a far broader approach. They largely view health and wellness as holistic: encompassing diet and exercise, mental health, emotional wellbeing, positive daily practices like meditation, pastimes that promote personal development, social and community support from peers, and a good night’s sleep.

Millennials face a number of barriers to achieving the healthy, balanced life they seek. There are external factors such as long working hours and social obligations, plus internal factors like lack of motivation or simply not knowing where to start. On top of all these, there’s COVID. Since early 2020, lack of access to sports facilities, less time with friends and family, and the stress of living with a global pandemic have impacted the health of everyone.

Andrew Merrilees, Managing Director, Bupa Hong Kong, said, “The unmet health and wellbeing needs of Hong Kong millennials represent both an opportunity and an obligation. There is a white space in the market for products and services capable of helping millennial consumers overcome the gap between their wellbeing ambitions and their current state of knowledge and ability.” With 70% of millennials wanting to learn more about health, but only half proactively seeking out health-related content, they need the market to come up with solutions which are engaging and accessible.

In addition, workplaces can do more beyond health coverage to look after employees. Millennials, and certainly the incoming generation of Gen Z employees, want to be connected to holistic wellness resources where they can find education and encouragement around diet, exercise, sleep and more. It is a move from “sick care” to “well care”, one that brings holistic health to the forefront.

Hashtag: #Bupa

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Laos to Experience Cold Wave Over Next Two Days

Cold Weather to Spread Across Laos on Tuesday, Wednesday
Winter in Laos (photo: alifewithoutborder)

The cold weather conditions will continue to sweep over all of Laos with moderate to strong winds from Friday to Saturday, says the Meteorology and Hydrology Department.

Wolbachia Mosquitoes to Be Released in Vientiane Capital in April

Vientiane Capital to Release Wolbachia Mosquitoes in April This Year
Ms. Phoutmany Thammavong announcing the release of the mosquitos (photo: Pathedlao)

Mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia bacteria will be released in Vientiane Capital’s Saysettha and Chanthabouly districts between late April and September to prevent the growth and transmission of viruses that cause dengue fever.

Govt. Drops Contractor Constructing Expressways in Northern Provinces

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has denied the company from continuing its work due to multiple delays.

Scoot Flight to Singapore Departs Early, Stranding 29 Passengers

Scoot

A Scoot flight from Amritsar, India, bound for Singapore departed four hours early on Wednesday, leaving 29 passengers behind.

Vietnam Appoints New Acting President

Vo Thi Anh Xuan, was appointed the Acting President of Vietnam. (Photo: VnExpress)

Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan has been appointed as an interim President of Vietnam after President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned on Tuesday.