News Website-HUTB’s “Creating the Future” Metaverse Theme Exhibition Commences with Spectacular Display
2023-05-25
Technology leads the future, and innovation changes the world. On May 23, the opening ceremony of the “Creating the Future - Exploring the World with the Power of the Metaverse” theme exhibition and HUTB Science and Technology Festival took place at the Creativity Gallery in the Lingnan Campus. Chen Xiaohong, Secretary of CPC HUTB Committee, Director of Xiangjiang Laboratory, and CAE Academician, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Xiao Xiaoqin, Deputy Secretary of CPC HUTB Committee, Vice President Liu Guoquan, and Vice President Yi Mianyang were also present. The heads of various secondary units and representatives of faculty and students also participated in the event. The opening ceremony was presided over by Vice President Liu Guoquan.
Chief leaders, guests, faculty, and students attended the opening ceremony of the Science and Technology Festival together. They also visited and experienced the first major event of the festival, the "Creating the Future - Exploring the World with the Power of the Metaverse" theme exhibition, which seamlessly integrates technology and art, innovative forms and content, and connects the virtual and real worlds.
As the lively and vibrant music played by the Symphony Orchestra of the School of Music, a dance troupe composed of intelligent robots from the Xiangjiang Laboratory's Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, including aerial, tandem, quadruped, and hexapod robots, performed a dance program titled Technology Towards the Future. The robot dance troupe showcased the latest robot application technologies developed by the Xiangjiang Laboratory. With adorable and agile movements, they displayed a variety of performance styles that were truly remarkable. The audience responded with applause and laughter, thoroughly enjoying the performance.
In her speech, Secretary Chen Xiaohong expressed that the “Creating the Future - Exploring the World with the Power of the Metaverse” theme exhibition, along with the opening ceremony of the HUTB Science and Technology Festival, allows everyone to appreciate the unique digital romance of technology through an immersive Metaverse experience. It further enhances HUTB's “technological business card” by embracing digital transformation. Developing the digital economy is a strategic choice to seize the new opportunities presented by the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. Currently, the Metaverse, as a new type of digital space that combines virtual and real elements, represents the future of the digital world. Metaverse technology and art are also rapidly emerging as significant trends. We have meticulously planned and organized this theme exhibition and science and technology festival as an enthusiastic embrace of the era. It is a genuine response to the demands of the times and a pioneering effort in leading the trend and setting the benchmark for Metaverse graduation design exhibitions in universities.
Secretary Chen Xiaohong pointed out that the Xiangjiang Laboratory has provided strong technical support for the Science and Technology Festival and the "Creating the Future" theme exhibition. It has laid a solid technological foundation and will shine brilliantly during the festival. It will also continue to strive towards the goal of building a national strategic technological force with determination. She emphasized that all departments and schools should actively plan and organize meticulously to ensure the high-quality execution of various activities during the Science and Technology Festival. They should deeply practice the educational concept of integrating "New engineering courses + new business courses + new liberal arts courses" with the development of science, and continuously contribute to the achievement of the "Three Advances and Three Highs" strategic goals. They should lead the new trends of the era, keep the wave of reform and innovation surging, and let the light of technological self-improvement shine in Hunan. She also extended her best wishes for the "Creating the Future" theme exhibition and the HUTB Science and Technology Festival, hoping for their resounding success.
Chen Wang, Vice Dean of the School of Art & Design, delivered a speech on behalf of the guiding faculty. He expressed that the exhibited works demonstrated the perfect fusion of technology and art, showcasing the creativity and talent of the students. He sincerely wished the graduates to maintain their passion and pursuit for both science and art, and courageously realize their dreams and goals.
Liu Keke, a student representative and the author of one of the exhibited works from the School of Art & Design, expressed her excitement and pride in being able to personally participate in this aesthetic feast of technological innovation and contemporary art during the graduation season. She joyfully presented her innovative work as a satisfactory answer sheet of her four years of university life.
During the event, music teachers from the School of Music performed an orchestral rendition of My Motherland and Me. Additionally, the Changfeng Chorus presented a choral performance of the song Song of the Xiangjiang Laboratory. The passionate and uplifting music and singing expressed the boundless love and deep affection of our faculty and students for our great motherland. It also conveyed the unwavering determination and ambition of the Xiangjiang Laboratory to strive tirelessly towards the realization of the splendid blueprint of "Three Highlands, Four New Missions" in Hunan Province and the nation's high-level self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology.
The chief leaders collectively unveiled an art installation filled with balloons, which symbolized releasing the dream of building a strong technological nation, as well as the release of hopes for a better and happier tomorrow. The "Creating the Future - Exploring the World with the Power of the Metaverse" theme exhibition officially commenced, marking the official opening of the HUTB Science and Technology Festival for the year 2023.
During the exhibition, chief leaders, guests, faculty, and students walked through the Creativity Gallery together, watching the Song of the Xiangjiang Laboratory and the promotional video for the Creating the Future theme. They also enjoyed and experienced the works showcased in various exhibition areas, including visual communication, environmental art, and fashion design. More than 60 pieces or sets of works exhibited this time were selected from the graduation design exhibition of the School of Art & Design, Class of 2023. These works have received technological empowerment from the Xiangjiang Laboratory's Metaverse research team. Through the utilization of technologies such as augmented reality, motion capture recognition, and 3D scene reconstruction, combined with the assistance of artificial intelligence algorithms, these works have been given richer and more vivid forms of expression.
The chief leaders and students immersed themselves in the virtual world, exploring the future of technology. They experienced the trendiest clothing in the virtual stores of the "Z Era", created virtual artworks on virtual reality canvases, and stopped to watch virtual fashion shows on the virtual runway. They personally experienced the aesthetic feast born from the collision of technological innovation and contemporary art. These outstanding works, including environmental art, design, illustration, installations, fashion, comics, animation, games, posters, videos, and more, have been enhanced by Metaverse technology. They have transformed from flat displays in the physical realm to three-dimensional presentations in virtual space. They have evolved from one-way communication to interactive experiences, from on-site visits to the integration of the virtual and the real. They have transcended limited expression and opened up infinite interpretations. Technology has brought boundless creative possibilities to art, infusing it with vibrant vitality.
Jiang, a student from the Artificial Intelligence Class 2201, who attended the exhibition, expressed, "The ‘Creating the Future’ theme exhibition has a unique overall style. The exhibited works are exquisite and presented in novel forms, which is very eye-catching". "This exhibition integrates many cutting-edge scientific technologies and presents them in a novel Metaverse format, allowing people to intuitively experience the powerful force of technological innovation," Commented Yang, a student from the Chinese Class 2202. Zhang, a student from the Intelligent Media Class 2201, believes that the Metaverse is a hot and promising field for the future. He emphasized the importance of broadening our horizons and actively learning and absorbing new knowledge and technologies in a timely manner.
After the opening ceremony, the chief leaders visited the Creativity Workshop at the Lingnan Campus, where they joined the students to watch the fashion show of the "Digital Intelligence, Heritage, and Innovation" themed exhibition featuring the graduation designs of the Fashion and Apparel Design major from the School of Art & Design, Class of 2023. The student models from the Fashion Performance Micro Program at our university showcased a series of beautifully designed, culturally rich, stylish, and conceptually rich graduation fashion works. They walked the runway, presenting the garments live, while the large screens at the venue simultaneously displayed virtual fashion shows. This innovative presentation format received unanimous praise from faculty and students, fully reflecting the innovative achievements and excellent results of talent cultivation at our university.
The "Creating the Future - Exploring the World with the Power of Metaverse" themed exhibition was jointly created by Xiangjiang Laboratory and HUTB. The Xiangjiang Laboratory’s Metaverse laboratory provided technical support for the exhibition. The exhibition will run from May 23, 2023, to September 30, 2023. The exhibition wields the pen of technology and dips into the ink of art, breaking the barriers between reality and virtuality, and creating unprecedented sensory experiences. The works that integrate technology, painting, music, and film bloom with splendor in the world of the Metaverse, allowing historical scenes and mythical legends to transcend the realm of imagination. Everything that seems impossible can become an accessible reality.
It is reported that the 2023 Science and Technology Festival of HUTB consists of 14 events, including the Metaverse Theme Exhibition, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project Achievement Exhibition, Frontier Talent and Innovation Forum, Decoding Frontier Technology Laboratory, Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Social Practice and Technology Competition for College Students, Computer Works Competition, Graduate Computer Innovation Competition, Electronic Information Design Exhibition, "Low Carbon Pact: Magical Journey" Science Popularization Exhibition, Mathematics Modeling Science Popularization Exhibition, "Statistical Learning and Intelligent Computing" Special Lecture, Postgraduate Academic and Innovation Forum, and more. These activities cover a wide range of areas, including science and technology achievement exhibition, science and technology knowledge dissemination, open experiential activities for science and technology works, visits to science and technology enterprises and laboratories, academic lectures, and salons. They will provide cutting-edge scientific and technological innovation experiences for teachers and students, comprehensively enhance their scientific literacy, digital literacy, and humanistic and artistic literacy, and cultivate high-quality talents that can adapt to the needs of the digital economy era. (Written by Zhang Gaoyang, Zhu Yusi and Tao Jingsi and photo by Ling Haotian and Dong Jiaqi from the Converged Media Center of HUTB)
