The Future is Now at Geeklab!

Peking University celebrated its International Culture Festival 2019 on Saturday, 19 October, themed "A World without Borders, The Future is Now".

Nestled amongst the sights, smells and sounds of the ICF's iconic country booths was a different kind of experience: the Geeklab Special Experiences, showcasing cutting-edge technology.

The Geeklab Special Experiences put diverse technologies on display. Visitors attracted by the queuing crowd discovered five stations. 

Station one was a laser engraver. With a flicker of red light, unique signatures and designs appeared on blank cards as if by magic. Within seconds, visitors had souvenir cards to take home.

"After Geeklab learned that the laser printing technology was used to create keyboard letters on the Mac, we saw an opportunity to utilize it in another way."

Lei Yuntong, an undergraduate student in computer science, explained the inspiration behind the printer.

Station two featured a robot hand, which imitated the hand gestures of PKU students with remarkable realism. The Geeklab team designed the hand during the 2019 Baidu Development Summit and spent a full month bringing it to life. The secret to the arm's abilities lies within its camera-data processing system which transforms visual information into motion.

Station three was a motion-sensing projector. With nothing but a white board on the table, visitors were able to 'play the drums' with their hands. The creation was a combination of technological sophistication and nostalgic playfulness. Lei Yuntong hoped that this kind of creativity will lead to a world without computer displays and keyboards, "where both can be used on any flat surface".

Station four featured a bead workshop, bringing back nostalgic moments through the creation of pixel art. Visitors sat around a table filled with trays of tiny beads, copying colourful patterns or designing their own. With nothing but an iron, the heat-activated beads would fuse together to form a piece of art.

Station five was a participatory art piece. Visitors used wire to create shapes of their choice, which were then welded together to create a golden 3D structure. These stations reflected the geek lab's creative imagination by combining technology and dedication to form art. Overall, a fusion of technological and artistic creativity was on full display at the Geeklab Special Experiences.

This was not the only Geeklab event at the ICF. Over at the Geeklab itself was the 'AI + Art' exhibition. 

The exhibition was located away from the vibrant energy of the iconic country stalls, deep underground in a quiet and quaint area of Peking University. Entering the exhibition was an experience in itself with its dark atmosphere. Inside, the art installments on display were an avant-garde sensation. The combination of lighting, video, and sound created an environment that is open for interpretation by the individual, a form of abstract art. In addition, the creations were founded with an interdisciplinary approach that was categorized into four themes of 'circularity', 'coalescence', 'living beings', and 'origins'.

Follow GeeklabPKU on WeChat for more information. Many thanks to the Geeklab team - we look forward to their future innovations!

The Future is Now at Geeklab

Writer(s): Kairun Daikoku, Cherry Zheng

Editor(s): Trevor, Pu Hairui

Photos: Office of Global Communications, Kairun Daikoku, Cherry Zheng

Videos: Yu Yanbin

Designer: Lu Zhengqi