- Title: TAIWAN: Taipei's Flora Expo showcases greenery as well as technology
- Date: 5th November 2010
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) ASUS INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER, VIVIAN HOU, SAYING: "Humans and nature should be united as one body. When you observe birds in the sky, they have their v-shaped formations, or when you observe fish swimming in groups, you can see that all nature organisms are interdependent. The florabots are also designed into groups, and they can interact with humans so
- Embargoed: 20th November 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Nature / Environment,Science / Technology
- Reuters ID: LVAC8MLF5Y4B8L85DOO6MWATTOJ
- Story Text: Taipei's biggest International Flora Exposition welcomes visitors, showcasing hundreds of real plant species and even digital flowers with sound and motion sensors.
In a digital world, gardening has a brand new concept.
At the Taipei International Flora Exposition, which will begin on Saturday (November 6), flowers are no longer just planted in the ground, but in all possible interactive platforms.
At the opening ceremony on Wednesday (November 3) evening, one of the most anticipated venues and also the only exhibition hall without any real flowers, the Pavilion of Dreams, was officially opened by Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin and representatives from the Industrial Technology Research Institute.
"The Taipei International Flora Exposition is the biggest international event ever hosted in Taipei. In this event, we'll not only show off Taiwan's floral and gardening beauties, but also show our strength in technology and environmental protection, and our achievements in cultural innovations," said Hau.
The pavilion displays the latest technologies in Taiwan, with sound and motion sensors that enables digital flowers to interact with visitors.
The hall, made to look like a futuristic forest, was decorated with a giant mechanical flower that move to music piped through more than 30,000 paper-thin speakers in the shape of leaves.
Further into the pavilion, 3D flowers bend with the wave of a hand, and florabots dance to music, lighting up when people approach.
"Humans and nature should be united as one body. When you observe birds in the sky, they have their v-shaped formations, or when you observe fish swimming in groups, you can see that all nature organisms are interdependent. The florabots are also designed into groups, and they can interact with humans so when they detect visitors they will light up," explained Vivian Hou, designer from Asus, the company that developed the florabots.
The Flora Expo costs more than 12 billion Taiwan dollars ($395 million USD), and its 14 exhibition halls and fields of flowers and plants spread over 91.8 hectares (227 acres), showcase more than 30 million flowers and the latest green technology.
The Taipei city government is expecting eight million visitors, which could bring an overall profit of 11 billion Taiwan dollars (USD 362 million).
The city also wishes to promote many tourist attractions like the National Palace Museum, Yangmingshan National Park, and the Maokong Gondolas.
During the six-month exhibition period, hundreds of plant species are displayed together with approximately 7,000 performances of music, dance and drama.
Taipei is the seventh Asian city to host the international gardening event.
The 2010 Flora Expo, which is participated by more than 30 countries such as the Netherlands, Japan, and Greece, will end on April 25, 2011. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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