Interactive forest at Expo will bring the world of plants closer through technology

Prague - An interactive forest environment that, with the help of advanced technologies, will reveal the secrets of the plant world to visitors will be part of the Czech pavilion at this year's Expo world exhibition in Milan. Today, the authors from Full Capacity presented a section of the installation featuring a forest biotope, cameras, motion sensors, and projections, titled the Laboratory of Silence, at the laboratories of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Czech Technical University (ČVUT).
    The entire installation at the exhibition site will include 12 m² of living forest, an automatic cultivation system, live transmission from miniature cameras to a large projection surface, robotic arms, and microscopes. "The goal is to achieve the simplest possible message and a strong emotional experience," noted the project's main manager, Jan Rolník.
    On an elevated platform, plants are planted in the soil, receiving intense light, which allows photosynthesis to occur and the plants to sprout and bud. In the background, there is a pre-recorded projection of the forest. In the midst of the plants is a robotic camera movement, with the camera feeds being transmitted live to a computer. The enlarged images are then transferred to the opposite side of the room, accompanied by the names of the displayed plants. The project's interaction lies in detecting the presence of a visitor - the longer they are present, the closer the camera captures, potentially reaching a cellular level.
    The general commissioner for the Czech participation, Jiří F. Potužník, reminds that Czech original audiovisual creation has a long and successful tradition at Expo exhibitions. The motto of the Laboratory of Silence is: The slower we walk through nature, the greater secrets it reveals to us. It aims to create a contemplative atmosphere of the Czech forest while simultaneously revealing the secrets of the plant world through advanced technologies.
    The theme of the world exhibition in Milan, which will start on May 1, is Food for the Planet, Energy for Life. Czechia has stated from the beginning of its preparations that it wants to showcase its successes in the fields of science and modern technologies in Italy.
    The exhibition is being prepared by people from ČVUT in collaboration with Full Capacity. Several departments from the Faculty of Architecture are involved in the project, including studios of Vladimír Soukenka and Marian Karla, where the main authors of the design, Dávid Sivý and Jan Tůma, work. The Faculty of Electrical Engineering at ČVUT, the Institute of Intermedia, and the Institute of Lighting Design are also contributing to the project. Full Capacity is also preparing the interior and exhibition furniture for the adjoining part of the Czech pavilion called the Land of Fantasy, where regional exhibitions will be displayed.
    The budget for the Czech participation is expected to reach 180 to 260 million crowns, with the state contributing 60 million from the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The previous Expo 2010 exhibition took place in Shanghai, where the government allocated around half a billion crowns for it. From that, 70 million remained, which also belongs to the budget.