Robots, drones, and wearable tech: Exhibition on smart gadgets that change our lives

Looking for something to do this weekend? How about a peek into the future?

The Hong Kong Design Institute and the Hong Kong Institute of Education have partnered with Germany’s Red Dot Design Museum for an exhibition that explores how combining digital technology with human factors can lead to new creations that impact our everyday lives.

Professor Dr Peter Zec – founder and CEO of the Red Dot Design Award – will open the exhibition tomorrow with a lecture on the emergence of a new type of human following Homo Sapiens and Homo Faber, this new human is called Homo Ex Data.

“With Homo Ex Data, human evolution is entering a whole new phase,” says Zec.

“Unlike Homo Faber, this new type of human is no longer interested in having power over technology in order to control his environment. Instead, such humans themselves become part of a world that strives for absolute transparency, organised by universal data transfer. This world regenerates itself again and again by coupling artificial with natural systems.”

The exhibition, called Homo Ex Data – The Natural of the Artificial, will feature more than 150 Red Dot Award-winning technology products split into 18 categories, each one exploring the impact of technology on our lives including wearable tech, computer-simulated reality, touchscreens, and drones.

Products on display include the Microsoft HoloLens, augmented reality glasses that allow users to interact with holographic objects; the Xkelet, a 3D printed cast that is more comfortable and hygienic than a normal cast; and Pudding BeanQ, an adorable, small personal robot that can play with, teach, and interact with children.

An opening ceremony for Homo Ex Data – The Natural of the Artificial will be held at the HKDI Gallery, 3 King Ling Road, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories at 6pm on Friday, Nov 24.

The exhibition will run until May 27 next year. The gallery will close on Tuesdays Dec 3 and 10, and Jan 21. For more information, visit www.hkdi.edu.hk/hkdi_gallery or email hkdi-gallery@vtc.edu.hk.

All photos provided by Red Dot Design Awards.