When I am traveling, I think about various things. Of cause I imagine something fun and exciting. However, at the same time I ask myself…
if I should turn my eyes only on the brilliant things, the prosperity and what is prepared for tourists.
if I should watch photogenic objects without looking on the issues and the problems the country has.
if it’s impossible to learn from incidents we human have caused and disasters we met.
if we can make a peaceful world.
and if…
VR technology becomes popular now. Hearing the word “VR”, I expect something interesting and My heart pounds at the future excitement. Lots of contents like Google Earth VR, Mission:ISS and Doraemon VR are provided, and that make us teleported to a different spacial dimension. These kinds of technologies are of great interest.
This time “The Farm 51” released the content with any social means. The name of this application is “Chernobyl VR Project”. As you imagine without difficulties, this is about the incident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant that caused severe environmental pollution in human history. It features this content is the mixture of video games, and educational and movie narrative software. They said that they developed it because they think that VR technology is not only for entertainment, but it comes to addressing important social issues.
More than thirty years have passed since this accident happened. But still we can’t enter the place within a radius of 30 kilometers of the nuclear power plant. The school which had been full of children has been in ruins, and become completely quiet. Almost 20 years have passed science nuclear reactor were shut down. But decontamination operations hasn’t been completed yet. Furthermore the problem about the radioactive waste processing method has not been fixed.
Through this virtual tour, we can travel in those keep out areas. How do we feel when we face the ghost town, Pripyat. Can we imagine how far the nuclear power plant that is said to provide safe and clean energy has given impacts on the earth? We can’t ignore this problem as something unrelated to ourselves, if we can consider this issue as the problem we, the earthlings, hold.
And I think we Japanese had to listen to the message, which Ukrainian give, for FUKUSHIMA and for Japan as a victim of atomic bombs.
The content “Chernobyl VR Project” seems to be supported on Oculus and PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, or the mobile Samsung Gear VR solution. And you can buy one on OCULUS STORE、G2A.COM、STEAM, and the price is USD 14,99. A portion of the sales is donated to the charities supporting victims of the disaster.
I’ll write a blog about the Chernobyl museum.
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