Does the future of filmmaking lie in virtual reality (VR) films?

    An ambitious team led by Yale senior Celine Tien might hold the answer to that question.

    Tien produced,directed and acted in Pippa's Pan,which she says is “one of the world's first live-action VR films.”The film,which was completed in April,mixes live action with VR sections.Some of the characters were created via animation（动画）and other techniques that distinguish the film from 360° VR videos like the ones frequently seen on YouTube.

    “360° VR videos are stagnant,which means you don't move with them and see a 360° view of whatever they're filming.”Tien explained.“What we're doing is immersive（沉浸式的）VR.When you put on the goggles (a kind of special glasses) you can physic.ally walk around in the space,pick up objects and engage with the environment.It's a huge difference.”

    The immersive VR film experience is different for everyone who interacts with the medium,but that doesn't mean the film's ending will change for each viewer.

    The film stars two Chinese-speaking actors."It's a love story about a woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease who is trying to bring back memories of her husband,"Tien said.

    The film has already been recognized by the VR industry.After handing in a short demo to the AT&T Developer Summit Conference,Tien and her team were invited to Las Vegas in January,where they came in third place.

    If you're dying to see the film already,your choices area bit limited: Pippa's Pan can't be seen in movie theaters unless they happen to have VR goggles available.According to Tien,many theaters in China will soon have the ability,which makes sense considering China is the film's target market.

    Pippa's Pan will be released in three languages: Chinese,English and Korean.“It can get spread in different ways: at film festivals with VR set ups and through HTC or Oculus headset stores,”Tien says.“If you have VR goggles you can download it and experience it yourself.We will also cooperate with movie theaters that have VR set ups.”

    Alexander John Jordan was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1914. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Wisconsin. After about one year of college, Alex dropped out.

    Alex then went from job to job. He drove a taxi and worked for Royavac. He also worked for his father's construction company, where Alex got his basic knowledge of construction.

    In the 1940s, Alex discovered Deer Shelter Rock and began having small picnics on the top of the rock. He then started bringing his tent and camping out. One night, his tent got blown away and from that day, Alex decided he wanted to build something more stable. That was the beginning of his dreams. Alex started off by renting the rock and a bit of land around it from a local farmer. He first built a small studio with a fireplace. Then Alex, with his parents' help, bought 240 acres of land, so he could build as he pleased. What took shape on and around Deer Shelter Rock was truly a wonderful achievement. More wonderful still is the fact that he built much of the original house by himself, carrying the materials up the 75-foot-high rock.

    As curiosity grew surrounding his project, more and more people came to visit the House on the Rock. Alex decided to charge people 50 cents to visit, thinking that would drive them away; however, people gladly paid the fee. In 1960, Alex decided to open the House on the Rock to the public. This increased the interest and the crowds grew. All of the money taken in over the years was put directly back into the House. Alex was devoted to the House on the Rock. It was his life and dream.

    A rabbit and two ducks were good friends. They used to meet on the bank of a river and play together. One day the ducks told the rabbit that they had found a carrot farm on the other bank of the river. The rabbit was excited and quickly asked for the help of his friends to cross the river, reach the farm and enjoy the carrots. The ducks agreed to carry him across the river.

    They made a wonderful plan to cross the river. The two ducks entered the river and stayed close to each other. The rabbit carefully got on their backs and stayed still. Then the ducks slowly swam across the river, staying close to each other. The rabbit cautiously stayed on top of the moving birds.

    Right before they reached the center of the river, the ducks suddenly saw a large number of fishes swimming together. In the excitement of finding a delicious meal in the water, the ducks quickly swam to either side to catch the fishes. They forgot about the poor rabbit on their backs, who fell down into the deep river as the ducks moved away. The ducks remembered their job only after they finished their meal. However, by that time the poor rabbit had already drowned (淹死). The foolish ducks were sorry to miss their good friend.

    From this short story, we know love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which is shown it in action.

    The next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) may be sitting right beneath you, at least if furniture maker Ikea has any say in the matter. The Swedish furniture company's “future-living” research lab in Copenhagen is conducting a survey to understand what people want when it comes to smart furniture.

    AI is now walking into more aspects of people's daily lives. Self-driving cars are just around the corner, and AI robots can play and beat the best players of strategy games. As smart home technologies have become more ubiquitous, products ranging from smart electrical outlets（插座）to smart smoke alarms are flooding the market. Therefore, it's not surprising that Ikea would be moving in the same direction.

    Exactly why people would want their sofa or bed frame to speak to then, track their daily movements or offer help is not yet clear. Though Ikea's the new survey doesn't directly answer that question, it does provide a hint of what people would feel comfortable with. Most participants wanted a more human0like form of virtual（虚拟的）assistants, as opposed to one that is more robotic. In terms of the ideal gender（性别）of the assistants, the most popular choice was neither male nor female. Few wanted a religious form of AI.

    Just as with human friends, most wanted AI friends that were like them, affirming their own worldview. They wanted an AI assistant that was reasonably intelligent-that could collect data to predict what a person wanted before he or she asked, and that could prevent someone from making mistakes.

    This is not the first time that Ikea has set foot in the field or futuristic technologies. In addition to wireless charging tables and chainless bikes that never rust（生锈）, the furniture giant has also pictured smart kitchens that can cook the best meal. To decide on how intelligent you want your next sofa or bookshelf to be, you can take Ikea's survey online.

    An online supermarket company—Ocado in the UK, has recently displayed a robotic hand that can pick fruits and vegetables!

    When an embryo (胚胎) is in the womb, the very first sense it develops is touch. The sense of touch is also the one that lasts the longest—as we get older and our vision and hearing begins to weaken, touch still remains. Humans use their touch to protect themselves, to create emotional relationships with other people, and to experience pleasure. Can you imagine life without it?

    The sense of touch comes from a network of nerve endings and special touch receptors on the surface of the skin. While there are different kinds of touch receptors (感受器), they help us judge pressure, texture and vibrations (震动). They are located in our fingertips, palms, soles of our feet, face, lips and tongue.

    When we touch something, the mechano-receptors perceive the touch and through a network of nerves, send signals to the brain. This informs the brain about the location of the touch, the amount of force used, and the speed at which it was used.

    Several different techniques have been tried in the past to create such a robotic hand—using three fingers. But this latest design by SoMa copies the human hand. The gripper (夹具) is made up of flexible materials which grasp onto the thing based on its size and shape. Then air pressure is used to control the movement of the robotic fingers to pick objects safely and without causing damage.

    The next step would be for the robot to judge how ripe the fruits and vegetables are, and apply pressure accordingly. Members of the research team are currently working on adding computerized vision to the robots, so that they can see what they are gripping.

    Does all this mean robots can replace people? According to Ocado, it helps improve productivity by removing some of the repetitive tasks done by humans.

What Is a Superiority Complex?

A superiority complex is a behavior that suggests a person believes they are somehow superior to others. People with this complex often have overstated opinions of themselves. They may believe their abilities and achievements are better than those of others. However, the complex is believed to be a defense system for feelings of inadequacy that we all struggle with.

It is unclear why a person develops a superiority complex. Multiple incidents may be the root cause. For example, it may be the result of many failures. A person tries to complete a specific goal or achieve a desired outcome, but they don't succeed. They learn to handle the anxiety and stress of the failure by pretending to be above it. If they feel protected from their failures in this way, they may repeat this behavior in the future.

These behaviors can begin at an early age. When a child is learning to cope with challenges, they may learn to control feelings of inadequacy or fear. A superiority complex may develop. Likewise, it may also happen later in life. As teens and adults, a person has many opportunities to try new things among new people. If these situations are not successfully coped with, a person may develop a superiority complex to overcome feeling isolated.

People with a superiority complex are unlikely to be a threat to anyone's physical health. However, the continuous lies and overstatements can become annoying to others and may negatively affect relationships. It can push away other people in your life and shrink your social circle. If you are in a relationship with a person who you think has the issue, encourage the person to seek help. For example, never hesitate to reach out to mental health professionals. They can find healthier ways to deal with hidden feelings.