Cardboard Crash is a 2015 National Film Board of Canada (NFB) mobile app and virtual reality work developed by Vincent McCurley, exploring the ethical issues of autonomous cars. [1] [2]
Produced for the NFB in Vancouver by Loc Dao, Cardboard Crash explores the ethical consequences of self-driving car algorithms and how should they be chosen. [3] It presents users in a scenario where they are driving with a child in the vehicle and a road incident presents them with three alternative actions: veering left and colliding with a family, driving into a truck, or turning right, off a cliff. The accident-in-progress is slowed down to bullet time, as users are forced to make the choices a computer might have to make, with no ideal solution. [4] [1] [2]
Cardboard Crash was selected to the 2015 DocLab program at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam as well as the New Frontier section of 2016 Sundance Film Festival. In April 2016, it received the Webby Award for Online Film & Video/ VR: Gaming, Interactive, or Real-time (Branded), as The NFB’s Cardboard Crash VR for Google Cardboard . In November 2016, it received the award for Best Mobile Entertainment at the Digi Awards. [5] [1]
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment, education and business. Other distinct types of VR-style technology include augmented reality and mixed reality, sometimes referred to as extended reality or XR, although definitions are currently changing due to the nascence of the industry.
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and alternative dramas. In total, the NFB has produced over 13,000 productions since its inception, which have won over 5,000 awards. The NFB reports to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. It has bilingual production programs and branches in English and French, including multicultural-related documentaries.
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