The city of Vilnius, Lithuania found a solution to pandemic travel restrictions. A real-time “portal” to another city. By the design that resembles something from the Stargate show, you can tell that they really went all-in on this.
A circular “door” for the portal near its train station that was installed by the city, could connect to another portal in Lublin, Poland which is about 600 kilometers away. Both portals have large screens and cameras that show live images between the two cities. Some kind of a digital bride, according to its creators. It is an initiative to make people “rethink the meaning of unity,” said Go Vilnius in a press release.
“Humanity is facing many potentially deadly challenges; be it social polarization, climate change or economic issues. However, if we look closely, it’s not a lack of brilliant scientists, activists, leaders, knowledge or technology causing these challenges. It’s tribalism, a lack of empathy and a narrow perception of the world, which is often limited to our national borders,” says Benediktas Gylys, President of the Benediktas Gylys Foundation.
Go Vilnius credits him as the “initiator” of the digital bridge idea. He describes the project as “a bridge that unifies and an invitation to rise above prejudices and disagreements that belong to the past.”
The engineers at the Creativity and Innovation Centre (LinkMenu fabrikas) at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University or also known as Vilnius Tech are the ones who design the circle. It was meant to evoke the wheel of time and a “well-known… sci-fi symbol”. It took them five years and the fact that it was done by the end of a yearlong pandemic is perfect-timed. The organizers said there are plans to add more portals in other cities in the future.
The portal is a joint project with the Benediktas Gylys Foundation, the City of Vilnius, the City of Lublin, and the Crossroads Centre for Intercultural Creative Initiatives.
“From design and 3D modeling, to digital content development and logistic challenges – a project like this requires a broad and multifunctional team,” said Adas Meskenas, director of LinkMenu fabrikas. “Meaningful projects like this one are born when diverse people succeed in working together and achieving synchronicity.”
Sources: The Verge