Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky defended his country’s colors at VivaTech. But since the war with Russia forced him to stay in kyiv, the head of state intervened in the form of a hologram.
It’s not just Jean-Luc Mélenchon – nevertheless a great precursor here – to try out the latest technological innovations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a remarkable appearance at the VivaTech show in Paris without even taking a plane. To reach the Porte de Versailles, the Head of State took a dematerialized route: the hologram.
“It may be unusual for presidents or heads of government to use a hologram to address people, but that’s not the only aspect of Star Wars that we put into practice”, commented the Ukrainian president who received at the same time in kyiv his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. Zelensky had also swapped his military clothes for a t-shirt in tribute to the galactic saga of George Lucas.
Unbelievable !
The special Guest of #VivaTech is… @ZelenskyyUathe President of Ukraine ??, in 3D hologram.
Almost as real as in nature!#VivaTech2022pic.twitter.com/OEj2ppjvjE
— Jonathan Chan ?? at #Vivatech (@ChanPerco) June 16, 2022
In reality, the Ukrainian president was not only present in kyiv and Paris. It appeared simultaneously in several European trade fairs dedicated to technology, such as the Brilliant Minds in Stockholm, the Founders forum in London, or The Next Web in Amsterdam. And finally VivaTech. But while the Ukrainian president has given laurels to his country’s tech companies, adding that “Ukraine is an opportunity for your businesses, your investments”it is the Canadian company ARHT Media which was at work behind this hologram.
Roughly speaking, it captures the person’s speech in 3D and broadcasts it in a kind of large box giving a photorealistic side to the image. The technology used is thus not the same as that used by Jean-Luc Mélenchon during his last two presidential campaigns. He had relied on the know-how of Adrenaline Studio. However, this French company does not use a box, but a system of projection and mirrors giving the illusion that the person is present on stage.