Getting caught in the rain is always a drag. You wind up dashing from awning to awning (or tree to tree) trying desperately to keep yourself — and your expensive gadgets — dry. In this art installation it’s always raining, but you never have to worry about getting wet.
Using a system of 3D cameras, the Rain Room by Random International makes sure you stay bone dry, even in the midst of what seems like a total downpour. The cameras keep track of where all the bodies in the room are and dynamically adjusts the downpour so that it narrowly avoids you and your pals. It’s like a reverse 3D-water-printer, or the opposite of a little cartoon thundercloud that follows you around and rains on your parade.
The installation is currently on display at the Barbican Art Gallery in London, so if it starts raining near you, don’t expect the same functionality. But if we ever get weather control down to an absolute science, this would be a handy feature. [The Guardian]