Betascape 2010: The Start of Something Good

Visitors to this year’s Artscape, America’s largest art festival on the east coast, saw something new happening off to the side of Mount Royal Avenue. Baltimore’s leaders in technology unveiled Betascape, a showcase of cutting-edge creative technology.

The tent outside hosted a variety of attractions for everyone to enjoy. The Robot Fest tables displayed a plethora of automatons, ranging from remote-controlled forklift bots to the robotic wizard introducing visitors to the display. Visitors could also have their pictures taken and turned into 3D images at the 3D ShapeShot table, then walk over to the RepRap table and see how 3D images can be made physical through cutting-edge 3D printing technology.

Meanwhile, inside the Fox Hall at MICA, local game studios like Breakaway and Pure Bang Entertainment, as well as students from UMBC, all had their latest games available for people to play. Alongside these new games were several arcade classics, courtesy of the folks from Magfest. The air-conditioned hall was a welcome relief to visitors and presenters alike, and the hall remained pack for the majority of the festival. I’m looking forward to see what Betascape has in store for us next year!