Worlds Fair NANO shares a vision of the future

Now in its second year, Worlds Fair NANO offered visitors the chance to get up close with technology at this two-day festival of all things futuristic at Brooklyn Expo Center.

Inside guests were invited to explore a "Technology Playground" where they could line up to try VR experiences, ride an electric skateboard, or get their hands on a variety of new products.

Out back there was a fenced area full of food trucks, a stage for performances, and playspace for attendees.

This young fellow took Fathom's underwater drone for a spin. 

It was neat to see a lot of women and kids present. Here you see Pop Up Gaming's VR tent outside.

You couldn't help but notice the Spacial Drone, a drone-directed floating air balloon of sorts.

If you were wondering about the history of Worlds Fairs, there was a series of signs giving historical context to the event.

The founder of Bionic Boot is currently looking for investors in his invention, which enables able-bodied humans to move faster and jump higher.

If you've been wondering what the practical uses of augmented reality are, imagine not having to pick up a cereal box to read the nutritional information. Just pick up your phone, open an app and aim a camera instead...

D Shape USA was on hand to show off its construction scale 3D printing. They have plans to build a large scale project upstate this spring!

I'm afraid this little guy wasn't too thrilled to be on the cutting edge of technology during his stay in the air conditioned Dog Parker, a locker for businesses to put outside so pet owners can shop or dine.

Scattered throughout there were a few non-commercial projects, like this Sound Sculpture by Masanry Studios. Guests were encouraged to move the blocks around while lights and sounds changed.

Kids and parents alike enjoyed trying their hand at 3D doodling.

This piece is just a small taste of Aqueous by Jen Lewin is an interactive platform of light that was shown at Burning Man in 2017.

What would a tech fair be without unidentified drones stalking you?

Hungry? If you sign up for a 12-dollar trial subscription to The Economist they'll give you a Beyond Burger for free. I am a vegetarian myself and I've had one of these -- they are pretty darn good.

Seek's booth was offering a taste of it's snacks made from crickets. It tastes just like granola. Yeah, the vegetarian tried the crickets. They're bugs, OK? I kill bugs all the time. 

If you'd rather try something made of people, Soylent has you covered. Just kidding, you guys! Soylent is not made of people. It's made of proudly genetically modified ingredients in perfectly nutritious meal-replacement quantities. 

Nima is a device that helps you verify if a food is actually gluten free, nut free or milk free.

Transhumanist concepts are explored in this augmented reality art exhibit, Prosthetic Reality from EyeJack. 

If you ever wanted to have a plastic pet or orb that glows at night with bioluminescent organisms inside, Dinopet is $59. 

If you wanted to try one of these newfangled skateboards there was a whole rookie-friendly rink set up with a variety of options.

These second-generation boards by Boosted start at $1,299.

Mellow's selling point is that it offers a simple drive unit you can attach to your favorite board. 

Acton showed off a full line of electric skateboards, some of which featured LED panels on the sides for visibility at night. 

You might not want to borrow a board and try skating out in the city streets, but here in the Fair it's pretty safe to check these out.

The Kittyo allows you to interact with your cat while away from home. Play with a laser, project your voice through the app, or dole out treats for your feline friend. 

This is called Disco Dog. It's a battery powered light-up "jacket" for your dog. You can control the lighting and even program messages to play across it from the app on your phone.

Not a ton of robots at the show, but here are a couple of "service" robots from Sanbot and Amy Robotics.

This Solar Car was a hotbed of selfie activity.

The booth set up by Tesla Community Incubator, a New Jersey Meetup group, was mobbed with interested parties. 

Athena is a wearable device that sounds a VERY loud alarm at the touch of it's button.

Though there were a lot of kids, this fair did not shy away from more adult-themed products, like this vibrator, Fin, from Dame Products. Get it? Fin?

Topstone's newest vaporizer, the V2, was on display to catch the eye of anyone with a taste for marijuana. It starts at $280.

Brooklyn locals at Baked Joint & Co. offers small batch CBD oil products that offer relief from anxiety and pain. Hemp is futuristic too, right?

Now on to some Virtual Reality, eh? Pal-V offers driving and flying experiences.

Oblix offers users the ability to explore the known universe through virtual reality experiences. 

Hubneo VR Lab is a Video Arcade in Manhattan where you can go to try this stuff anytime.

They offer a number of immersive VR experiences, such as this gaming contraption where you can walk around.

VIRRY VR offers relaxing interactive experiences with animals in a virtual safari environment. 

Wisemind is wellness oriented, giving you the chance to do things like balance stones, Tai-Chi, or special breathing exercises while listening to a relaxing soundtrack. 

Stimuli VR had its colorful VR glasses on sale for 20 bucks at the show. 

Hardlight VR is the "first affordable" haptic feedback suit for virtual reality experiences, starting at $399 for a kickstarter pledge that gets you a suit of your own.

Get ready for interactive corporate logos cluttering up your world. This Zeality demo of an augmented-reality shark was superimposed over the camera's view after you aim at a logo on the paper. 

3D Apartments is a local service where you can tour NYC real estate listings through virtual reality in the comfort of your own home.

Virtual World VR is the largest VR "center" around, just opened this month in NYC and boast over 50 different experiences including VR rides. Tickets start at $39 for 2 hrs or $25 for a "flight pass."

VR Bar is Brooklyn's first virtual-reality arcade. These things are popping up all over apparently. 

The Iota Project's clever approach to a demo area enabled people waiting in line to visualize "where" they'd be going once inside the VR experience.

And a tech show would not be complete without some good old 3D printing. Scan-a-rama intrigued passersby with its promise of a plastic mini-me.

They didn't forget the drones, either. Users lined up to get a chance to fly their choice of drones in this netted area.

Raceya encourages kids to take up STEM subject hobbies such as robotics. 

One attendee set up a telescope you could safely look at the sun through. 

Not only was there an expo but Worlds Fair Nano was host to a whole slew of speakers.

Around the corner you could attend what felt like a series of TED talks.