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July 5, 2016

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Reality goes virtualamid new technology

By Xu Wenwen | July 5, 2016, Tuesday | Print Edition

WE live in a world where virtual reality is changing the way we live our daily lives, and those changes are coming quickly.

E-commerce giant Alibaba, which is headquartered in Hangzhou, has unveiled a new plan to facilitate virtual reality support in both hardware and software on its existing platforms.

On Alibaba’s shopping site Taobao, clients will be able to have a more realistic look at merchandise on offer in the future. It’s all part of what Alibaba calls its Gnome Magic Lab, a research facility focused on virtual and augmented realities.

“VR shopping is a vision of future,” said Zhuang Zhuoran, senior director of Alibaba’s wireless division. “Imagination behind technology changes the world.”

It will take time to transform the display of billions of goods into the new virtual format, he added.

Since 2010, when Oculus VR designed the first prototype of Oculus Rift, the new technology is moving into all aspects of life and commerce. According to a report by LinkedIn last month, China’s demand for professionals with virtual reality skills ranks second in the world, after the US.

Hangzhou, often dubbed the “Silicon Valley of China,” is aiming to be a hub of the new technology.

Last week, in a class on fire safety techniques, attendees wore virtual reality headsets that enabled them to feel they were being threatened by fire. Instructions embedded in headsets told them how to make a safe exit.

Zhejiang Vici Science & Technology Co, which put on the class, makes advanced products for industries, the healthcare sector, education and public utilities. Its latest product is a VR panorama video with apps that is used by doctors teaching at medical schools.

“Our work is more than just letting people have fun,” said Vici executive Nikk Mitchell from Canada. “We try to change industries in meaningful ways.”

Mitchell, who used to run a video game company, refocused his career to virtual reality several years ago when he saw the potential of the new technology. He came to Hangzhou last year to work at Vici.

His story is similar to others.

When Wu Zhen received a gift of Oculus Rift in 2012, he decided to enter the industry. In 2014 he founded Hangzhou Immersion Science & Technology Co. Its software products include several games, such as mountain bike cycling and parachuting. The company also worked out a “seeing apartment” system that takes customers to virtual houses so they see what residences are on the market without having to plod around visiting them all.

The company’s hardware products include virtual reality helmets and headsets, as well as the bike for the cycling game. But the cost is high. The entire equipment for a game, including helmet, vest, and a gun costs 200,000 yuan (US$30,062).

Combining games and sports is an important segment in virtual reality. Hangzhou KATVR Science & Technology Co produces a virtual-reality running machine. It’s called Kat Walk, and unlike traditional treadmills, it provides greater freedom of movement with less constraints.

There are no rings or barriers to hinder movement, so users are free to move their body parts without fear of smacking into something. The built-in harness system is designed to accommodate different body shapes, supporting weight up to 140 kilograms. While other virtual reality treadmills require users to remain standing, Kat Walk permits users to sit.

“We adapted it more than 120 times,” said Pang Chen, chief executive of the company.

To date, the company’s crowded-funding campaign netted it nearly 1 million yuan.

“There were virtual reality treadmills in other countries before us, but we want foreign countries to see what China can do,” Pang said.

Indeed, said Vici’s Mitchell, foreign companies are eager to participate in China’s virtual reality market.

“I see many venture capitalists and virtual reality companies promoting the Chinese market,” he said. “So it’s not just a matter of seeking out Chinese companies to make stuff for them.”

However, according to the LinkedIn report, China has only 2 percent of the world’s professional talent in virtual reality, compared with 40 percent in the US.

“That’s why we tour China’s colleges to introduce this technology,” said Qin Lu, founder of Vici. “The industry in this country needs to mature, and for that, we need more than just speculators trying to make quick profits.”

Hangzhou


 

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