First Global Virtual Reality Conference Brings Together Global Thoughts to Promote Industrial Development

SHANGHAI, June 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 8, 2016, the first Global Virtual Reality Conference (GVRC) was held successfully in China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, China. 

The theme of the conference was "Create a Brand New World", gathering the most influential virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) scientists, corporate executives, innovators, investors, and industry leaders in the world to give keynote speeches and take part in roundtable discussions so as to exchange and share the latest VR/AR technical trends and industrial applications with the participants to jointly promote industry integration and development.

As the first and the permanent venue of GVRC, Shanghai will stand at the forefront of the global VR/AR industry and attract extensive attention worldwide as 'a leader in the future decade'.

Shanghai being settled as the permanent venue is the witness to the strength of China

Every industry revolution in history attracts extensive attention. VR/AR is no exception. The report, VR and AR: Reading the Next Universal Computing Platform, issued by Goldman Sachs in Feb. 2016 indicates the standard expectation is that VR/AR market scale in 2025 will reach 80 billion US dollars.

China used to be involved as one participant or a follower of such scientific and technological developments but this time it is dominating as the market leader.

Shanghai has risen as a new center for world innovation and now its representative, Jinqiao Development Zone, is speeding up in implementing a new strategy of "secondary development and leaping development" to build a new industry system dominated by high-end producer services, focused on high-end intelligent equipment, new energy vehicles, mobile video, new financial, and other strategic emerging industries, and supported by the advanced manufacturing industry.

As VR/AR is one of the core technologies of such industry system, Pudong New Area -- the area of Shanghai where Jinqiao is located -- put a lot of effort and energy into hosting this global virtual reality conference. Guided by Shanghai Economic and Information Technology Committee and fully supported by Shanghai Pudong New Area Economic and Information Technology Committee, China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Jinqiao Administration Office, Shanghai Jinqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone, CEIBS Group Innovation Platform, Shanghai Jinqiao Export Processing Zone Development Co., Ltd., and China Mobile Migu Video Technology Co., Ltd. Jinqiao has been settled as the permanent venue of global virtual reality conference (GVRC).

Behind the honor of "the first and the permanent venue" is the resolution of Jinqiao to upgrade its industry and to stand at the forefront of the industry, as well as the recognition from the world on China's achievements in the VR/AR field.

2016 is arguably the first year that VR technology has drawn such great attention from capital markets. Every industry -- games, movies and television, or online shopping -- is eager to jump in. Some new experiences that subvert tradition are presented to the public.

The conference will last for five days in the forms of forum, exhibition and display. The summit forum on June 8 gathers Microsoft, META, Virtually Live, Macrograph, and other global top VR/AR technology content application corporations; CEIBS, Stanford University, Columbia University, Shanghai Theater Academy, China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Shanghai University of Science and Technology and other well known research institutions and practitioners; China Mobile Migu Video, CNR (China National Radio) Mobile, and other Chinese leading content operators and distributors; as well as more than one hundred investment and financing institutions such as Loyal Valley Innovation Capital, Kuan Capital, Richen Capital and many outstanding entrepreneurs in sports, tourism, education, agriculture, construction, medical, home, media, and many other industries. The conference has attracted 2,000 persons inside and outside the industry to Jinqiao China to construct the blueprint of VRAR.

Zhu Xiaoming, Management Professor of CEIBS, analyzed the changing VR/AR trends in his keynote speech. He said: "As a professor of CEIBS, I find the reason why VR/AR is popular among the students of business schools is not because they want to prepare their graduation paper on pure technology, but because they want to have foresight in finding a good job, starting their own business, or making investments or acquisitions, because they want to be as competitive as possible in their company transition so as to win from the very beginning in market competition.

"The professors of business schools pay attention to VR/AR so that they could seize the initiative of transition in lecturing the students, to transit from 'preparing verbal case' into 'planning visual case', from 'lecturer' to 'producer of illustrated PPTs with both audio and video effects + VR/AR producer and director + presenter.'"

"As far as Gartner (a famous global science and technology advisor) Hype Cycle is concerned," added Zhu, "VR/AR has been in Phase 3 of the five phases for the last four years from 2012 to 2015, indicating its vast potential for future development is worthy of the attention of entrepreneurs and investors."

The Forum aims to gather VR/AR industry elites and big names home and abroad to freely talk industry changes resulting from science and technology, discuss life changes initiated by virtual reality technology, and build a global VR/AR communication platform and a sustainable and influential brand.

The Forum consists of one morning session and one afternoon session. The morning session discussed global VRAR technology plus Chinese VRAR contents, while the afternoon one went to VR/AR industry application in the world plus VR/AR industry application and investment and financing in China.

The Forum experienced four roundtable discussions on subjects of "At an age of VR/AR, to seize technical height or to hold position of art (or art for healing)", "VR/AR and Industry Application", "VR Industry Investment Logic", "How does VR industry dig gold from pan entertainment", focusing on VR/AR industrial innovation and new business models in combination with various industries for promoting business values. All the guests spoke up freely and the atmosphere of discussion on site was quite intense.

Currently, most investments in the VR/AR industry are for hardware equipment research and development. The data show VR hardware manufacturers raised 51.9% capital of the whole VR industry and thus compose the most concerned and the most competitive sector among the investors.

In comparison, the lack of content development is a huge challenge that restricts the development of the VR industry. In the future, content innovation and mature content production mode will greatly push forward the development of the VR industry and overturn the traditional industry. VR and AR technology is likely to become the 3^rd IT industry revolution after PC and the internet.

Jinqiao has been promoting the development of mobile internet and constructing a complete industry system and thus enjoys unique advantages in VRAR industry. Jinqiao shall rely on the existing mobile internet audio and video industry to grow into the information center that gathers global technologies.

Danny Yamin from Microsoft USA introduced how Hololens created future of mixed reality.

Christopher Stapleton from Simiosys Real World Lab USA explained how VR, a brand new immersion experience technology, started connecting hearts (emotion) and minds (reason) to bring our senses into a new experience scene.

Ryan Pampline from META USA took AR as the next generation of computer platforms (which is different from VR of Facebook). Computers will be a natural extension of our body and senses. The traditional screen will vanish. The whole world will be a stage to present information.

The greatest charm of AR is that it naturally puts virtual information into a real environment to fit into the trend of intelligent hardware and wearable computing better, and helps people communicate with a series of information from reality in interactive experience that is more natural and more intuitive to achieve the objective of more efficient life and work.

Many industry insiders consider AR/VR as two research directions of one technology system. Finally, they will go together to construct the future calculation mode (such integration is named by Microsoft as MR -- mixed reality).

Tom from Virtually Live started with high speed development of VR market and went into the huge demand of future VR development: research and development of application content. Under the stimulus of growing market size, the demand of killer apps will be more and more intense in VR industry.

He regarded sports products as the reason why VR killer apps exists. Based on the market size, content suitability, sports content consumption features, and other factors, he revealed that sports content pursuing "real presence" was completely in conformity with characteristics of VR technology.

Professor Yu Jingyi from Shanghai University of Science and Technology put forward that the traditional VR 3D imaging technique was to put together two images with slightly different angles to form illusion, which requires one to imagine out of a 2D scene, it may cause much pressure and fatigue to our eyes, while the light field technology would recover the depth of the scene in front of the experiencer, so that even with one eye the experiencer would experience the 3D effect of VR scene as they were in a real world.

"Jinqiao China - Originator of VR Industry -- the First Global Virtual Reality Conference" is a long lasting international activity to gather views of authority both in the industry and abroad and integrate industry resources to achieve cross-industry connection, discuss new industrial and social changes and trends, and seek for international communication and cooperation. The global virtual reality conference (GVRC) is not just one conference but the start of an industrial level exchange activities.

The exchange, integration, and leaven of information, ideas, and resources will build GVRC into one global VRAR industry application communication platform. When the conference is not in session, one of the hosts, Shanghai Xuanjing Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd., will make subject discussion and communication with partners from all industries on cooperative solutions between VR/AR and all industries and will hold ongoing thematic activities of VRAR application in various industries.

The conference greatly promoted Pudong Jinqiao. Xuanjing Science and Technology, together with other partners, provide real accelerator services for VR/AR industry under the support of Pudong Jinqiao Economic and Technological Development Administration Committee to not only introduce advanced VR/AR technology for Jinqiao, for Shanghai, for China but also to inject lasting vitality into Chinese new business form with the help of resources integration and great geography and policy advantages and to find future values of Chinese market for global innovation technologies.

It is the mission of the global virtual reality conference (GVRC). We will adopt cross-industry integration method to open up a magnificent future for VR/AR in Jinqiao, in Shanghai, in China.

The conference brought together international VR/AR technology display of many exhibitors from China, USA, South Korea, and other countries, including panoramic camera from Lenovo Blue Cuckoo Technology Co. Ltd., VR motorcycle race experience from South Korean exhibitor, holographic experience from Shenzhen Euclideon Technology Co. Ltd., etc. The well-designed exhibition venues and numerous exhibitors will lead us to experience a technology feast.

We will give VR live broadcasting of the conference for you on Migu Video. Download "Migu Live" app. It will feel just like watching the conference with us in person.

SOURCE Global Virtual Reality Conference Committee