Whatimpressedthestudentsmostisnotonlythefreshexperience,butalsootherbenefitsVRhastooffer,likenotsufferingfromcollateraldamage,wasteanddangerousgasesproducedfromrealclassroomexperiments.
鈥淚ncarryingoutanexperiment,Imaynothavetimetonoticeitifthecorrectstepsarenotfollowed.WhenexperimentingwithVRglasses,onlyifthestepsarecorrectcanwecontinue,鈥漵aidFang.SheaddedthatVRtechnologyalsoallowsthestudentstocarryoutexperimentspreviouslyregardedasdangerous,intheknowledgethatapparatuswouldnotliterallyblowupintheirfaces.
Inrecentyears,VRtechnologyhasbeenappliedinvariousfieldsinChina,includingonlinegaming,education,e-commerceandrehabilitation.ItcomesasnosurprisegivenChina鈥檚insatiableappetitefortechnologythatthecountry鈥檚VRmarketistakingabigleap.
AccordingtoWangPeng,deputyheadofChinaCenterforInformationIndustryDevelopmentundertheMinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnology(MIIT),China鈥檚VRmarketwillexceed$13.1billionby2020,withanannualcompoundgrowthrateofover120percent.
Expansivegrowth
VRisaninteractivecomputer-generatedexperienceusingcomputer-basedtechnologytosimulateavirtual3Denvironmentthatresemblesreality.Withthehelpofequipmentsuchashelmetsandglasses,usersfeelthattheyarereallyexperiencingvirtualscenes.
StatisticsreleasedbyMIITrevealthatChina鈥檚VRmarketexpanded164percentyearonyeartoreach$2.4billionin2017.
Accordingtothe2018-22ReportonVirtualRealityProductIndustryMarketandInvestmentProspectsreleasedbythenewsijie,aprofessionalinformationwebsitebasedinBeijing,thescaleofChina鈥檚VRusersisexpandingrapidly.In2014,thetotalnumberofactiveVRusersinChinareached200,000;thenumberincreasedto90millionin2017;andin2018,it鈥檚expectedtoincreasesignificantlyto170million.
Accordingtothereport,regardingChina鈥檚VRmarketvalue,theVRheadsetmarketoccupies59.4percent,rankingfirst,followedbytheVRexperiencepavilionwithamarketshareof10.3percentandVRcamerasaccountedfor9.7percent.
China鈥檚VRheadsetmarketgrew200percentinthefirstquarterof2018,drivenbyastrongperformanceofthestandaloneheadsetnichemarket,saidindependentanalystcompanyCanalys.
ThestrongChineseVRheadsetmarketgrowthisdrivenbythefastgrowingstandaloneVRheadsetsegmentasChinanowdominatesthenichemarket,accountingfor82percentofglobalshipments.AccordingtoMIIT,inthefirstquarterof2018,standaloneVRheadsetsaccountedfor51percentoftheVRmarketinChina,with94,000unitsshipped.
Wideapplication
Inrecentyears,VRtechnologyhasbeenappliedinmanyareasinChina.AccordingtoAskCIConsulting,anagencyofferinganalyticsandfinancialadvisoryservicesinChina,in2017,inChina鈥檚VRtechnologyapplicationsector,thegamingsectoraccountedforthehighestproportionof29percent,followedbythefilmandtelevisionlivebroadcastwith18percent,andeducation,makingup14percent.InMarch,inBeijingNo.1IntermediatePeople鈥檚Court,VRtechnologywasusedinacourtroomforthefirsttimeinacriminalcase.
Inthecourt,wearingapairofVRglassesandoperatingahandset,awitnesscouldmovethesimulatedimagesofasuspectedmurdererandvictimonthescreentoreplicatethecrimesceneshehadseen.Besides,theVRtechnologyispartofavisualizationsystemwhichalsoincludesaprojectionthatcanpresentevidenceincludingtexts,photosandvideos.
VRtechnologyhasalsobeenusedindrugrehabilitationcenters.InShanghai,severaldrugrehabilitationcentersareusingVRtechnologytohelprecoveringaddicts.
Onekeyprobleminkickingoffthedrughabitisthedifficultyforthestaffandeventheaddictstoknowhowbadlytheyareaddicted.UserswearVRhelmetswithaneye-movementtrackingsystemandthen鈥渨alkinto鈥漵ceneswithdrugsandotherparaphernalia.Theireyemovement,togetherwithotherbiologicalindicatorssuchasheartrateandskinconductivity,isrecordedasanobjectivewaytoshowtheirlevelofaddiction.
Theapplicationhelpsstaffmembersunderstandthesufferers鈥檒evelofaddictionandassistthemtoturntheirlivesaroundmorequickly,accordingtoinformationreleasedbyShanghaiDrugRehabilitationAdministration.Educationisalsobenefiting.VRisinjectingnewvitalityintoteaching.
LikeFang,studentsdonwearablescreensandwiredgloves,tointeractwithvirtualenvironments,foranexperiencemuchricherthanthatprovidedbytraditionalteaching.
AttheSichuanUniversityinsouthwestChina鈥檚SichuanProvince,atomsandmoleculeshavebeendisplayedtostudentsinasmartteachingenvironment.Withmixedrealitytechnology,studentscannotonlyseeimagesofchemicalstructuresbutalsostretchanddistortthemwiththeirfingersbytouchingthescreen.
Policysupport
Atpresent,VRisstillinitsinfancyandhasunlimitedpotential.Butlikeothernewtechnologies,itbringssomenewrisks.
Accordingtothe42ndStatisticalReportonInternetDevelopmentinChinareleasedbyChinaInternetNetworkInformationCenter,atpresent,China鈥檚VRproductsarestillmainlydevelopedbystartupswhicharefacedwithproblemsincludingtheshortageoftechnicaltalents,obstaclesindevelopingcoretechnologies,andimprovementofindustrymaturity.
Tofurtherpromotethedevelopmentoftheindustry,ChinamadepoliciestosupporttheresearchanddevelopmentofcoreVRtechnology.TheMIITsaiditwouldspeedupthecreationandrevisionofindustrystandardsandpromotetheapplicationofVRtechnologyandproductsinotherareas.
TheVirtualRealityIndustryAllianceinChina,anindustryallianceestablishedinMarchwiththesupportofMIIT,issuedstandardsforvirtualrealitydevicesonApril6tofurtherstandardizetheindustry,whichcovertheresolution,systemlatency,andfieldofview,includingtrackingsystemsofvarioustypesofdisplaydevices.ThestandardscanbeusedtoregulateandguideallkindsofVRheadsetdisplaydevicedesign,production,testingandexperimentation.
ZhangFeng,ChiefEngineerofMIIToutlinedplanstofurtherspeedupthepromotionandstandardizationoftheindustry.Henotedthatoptimizingtheindustrialdevelopmentprocessisimportant.Inaddition,hepointedoutthat,itisnecessarytostrengthenthecoretechnologyoftheindustryanddevelopVRindustrialchain,focusingonsupportingthedevelopmentofcoredevices,thedevelopmentofVRmodelingandsimulation,enhancinghuman-computerinteractionandconstantlyimprovingthehardwareandsoftware.
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