COMPUTEX Pre-Show Forum Discussed Opportunities & Challenges of Metaverse Applications

The co-organizer of COMPUTEX, Taipei Computer Association (TCA) stated that in order to help share the trends and opportunities emerging from metaverse applications, TCA held the COMPUTEX Pre-Show Forum: Opportunities & Challenges of Metaverse Applications. The event invited industry experts from HTC, NVIDIA, MIC, and Big x Reality to share their experiences on metaverse enterprise applications, comprehensive industrial metaverse applications, metaverse developments and applications analysis, metaverse powered digital twins, and more. The speakers also discussed the latest metaverse industry trends and share practical application use cases to help visitors understand how metaverse can be leveraged for digital transformation and to improve the efficiency of enterprise operations.

The video of the forum will be shared to the COMPUTEX CYBERWORLD platform in the near future. In addition, TCA also stated that COMPUTEX and InnoVEX 2023 will be held in Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Halls 1 and 2 from May 30 to June 2. Events and information from the events will be shared to the CYBERWORLD Platform when available at https://show.computex.biz/online.aspx

Yu-Lin, Liu: Metaverse is an Important Tool for Industrial Digital Transformation

In his speech titled Metaverse Smart Digital Twins XR Integration of Virtual and Reality for Industry Success, Mr. Liu, Senior Industry Analyst/ Project Manager of MIC discussed the technical and economic aspects of metaverse from the development and application aspects. Mr. Liu also shared about the opportunities for metaverse applications from the technology, economy, society, and market side; as well as feasible directions for companies aiming to enter the metaverse industry.

Mr. Liu stated that the vision of metaverse can be divided into 3 “new “aspects. The first is the new invested capitals. In 2021, the amount of investments in XR-related fields increased by nearly 2.3 times. The second is the technology that can be integrated in to the metaverse such as XR, digital twins, 5G, blockchain, and more. The third is the new innovations; especially during the height of the pandemic, many new applications were or could be improved through metaverse.

Mr. Liu further shared that metaverse applications can be divided into 6 categories based on the application fields: entertainment, smart city, retail, education, enterprise, and industrial applications. Different fields will have different focuses and business models so a generalization will not be possible. For example, metaverse has various use cases and nuances even in the entertainment field. Social games including Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, The Sandbox, and ZEPETO all has their own characteristics and users can make money or conduct trade through their internal digital currencies. This further improves the user engagement in the relevant metaverse platforms.

Smart cities such as Virtual Shibuya, Virtual Osaka, Seoul Metaverse, etc. have their own different purposes and use cases. In the industrial field, metaverse can be used to build a factory with digital twin that not only allows users to improve production line operations, but also production efficiency. Metaverse can also be used to facilitate education and training, reducing on-site operations risks, while assisting the industrial digital transformation.

Tai Ito: VIVERSE Allows Users to Quickly Build Business Solutions

Metaverse has a wide range of applications and the business applications of metaverse related to audio-visual entertainment, interactive marketing, and vertical fields are among the most practical and feasible. The SVP and VIVERSE Product Head of HTC, Mr. Tai Ito stated that the VIVERSE metaverse platform integrates technologies such as AR/VR, 5G, AI, and blockchain. Companies and businesses can leverage the VIVERSE ecosystem to quickly create their own metaverse solutions and utilize blockchain to ensure data privacy and security. For example, many well-known companies can create their own online product launch or online events through VIVERSE based platforms. Animation companies can also use VIVERSE to quickly build their own VR experiences, metaverse events, and even launch mobile game products and expand the platforms of the animation industry.

Enterprises can utilize HTC’s VIVERSE for Business to help enterprises build their own virtual offices and use metaverse as a technology to enable remote work, online meetings, collaborations, product demonstrations, and co-working spaces. Users can then utilize various communication tools improve work efficiency. It can even support 3rd party APIs to enable more than just work spaces through metaverse; such as yoga spaces, fitness spaces, and more to help users continue their operations in the metaverse.

Dr. William Wong: Omniverse Integrates AI, 3D Imaging, IoT, etc. to Create a Comprehensive Digital Twin

In his speech, Dr. William Wong, Developer Relations Manager | AI/ML Manufacturing of NVIDIA stated that Metaverse is the 3D evolution of the internet. Many metaverse applications today have been utilized in product design, interior design, 5G/ 6G network communication design, smart factory, smart city, scientific simulation, and other fields through digital twin to improve design efficiency, reduce downtime & cost, and improving the overall quality.

NVIDIA launched the Omniverse metaverse platform to facilitate metaverse powered digital twins. Omniverse allows users to simulate changes and iterations with realistic effects and replicate the effects in the real world through AI. Items in the Omniverse can be used for testing and simulations and manufacturers can use the Omniverse to create a cross-dimensional, comprehensive, and decentralized metaverse which is able to provide accurate physical dimensions, perfect visualization, accurate simulation, and real-time synchronization.

The main difference between Omniverse and other Metaverse platforms is that Omniverse is compatible with various 3D file formats commonly used in the industry; enabling cross-platform 3D asset management. Various 3D assets can be uploaded to the Omniverse and without going through other apps, plugins, or software; the assets can be used for architectural design, product development, factory simulation, international collaborative design, and more. The NVIDIA AI platform also allows users to integrate generative AI into relevant applications and the system can also generate other 3D assets for testing; further accelerating the product design process.

Hanson Chen: Metaverse Enables Smart City Digital Twin and Vertical XR Applications

Hanson Chen, the General Manager of Big x Reality stated that smart city is the vertical application with the largest scale and widest scale in recent years. Through smart digital twin technology, it will be possible to build smart city monitoring centers. In addition, it can be managed and monitored with AI and 3D monitoring & display system to improve urban governance efficiency.

With smart digital twin technology and task editing, it is possible to build vertical XR simulation applications. For example, the simulations can be used to train firefighters, airport driving simulation (which was already in place in Taoyuan International Airport), police education & training, and other applications. Currently one of the existing functions of the XR simulation system is for police shooting training where police officers can simulate the use of various firearms and use objective data analysis to help the officers improve their skills. By integrating 5G communication technology and sensors, it will be possible to build AIoT powered smart factories and smart building monitoring. For K-12 education, XR can also help students conduct physical education classes and chemical experiments.

Mr. Chen further added that XR and VR technologies can effectively improve learning efficiency and ensure the outcome of business learning. Applying the technologies into education can also be more efficient than traditional classroom teaching and some students reported they were able to concentrate better when conducting online learning. Extending the technology to similar fields in relevant situations is worth exploring.

Versatile Metaverse Applications is the Key to its Growth

TCA stated that the research firm Grand View Research reported that the global metaverse market size is expected to reach USD 936.6 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 41.6% between 2023 and 2030. From this value, the demand for end-user applications is expected to grow the fastest; including media, entertainment, education, aerospace, and national defense. The value generated from XR hardware and software including in AR, VR, and MR has continued to grow.

Based on the points listed out by the speakers, it can be concluded that metaverse is both a technology and a platform. The main benefit from metaverse is its versatility in various fields. To help share the details from the forum to more viewers, the video will be uploaded to the COMPUTEX CYBERWORLD in the near future. COMPUTEX and InnoVEX 2023 will be held in Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Halls 1 and 2 from May 30 to June 2. Relevant information will be uploaded to the CYBERWORLD Platform at https://show.computex.biz/online.aspx

About COMPUTEX TAIPEI

COMPUTEX TAIPEI (or COMPUTEX) started in 1981 by the then-chairman of Taipei Computer Association (TCA), Mr. Stan Shih. In 1985, TCA invited Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) to be a co-organizer of the event. As Asia’s leading B2B ICT tradeshow, COMPUTEX showcases innovations from global leaders of the ICT industry and is now one of the most important events for new product launch events.

Since 2016, TCA expanded COMPUTEX to include InnoVEX, a startup focused event to run concurrently with COMPUTEX to connect startups with leading ICT companies from around the world. InnoVEX is where startups can match with global VCs, CVCs, manufacturing partners, buyers, and media in one hybrid platform.

COMPUTEX 2023 will focus on metaverse, vehicle tech, gaming & entertainment, HPC and ChatGPT, 5G, AIoT, ESG, and semiconductors. For more details, please visit the official COMPUTEX website at www.computex.biz/

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