Wang Yongtian, professor of Beijing Institute of Technology: Our country should explore ways to deeply integrate VR and information technology

Professor Wang Yongtian of Beijing Institute of Technology believes that our country should actively predict the application model of virtual reality technology in the daily life of the public in the future, and explore ways to deeply integrate it with the Internet, mobile communications, big data, cloud computing, smart cities and other directions in the field of information technology. In-depth research on highly immersive, virtual and virtual integrated social network technologies with independent intellectual property rights, promote the rapid development of related industries, and take the lead in changes in the international information field.

A new round of revolution in the information field is coming. The disruptor this time is virtual reality technology that has been dormant in the hands of researchers for decades.

From Google Glass augmented reality glasses released in 2013, to Oculus RIFT, the helmet display device acquired by Facebook, to Sony virtual reality glasses Project Morpheus, which may become Sony's "next Walkman"; From Samsung's head-wearing virtual reality device GearVR to Microsoft's HoloLens glasses to HTC's virtual reality system HTC VIVE, virtual reality and augmented reality products have exploded in a concentrated manner in the past two years. They have brought not only virtual reality and augmented reality The progress of technology itself, and it is possible to completely change the landscape of the entire information field through the combination of big data-based applications with the Internet and mobile Internet.

A new wave may completely change the way people live and communicate, and its impact will be no less than the emergence of the Internet and the widespread use of mobile phones.

Virtual reality has broad application prospects. Virtual reality is the link between the worlds of people, machines and objects, and is a cutting-edge position where multiple disciplines intersect.

In August 2015, Gartner released a periodic table of future emerging technologies that shows that from Gesture Recognition and simultaneous translation technologies that can be improved in the next 2 to 5 years, to true 3D display and brain-computer interaction that may take more than 10 years to mature, there are nearly 10 technologies are related to virtual reality. Among the top 10 technological advancements selected by foreign media in 2016, virtual reality-related technologies accounted for 4, including retinal implanted bionic human eyes, wearable devices, virtual reality, speech recognition, etc.

Virtual reality technology has huge application prospects and strong market demand, which is mainly reflected in the following four aspects.

First, the application field of traditional virtual reality technology still has huge market potential and vitality: virtual reality is an important basic technology for complex engineering projects and plays an irreplaceable role in core technology simulation evaluation and personnel training. JS, aviation, navigation, industry, etc. The support of virtual reality technology is increasingly needed in fields such as fields.

Second, new wearable devices will become the next flashpoint in the information age: there are indications that with the development and maturity of wearable devices such as head-mounted display devices, smart watches, wristbands, headsets controlled by brain waves, and 3D vision controlled glasses, wearable technology will develop rapidly in the near future.

Third, human-computer interaction technology has accumulated basic technology, and the subsequent market development is unlimited: as people's demand for interactive devices continues to increase, intelligent interactive devices with good accuracy, real-time and user experience are bound to become the mainstream of development. At present, related technologies such as gesture interaction and voice control are constantly maturing and developing.

Fourth, the era of experiential consumption provides unlimited possibilities for large-scale themed entertainment industries based on virtual reality. Abroad, Disney and Universal Studios have long used virtual reality technology in their theme parks; domestically, Wanda Group, which has announced its transformation from commercial real estate to tourism real estate in 2020, has spent huge sums of money in tourism real estate such as theme parks and theaters. Real estate projects, of which virtual reality is its main supporting technology.

Countries attach great importance to virtual reality development planning Foreign governments attach great importance to the research of virtual reality-related technologies, and governments of various countries have formulated virtual reality-related research and development plans one after another.

In February 2015, the U.S. government's "National Network and Information Technology Research and Development Plan" proposed future research and development priorities in its fiscal year 2016 budget request report, and planned to invest approximately US$4.1 billion in eight key areas in the next year to carry out related research and development work. Among them, the budget for human-computer interaction and information management accounts for 20% per year, ranking second among eight areas, and the demand for intelligent human-computer interaction is prominent.

The European Union has listed 37 projects in the field of information and communication technology in its Horizon 2020 plan with a budget of up to 80 billion euros, and 4 projects directly involve intelligent human-computer interaction.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the Japanese government released a roadmap for science and technology development to 2025-the "Innovation 25 Strategy" as early as 2007, incorporating technologies such as "automatic translation" and "virtual reality", and strongly supporting large-scale low-power display, multi-language communication, and hyper-presence communication projects. Similarly, the South Korean government has stepped up its deployment of virtual reality-related technologies. In 2004, South Korea's Ministry of Intelligence and Communications proposed the "U-Korea" strategy, including wearable computer technology in the strategy. In addition, the Australia government has also regarded human-computer interaction technology, real-time computer vision systems, and automatic face and body tracking technology as the main development directions in the current field of information and communication technology.

my country's timely deployment has achieved remarkable results in my country. Virtual reality has received great attention and timely support from relevant government agencies such as the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the National Fund Commission.

During the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, the National 863 Plan systematically supported virtual reality and digital media technology in six aspects: acquisition, understanding, modeling, rendering, presentation, and interaction, and achieved phased results. In recent years, relevant universities and research institutes have achieved a large number of scientific research results in head-mounted display devices, virtual scene rendering engines, augmented reality registration and positioning, new human-computer interaction technologies, and virtual reality system applications, and have obtained a number of national and international patents, greatly narrowing the gap with industrially developed countries.

For example, the 3D physical simulation and rendering engine developed by Zhejiang University supports interactive previews. Soft body/fluid simulation, hair simulation rendering, face animation and other technologies are internationally leading. They have been applied significantly in well-known domestic enterprises such as Netease and Zhongnan Cartoon, forming a 3D technology integrated environment and service platform with independent intellectual property rights; A series of optical see-through head-mounted display devices developed by Beijing Institute of Technology using the latest technologies such as free-form surface optics, holography and geometric waveguide optical elements are small in size, light in weight, excellent imaging quality, and good hyper-digital reality fusion effect. Has obtained multiple invention patent authorizations in China, the United States, and Europe; South China University of Technology and the People's Liberation Army Information Engineering University have developed a number of new brain-computer interaction technologies, and developed the world's first real-time magnetic resonance imaging based image retrieval brain-computer interaction system. It has real-time decoding and interactive human brain vision based on functional magnetic resonance signals. The image retrieval function enables the control of wheelchairs, robots, aircraft and other functions through brain waves; The audio-visual and tactile fusion feedback virtual reality oral surgery simulator developed by Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics is the first multifunctional virtual surgery system in the world that can stably simulate periodontitis, dentistry, and prosthetics. It has been used in Peking University School of Stomatology and West China. The School of Stomatology and other units have carried out teaching experiments and large-scale user evaluations; The 3D real-time rendering engine developed by Sichuan University and Sichuan University Zhisheng Company uses high-performance parallel rendering technology to support higher simulation model accuracy. The flight visual system built has reached the international advanced level of similar products, and has passed the first time in China Civil Aviation Flight Training Equipment D-level standard certification. It has been successfully applied in the training of military and civil aviation pilots and controllers and will gradually replace imports.

In addition, many China companies have also invested in the research and development of virtual reality and natural interaction. Huawei, ZTE, Haier, Hisense, iFlytek, Lenovo, etc. have all formulated relevant plans and achieved relevant results. China has also emerged a large number of entrepreneurial companies focusing on VR, such as Noiteng, St. Witt, and Lexiang Technology.

Increase support for technical directions Virtual reality/augmented reality technology has shown a trend of large-scale civilian and industrialization.

As foreign giants in the information field significantly increase their investment in this field, the competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Our country's relevant scientific research units and enterprises are still unable to compete with multinational companies such as Microsoft, Google, Samsung, Sony, and Facebook alone based on their own technical strength.

In order to gain a say in the new wave of information revolution, our country should systematically deploy, increase support for the direction of virtual reality technology, encourage the integration of industry, academia and research, take effective measures to integrate domestic scattered research and market-oriented resources, make up for the gap in the R & D system and operation model between my country's scientific research institutions and enterprises, commercialize, industrialize and market relevant research results as soon as possible, and strive to participate in and even guide this change in the information field.

Carry out systematic research on device personalization technology and media resource sharing management technology in virtual reality, and develop key hardware equipment and software to lay the foundation for the formation and development of the virtual reality industry.

Wearable devices such as Oculus RIFT and Google Glass have obvious shortcomings in terms of humanization, and long-term wear will cause discomfort to users. At the same time, the interactive technology for these devices also has many constraints, which limits their application fields.

It is recommended to organize advantageous units in optics, electronics, computer science and other disciplines on the basis of existing domestic technology reserves, and unite with research institutions in the fields of medicine, psychology, cognitive science and other fields, taking the adaptation of virtual reality devices as the entry point., research new wearable technologies, interactive technologies, and media resource management technologies, develop low-cost, high-performance, and easy-to-use universal devices, launch core software platforms, and establish media resource sharing centers. Promote industrialization and form a new industrial model.

Conduct in-depth research on the evolution trend of the next generation of social networks with high immersion and hyper-digital reality as important characteristics to promote the development of related industries. The development of social networks based on mobile Internet, big data and cloud computing has greatly changed the face of society and people's lifestyles. Highly immersive virtual reality and augmented reality are important features of the next generation of social networks.

Our country should actively predict the application model of virtual reality technology in the daily life of the public in the future, explore ways to deeply integrate it with the Internet, mobile communications, big data, cloud computing, smart cities and other directions in the field of information technology, and conduct in-depth research on high-immersion, virtual and virtual integrated social network technology with independent intellectual property rights, cooperate with domestic advantageous enterprises to establish a new generation of websites, realize technology applications, inherit Chinese civilization, transmit positive energy, and promote the rapid development of related industries. Take the lead in changes in the international information field.

Organize multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research around important application areas and major application issues to inject vitality into the technological development of important industries in my country. The application field of virtual reality is very broad and is a typical multi-disciplinary cross-integration technical direction. Its development trend is characterized by application issues as the driving force, core technologies as the basis, and visual art as the carrier.

It is recommended to focus on major issues in the fields of medicine, industry, national defense, culture, education and other fields, such as human body and human brain planning, large-scale equipment design, manufacturing and maintenance, cultural relics protection, smart museums, interactive media, and inheritance of Chinese culture, and organize application fields. Interdisciplinary research teams in various aspects such as technical research, art design, etc., promote cross-research, achieve innovative applications, and use new methods and means provided by universal virtual reality. Inject vitality into the technological development of the application industry.

Author Wang Yongtian, Professor of Beijing City Mixed Reality and New Display Engineering Technology Research Center, Department of Information and Electronics, Beijing University of Technology (Copyright of China Electronic News, please indicate the source)

Editor: vian