More Than Meets the Eye

By Yuan Yuan

The online shopping boom has changed the buying habits of tens of millions from going to traditional brick-and-mortar stores to using their computers or smartphones. And now Taobao， Chinas largest online shopping platform， is planning to push customers back to shops.

But there is a difference. These are interactive 3D“shops.” After putting on 3D virtual reality （VR） glasses， customers can step inside， touch products and try on clothes.

On April 1， Taobao announced it would launch the new shopping method， Buy+， in four months time. A video was released too， showcasing the new concept.

Liu Guangyu， a 30-year-old Beijing resident， is a big fan of Japanese cosmetics. What excited her was the ability of the 3D glasses to instantly transport her to Tokyos shopping malls. “I am afraid I wont be able to stop buying，” she exclaimed. “It looks thrilling！”

How it started

VR has flooded China with products and entertainment. However， it is not an entirely new concept. VR appeared in science fiction in the 1950s. It was then developed for medical use， flight simulation and military training.

The 1990s film The Matrix has a scene in which people enter an entirely convincing simulation of the real world by plugging their own bodies into machines.

Chinas VR market followed soon after. “China started to pay attention to the VR industry from 1995. At that time， most of the research and development was focused on business-to-business sectors or professional projects in the industry，” Weng Dongdong， an associate professor at the Center for Research on Optoelectronics， Information Technology and Color Engineering， Beijing Institute of Technology， told China News Service. “It was not until the last two years that the industry has tapped the business-to-consumers sectors.”

Figures from the iiMedia Research Group， which specializes in data mining and analysis， show that in 2015， when the VR industry saw real opportunity in China， its market value was reported to be 1.54 billion yuan （$162 million）. This year， it is expected to be 5.56 billion yuan（$855 million）， and in 2020， jump to over 55 billion yuan（$8.46 billion）.

Chen Zhaoyang， CEO of Shanghai-based Le Xiang Technology， a domestic VR manufacturer， has been working in the industry for 10 years. In 2006， when Chen introduced VR to potential clients， he had to carry a big central processing unit and a display screen. While demonstrating computer games with such equipment， he often had to face awkward moments as the games wouldnt always run properly.

“Now it is totally different，” Chen told Ifeng， a news portal. “The fast hi-tech development has lowered the cost of VR equipment and VR has finally intruded into reality.”

A braver， newer world

Even so， the technology is still at the threshold.

Ma Jiesi， VR Manager at HTC Vive， which manufactures VR headsets， said at an online forum in March that VR is just the first step in a whole set of visual worlds.“After VR， we will have AR， augmented reality， and then MR， mixed reality.”

He also said VR and AR equipment will be the computing platform of the future. “We can go as far as saying that it might be the last generation of computing technology， replacing smart facilities including computers and smartphones，” Ma said. “The era of MR will definitely arrive， but it will take a long time.”

This year， called the “First Year of VR，” witnessed the employment of the technology at the annual sessions of the 12th National Peoples Congress， Chinas top legislature， and the 12th National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference， the countrys top political advisory body， in March with an array of VR cameras to report the events. VR was also a hot topic at the Boao Forum for Asia meet held a few weeks later in Hainan Province in south China.

“I believe VR will be the next wave following the Internet，” said Tan Zheng， CEO of ANTVR， a startup focusing on VR development， at the Boao Forum for Asia. “Now many industries are exploring the possibility of connecting their business with this cool new technology.”

Hundreds of VR clubs have sprouted up in China. Spending less than 100 yuan （$15.15）， customers can experience a “whole new world” by just using a headset. Real estate companies can also adopt the technology， enabling potential buyers to view new homes from the other side of the world. The Strawberry Music Festival， one of Chinas most popular annual events held in Beijing on May 1， has announced it will use VR technology during this years show.

Unreal world， real concerns

“The goal of this industry is to make the visual world as real as possible， until it feels exactly like the real world，”Ma Jiesi， VR Manager at HTC Vive， said at an online forum. Part of the market， according to Ma， lies in the dissatisfaction many people have with their lives. They want a virtual one as an alternative， and computers， tablets or mobile devices cannot provide this escape.

Still， Song Fei， who is in charge of the VR Department of LeTV， a video portal in China， is keeping a cool head. “To view VR videos， viewers must wear headsets or glasses， but the quality of such products is a real concern，” Song told China News Agency， adding that there must also be abundant video content.

The dropping business in many VR clubs is proving that Songs concern is not groundless. After the initial months of customers flocking in， business is dipping as currently， the number of videos in circulation is limited.

Zhao Xueyan， a real estate agent who has been working in Beijing for more than 10 years， said though VR demonstrations can attract more customers， a house by itself is just a small part of the considerations： “You also need to know the whole environment， including neighbors， transportation， etc. Those cant be shown in VR videos.”

Tong Dawei， a popular Chinese actor， is concerned about the social and psychological aspects. “Although VR technology is fascinating， it cant be compared to real life，” he said at the Boao Forum. “I dont want my kid to stay in a virtual world. No matter how good it is， it would give her a very limited [understanding] of the real world.”