Professor Park Min-woo Reveals Evolution and Prospects of Mobile VR Platforms
The platform market is a three-way battle between Facebook, Google, and China.

The VR platform market will evolve into a three-way battle between the Facebook/Oculus alliance, the Google/Android alliance, and the China alliance, and advancements in hardware, as well as the content ecosystem, must follow.

Park Min-woo, a professor of Smart Media at Chungkang University of Culture and Industry, drew attention by stating this in his article "The Evolution and Prospects of Mobile VR Platforms," recently contributed to Digieco Issue & Trend, and by presenting five challenges that determine the competitiveness and popularization of VR technology.

According to Professor Park, Facebook is simultaneously targeting both PC-based and mobile-based VR markets, centering on Oculus and Samsung Electronics. He suggests that Samsung Electronics' lukewarm approach to producing Daydream-dedicated devices stems from its relationship with Facebook. Currently, the power of the Facebook/Oculus alliance in the early market is immense. In particular, Facebook has a strong desire to pioneer a new genre called "Social VR" in the mobile VR market, and he predicted that various initiatives would be undertaken utilizing the Facebook platform.


▲ Google's high-performance mobile VR headset <Daydream View>

The counterattack from the Chinese alliance is also formidable. This is because the Chinese IT swarm of Xiaomi, Alibaba, and Tencent is actively investing in VR/AR technology, starting with the HTC Vive. The Chinese alliance's greatest competitive advantage lies in possessing the world's largest gaming market and backed by government investment and efforts in the VR industry. The report predicted that the technologies and experiences pouring out of the diverse hardware startup ecosystem will rapidly elevate China's VR technology to a global level.

In response, Professor Park suggested five tasks, stating that for the development of the VR industry, hardware development must follow as well as the content ecosystem.

The first factor is smartphone performance. It will require performance exceeding that of existing premium phones. Even if it does not meet the standards required by PC VR, it will be difficult to guarantee the desired content quality unless performance exceeds that of a laptop. This is also why Google requires minimum specifications through "Daydream Ready" certification. Professor Park predicted that if the mobile VR market grows, the stagnant smartphone market will naturally revive as well.

Second is display technology. It is not simply a competition over high-definition displays. Considering comfort and mobility, there must ultimately be a transition from smartphone-connected devices to standalone devices. In this regard, a combination of a flexible display and a headset may be necessary, and display methods capable of enhancing immersion even without light blocking must also be considered. On top of this, an affordable price is essential.

The third is the controller. Initially, sensor-based controllers will be the mainstream, but various controllers linked to VR content will be released. However, since too many controllers create a burden of purchasing costs and management issues, the development of a universal controller will become necessary at an appropriate time. It was predicted that it would be worth noting how the Nintendo Wii controller is used in a wide variety of games.

The fourth factor is the communication environment. Network bandwidth must be increased to transmit 4K or 5K videos. Proper consumption of VR video content will only occur once the 5G communication technology currently under development is commercialized. Domestic telecommunication companies and broadcasters plan to produce and transmit coverage of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 360-degree VR video. Since 5K 360-degree VR video requires more than four times the data transmission volume of existing 5K video, it is difficult to transmit high-quality video without expanding communication bandwidth.

Finally , there is cognitive dissonance. Dizziness still occurs due to the time lag between reality and the VR environment. While this may be partially resolved as hardware performance improves, an ultimate solution is needed. As pointed out by Jeremy Bailenson, a professor of communication at Stanford University and founder of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab, “VR is a technology that evokes strong emotions while simultaneously consuming a lot of energy, and its intense immersion results in physical, mental, and economic costs,” the VR field still has many problems to solve compared to existing digital devices.

In addition to this, Professor Park pointed out that the fact that most current VR technologies are focused on hardware is another problem that needs to be addressed. The types of hardware are changing too frequently and too quickly compared to the volume of content. He also noted that consumer expectations have become excessively high due to the overhyping of the VR industry.

VR services centered on consoles, including PCs, will still secure a certain market focused on enthusiasts. In contrast, while the mobile VR market has high potential, it is uncertain whether it will secure a position as a secondary device like tablet PCs or if its role will be reduced to that of an accessory, similar to wearable devices. However, what is clear is that if a new market opens up in the IT industry, VR is currently the most likely candidate to be the protagonist.