The Fourth Industrial Revolution will be a hybrid of mixed reality (MR) and new media.

A symposium titled "The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Technology - Augmented Reality" was held on the 23rd. Presenters and discussants included Yoo Beom-jae, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and Yoon Shin-young, editor-in-chief of Science Dong-A.

Yoo Beom-jae, the head of the new media department, described it as a coexistence space, an expanded space through real-world interaction and human interaction. "Real-virtual-remote space" becomes a single space. Users expand this space through immersive interaction and human interaction with others through avatars or smart devices.
The reason he began studying coexistence space is the same reason why the smartphone market has quickly become established. Although the number of single-person households is increasing, the value of "alone and together" is becoming increasingly widespread on social media platforms, and this is what is driving the second smartphone market.

Facebook's Social VR, announced earlier this year, sees participants wearing Oculus HMDs and engaging in card games or swordfights in a virtual space. On Wednesday, the 21st, Google announced the "XE23" update, which adds Bluetooth support to Google Glass, three years after its launch. This demonstrates Facebook and Google's ongoing research into coexisting reality. Researcher Yoo said that although there is an HMD (Head Mounted Display) device and controller as an interface, ▲4D+ real-time modeling and expression technology of human avatars and objects ▲real-time 4D+ interaction and collaboration technology between users, virtual objects, and users ▲real-time modeling and expression technology of indoor environments are needed to expand realistic interaction.

Domestic researchers, including KIST and KAIST, are developing related technologies, including a 'Haptic Ring' that can be worn like a ring and a technology that recognizes movement intentions based on skin electromyography signals by wearing a band on the forearm. Additionally, data on coexistence spaces such as KINTEX and Gangnam Station was collected using lidar sensors.
After the presentation, questions and suggestions were raised about the practical application of virtual reality, how to address it, and the changing nature of our lives and values. Editor-in-Chief Yoon Shin-young stated, "Devices have evolved to provide assistance to humans," expressing her hope that coexistence reality could address social issues such as single-person households and rural marginalization.

When asked about promising business areas, he acknowledged the potential value, but pointed out the passive HMD device development market and mentioned Hololens, which is currently under development by American startups (Dagri, ODG).

“To reach the practical stage, 10 functions must be implemented in a compressed form, such as rendering graphic data, interpreting the camera in real time, compressing and transmitting information, and interacting. There are doubts such as ‘Can this be possible for a startup?’”, but he urged active participation, saying, “There must be failures to think about the next step.”

The National Future Strategy regular discussion meeting is held every Friday, and this week's discussion topic (the 30th) is wearable devices.