Put on your 3D glasses and be prepared to be transported to a whole new world. Here, you can choose the physical appearance and personality you prefer and live the life you want.
The evolution of the phygital world, which merges the virtual and physical worlds, has become more apparent in recent years. Different technologies for 3D avatars and AI content offer various sensory adventures that go beyond visual and auditory experiences and meet the needs for customization and adaptability. These trends show the future directions for both technology developments and lifestyle changes.
Right now, the physical and mental capabilities of human beings can be perfectly combined with various equipment and devices and generate brand-new virtual reality integration experiences when applied to areas such as work, education, sports, and health. The diverse content is also widely employed in the industrial industry, medical care, aviation, and other fields for simulation training.
Demands Drive The Formation of New Ecosystems
The growth of the Metaverse and NFT in the current global market is pushing new advancements and demands in virtual world experiences and the virtual economy. Many large manufacturers and startups have invested in the development of new ecosystems as well as virtual reality integrated devices. The young generations, such as Gen Z and Gen α, easily embrace the Metaverse and virtual world experience, encouraging the technology and entertainment industries to generate virtual idols, virtual worlds, and other relevant products. Major manufacturers, such as Apple and Snap, are investing resources in and planning out market entry strategies for AR smart glasses, which are projected to replace smartphone products in the coming years.
Jorjin Technologies Inc. was established in 1997 and initially produced wireless communication modules and system-level packaging modules. The company later grew into a major global component supplier. With the rise of the IoT and wearable devices, the company started to integrate wireless transmission, imaging, and sensor technologies to develop products such as smart glasses and IoT modules and sensors. The AR smart glasses (as shown in photo 1), one of the company’s primary products, won the 2022 Computex Best Choice Award for Metaverse and XR Applications.
Jorjin Technologies’ AR smart glasses features multiple sensors to provide human-computer interaction experiences customized to the user’s needs. The product provides a more natural and intuitive experience in the Metaverse world through coordinated operations of head movement, gesture control, and eye tracking. Features such as offering a first-person perspective and freeing both hands of the user are advantages when seeking new market opportunities in areas like manufacturing, retail, education, medical care, and gaming & entertainment.
Photo 1. AR smart glasses J7EF Gaze (Image source: Jorjin Technologies’ official website)
Integrating Technologies Into A Platform Service
In terms of technical features, Jorjin Technologies uses near-eye display technology - including binocular Micro OLED technology and FHD resolution, to project 120-inch visual effects at a distance of five meters. In sensor technology, the company developed inertial measurement units (IMU), ambient light source sensors, and time of flight (ToF) 3D sensor technologies. Additionally, the human-computer interaction function supports eye tracking and gesture recognition technologies. By tracking eye movement trajectories (target, speed, and distance), users can enjoy an intuitive and real-time interaction experience.
To accelerate application development and integration, Jorjin Technologies set up a smart space application development platform based on Unity, a mainstream development engine that minimizes the learning curve and is compatible with many creation formats and XR standards. This new platform reinforces the company's development platform integration core capabilities and facilitates its entry into the international market. Regarding endowments, Jorjin Technologies has the capacity to become a soft/hardware integration platform service provider as it has more than 20 years of experience in wireless communication transmission, imaging, sensors, and module design technologies and system development as well as 10 years of R&D know-how in AR glasses technology.
In response to industrial ecosystem collaboration trends, Jorjin Technologies is working with Ganzin Technology to provide Qualcomm, Chunghwa Telecom, Epson, and Panasonic with suitable smart glasses application solutions. The company is also collaborating with partners (Microsoft, Google, and Amazon) to strengthen ecosystem partnerships and complement resources. On the subject of capital reinforcing, the progress of AR glasses led to profitable growth in 2022 for Jorjin Technologies. In 2023, investors, including Hon Hai Technology Group, were introduced and the involved parties had more strategic cooperations in terms of funding, Micro LED product technology, and the production supply chain.
Supporting The Development And Landing of Innovation Ecosystems
The rise of the phygital World and virtual-reality integration trends continue to boost the growth of various smart wearable device industries. However, early versions of AR glasses were constrained by display technology brightness and could only be used indoors, making them unable to satisfy certain user experience requirements.
ITRI’s full-color Micro LED technology was created to help system manufacturers overcome development obstacles. It has the advantages of high brightness, high resolution, low power consumption, and compact size, and can achieve the best display performance with a panel brightness of millions of nits. An eye peak brightness of thousands of nits can be realized through optical waveguide components, enabling users to maintain screen brightness and contrast even when they are exposed in sunlight. Only a select few businesses, like Shanghai's JBD Jade Bird Display, are now able to mass produce this technology. The recognition rate of low-feature objects can be enhanced to provide users with an immersive experience that can be viewed from any angle through ITRI’s innovative advanced display technologies and supporting visual recognition technology for image recognition and spatial positioning.
Building an innovation ecosystem will be essential for sectors that want to strengthen their competitive advantages as a variety of new technologies rapidly emerge and evolve. As a system platform integrator and ecosystem builder, ITRI leverages advanced technologies, testing and verification platforms to provide partners such as Jorjin Technologies with soft/hardware product testing and application environments. The objective is to speed up solution development and reduce failure risks as well as help Taiwanese industries become AR smart glasses standards leaders in the global market. The gaps in Taiwan’s innovation ecosystem can be filled through shared open interfaces, complementing cooperation mechanisms, and innovative business models, and consequently empower local industries to take advantage of upcoming global market opportunities.
