Boasting a solid foundation in industrial development and supported by key technologies, favorable policies and a business-friendly environment, Shanghai has been tapping the huge market of spatial computing and attracting key enterprises related to the field.

"Just as the Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro introduces us to spatial computing," said Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, during the launch of the Apple Vision Pro recently. 

Tao Chuang, founder of Shanghai-based PGVerse and a former general manager of Microsoft's virtual earth department, believes that spatial computing redefines the relationship between humans and space, and transforms various spaces into metaverse entrances through virtual-real integration, which has enormous industrial value.

The Apple Vision Pro and other mixed reality (MR) headsets are intelligent terminals that bring people into the metaverse space. Within the next three to five years, these terminals may enter a stage of mass popularity and widespread application, just like how smartphones did, he said.

"In 1999, when I was a professor at York University, I developed an MR terminal. Now, Apple has taken it to new heights," said Tao.

MR combines virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), incorporating elements of the virtual world while maintaining a connection to the real world. Vision Pro embodies this hybrid feature of MR terminals and creates a virtual overlay on a physical space. When worn, users can see various digital images such as operating interfaces, applications, images and videos, as well as people and objects.

Fan Xiao, CEO of PGVerse, said that spatial computing, which is closely associated with MR intelligent terminals, fundamentally involves the understanding of the relationship between humans and space using spatial digitization and real-time computing and offers people immersive experiences through perception and feedback.

"In simple terms, spatial computing centers on three things: allowing machines to perceive space, including space dimensions, exact location of the machine, and the spatial relationships between people and objects; projecting and rendering digital content in the physical world; and enabling people to interact well with space through machines, such as operating digital content in space using voice and gestures. Apple's Vision Pro supports voice and gesture interaction," Fan said.

Autonomous driving and spatial computing belong to the same family of technologies. They both require intelligent terminals to be aware of their position in the physical world and perceive the surrounding environment.

Compared to autonomous driving, spatial computing has higher commercial efficiency because, unlike autonomous driving, it does not require real-time computing capabilities on all road segments - it only needs to select some indoor and outdoor spaces and transform them into "metaverse entrances".

Moreover, the risks of spatial computing, a technology that enhances user experience, are much lower than that of autonomous driving, and its commercialization process faces fewer obstacles.

PGVerse's spatial computing

Creating metaverse spaces through spatial computing is more challenging than autonomous driving. PGVerse has developed a spatial computing engine to build urban metaverse spaces. Tao said this engine features five core technologies: spatial twin, spatial perception, spatial cognition, spatial positioning and spatial interaction.

"These technologies boast the identification and tracking of dynamic objects in large-scale urban scenes, as well as high-concurrency, large-scale real-time interaction and multi-user interaction," he added.

After years of research and development, PGVerse has collaborated with Shanghai's Zhangjiang Group to build a metaverse space covering 4.1 square kilometers in the Zhangjiang Science City. The space allows people to experience the application scenarios brought by spatial computing.

For example, when wearing AR glasses or using smartphones and tablets, visitors can enter the R&D building where PGVerse is located and are greeted by a virtual character. Through the lens or screen, visitors can tour the company's exhibition hall, which features themes such as Party building, low-carbon living and Chinese-style fashion.

When they leave the office building and enter the park, visitors can see underground pipelines whose virtual images appear at the actual geographic locations.

A large metaverse space has also been created on the streets near the building. Here, people can see the leasing information of each office building, ad posters on virtual traffic signboards, as well as coupons and discounts at entrances of shops and restaurants. 

Metaverse at Zhangjiang Science City

"In the future, we will wear MR glasses to go shopping. We will not only see a physical world, but also tour a new space with overlaid digital information," said Tao.

"Space is the entrance. The emergence of Apple's MR headsets brings this future scenario closer to us. It is predicted that MR headsets will gradually become consumer electronics products in three to five years, driving the completion of the industrial ecosystem. Due to this trend, a group of AI companies developing spatial computing technology will emerge in Shanghai and other innovative cities, providing content products for intelligent terminal manufacturers," he added.

The Action Plan for Cultivating the Metaverse New Track in Shanghai (2022-25) proposes that the scale of the metaverse-related industry will reach 350 billion yuan ($48.24 billion) by 2025.

Tao believes that this goal will be achieved faster when MR glasses become consumer electronics products. He noted that Shanghai's enterprises and entrepreneurial teams can seize this opportunity to develop various spatial computing content products, including cultural and creative items.