In COVID we saw all kinds of entertainment activities close down. whether it was shopping, or dining out, or movies. Therefore, after COVID-19, Contact-free and social distancing have become a normal part of our daily lives. The Korean government is especially focusing on expanding contact-free services for our daily lives. Latest technologies like Realistic Content Experience that are emerging also reflect this trend. Be it AI (Artificial Intelligence), VR (Virtual Reality), or AR (Augmented Reality). All these provide us with new realistic content. Also, these enable us to lead a more advanced daily life via personalized program development and platform services.
Korea’s Contactless technology
The Korean Government plans to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Thus, by doing so, it plans to secure a leading position in the global contact-free service market. This market is in line with the era of digital transformation.
During and Post-Corona, contact-free technologies and services have grown rapidly. Accordingly, the National IT Industry Promotion Agency(NIPA) Ministry of Science and ICT(MSIT) is discovering and supporting leading contact-free services from life-to-face areas. These are the areas that people can feel to protect their daily lives and boost economic vitality from infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Among them, The 4th Wave Co., Ltd. developed a drive-through-based realistic content experience platform. It is a contact-free theatre system. Here you can experience realistic content with motion simulators, but with your car.
Drive-Thru Realistic Content Experience vs Location based entertainment market
The location-based entertainment (LBE) market has suffered greatly due to a decrease in users. Hence, the recovery will take time. Particularly in the hardware-based VR attraction market. Hence, the need to provide a new type of service suitable for the post-COVID-19 contact-free environment is emerging.
In line with this need, The 4th Wave Co., Ltd. has developed a drive-through-based realistic content experience platform. The steps required to watch a movie are reservation, payment, and viewing. These steps can now be performed directly, without contact. This platform is a new type of cinema where you can enjoy realistic content videos unfolding on a 270-degree curved screen connected to the motion platform when you enter the motion platform while in your own car.
Nam Hyun, CEO of The 4th Wave Co., Ltd said, “Through this platform, a number of rarely used parking spaces can be transformed into business sites. For example, the parking space at shopping malls, highway rest areas, and camping sites, etc. Consequently, customers can enjoy many realistic contents tailored for attractions in an innovative way”. Most of the realistic content with different specifications has already developed by other content producers. This content is easily applicable to this platform. Therefore, this platform is expected to enter the market very soon.
Statistics of the contact-free market growth
The recent spread of COVID-19 caused the development of IT technology and the realistic content creation software market. This technology can easily respond to new media trends such as non-face-to-face experience content. Especially when content like live performance video and short-form content centered on the MZ generation is consistently growing.
In South Korea, the domestic realistic content market has grown by an average annual rate of 51% annually from KRW 1.234 trillion in 2017 to KRW 2.811 trillion in 2019. And the realistic content creation software market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 273%. That is, from KRW 105.7 billion in 2016 to a market size of KRW 449.5 billion in 2022.
In United States, the realistic content market is expected to maintain a high growth rate of 38.0% by 2024 and expand to USD15.18 billion, while the realistic content market in China is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 46.5% until 2024, reaching a market size of USD 20.74 billion. Similarly in Japan, the realistic content market is expected to expand to USD 9.72 billion by 2024 growing at an average annual rate of 42.4% while the European market is projected to reach USD 22.199 billion by 2024, at a high average annual rate of 44.6%.
The 4th Wave Co., Ltd on success chances of Realistic Content Experience
Nam Hyun said, “In the hardware-based VR attraction market, the need to provide a new type of service suitable for a post-COVID-19 contact-free environment is growing”. He further added, “Particularly, both the domestic film industry and the amusement facilities industry are looking for new business models. But there is still no non-face-to-face cultural content being produced at the moment”. “If new cultural content services that combine the non-face-to-face service market and the cultural content industry market emerge, it is expected that there will be a high probability of success.” he continued.
The 4th Wave Co., Ltd., which carried out this project, was established in 2017 to provide the world’s best VR experience by combining the production of VR attractions with new experiences and is developing Drive-thru XR Cinema based on its know-how in developing various VR-only simulators over the past four years.
