SUWON, GYEONGGI PROVINCE, SOUTH KOREA, August 26, 2021 – Gyeonggi Province announced that it is supporting technology convergence verification for industries that plan to introduce virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies to their existing systems.

This support is geared to connect companies that supply VR/AR technologies ("suppliers") with companies that seek such technologies for verification ("clients"), such as manufacturing and architecture firms, while expanding VR/AR technologies to as many industries as possible.

In June, Gyeonggi Province selected "suppliers" and linked them with "clients," and finally designated a total of ten consortia consisting of these companies.

The selected consortia will undertake the verification of those technologies as applied to making their operations more innovative and productive through initiatives that include:

- a VR safety education system for construction sites,
- a digital twin-bridge maintenance manual,
- a VR-based real-time drone remote control system, and
- a VR manual for the operation and management of enshrinement facilities.

Lim Moon-young, Director General of the Future Growth Policy Bureau of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, said, "We expect that this support program will foster exemplary cases that will generate practical effects such as increased productivity and reduced costs in existing industrial fields." He added, "We will actively support successful verifications by each consortium."
Additionally, as the "metaverse"— a collective virtual shared space created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space — is emerging as a global technology trend, Gyeonggi Province is positioning itself as a bridge between metaverse companies.
Since VR/AR technologies are critical for the metaverse, Gyeonggi Province launched the VR/AR Win-Win Consultation Program this year in an effort to support the market expansion of VR/AR companies. The province completed cooperative agreements between suppliers and clients within a month.
Emotion Wave Co., Ltd., a supplier, signed an agreement with Sky ENT Co., Ltd., a client, for collaboration in the development of a "Metaverse Ultra-realistic Media Performance Content Service" using artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.
Emotion Wave, a startup based in Gyeonggi Province, is drawing attention as a music performance service provider that combines high-tech information and communication technologies, such as VR, AR, and AI. Sky ENT is a professional performing arts company that stages performances by renowned Korean singers and for broadcast.
The two companies will collaborate in pioneering metaverse performances as a new market for the performance industry, which has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.