Virtual reality (VR) is not just meant for games, but will be used for business purposes as Infofed Co, a local VR content developer, introduces VR technology to the tourism, real estate and education sectors next month.
VR is the future of content and has huge potential, said Jirayod Theppipit, chief executive and founder of Infofed. That's why Facebook took over Oculus (a VR hardware company) in 2011 and is more focused on VR technology, he said.
VR hardware is also getting cheaper. In 2018, Oculus Go, a stand-alone VR headset, will be launched for US$199 (6,618 baht). Many big technology companies have turned to VR hardware, leading to intense market competition, said Mr Jirayod.
Following 2018 growth will shift towards augmented reality (AR) because of mobile readiness that will support that technology, eliminating the extra cost for hardware, he said.
Infofed has developed a VR platform to serve early adopters in tourism, real estate and education.
"We are following the government policy to encourage VR in the tourism industry. We can integrate ambience-simulation technology with elements of specific tourist attractions," said Mr Jirayod.
In the real estate industry, VR will be used as a sales tool to create virtual tours of property projects that will help companies save time and cost, and give people a better understanding of products on offer. The technology enables companies to access a large number of users by sending only one link to their mobile phones for the VR. The cost of VR is also 50% lower than brochures and photographs, he said.
"We hope VR is seen as a technology everyone can use, not just something everyone is eager to have," said Mr Jirayod.
The company spent some 5 million baht to launch "VR Truck" equipped with VR hardware to support users who cannot afford to buy the hardware.
The VR Truck will be launched in early November through collaboration with Tourism Authority of Thailand. It will create a new experience for users by transporting them to unseen places, he said. The truck will have demonstrations at schools to educate students about VR content.
VR Truck can be rented by businesses to offer interactive experiences to targeted users.
The company plans to raise Series A funds worth some $3 million in the second quarter of 2018 to create a lab, a studio and a VR content incubator to enable Thailand to become a VR hub.
Infofed wants to achieve eight-digit revenue this year, ten times the revenue it recorded last year.
According to research from International Data Corporation, AR and VR investment in 2017 will yield total revenue of $13 billion, growth of 130.5% from last year. Such investment is forecast to continue growing next year, and worldwide revenue from VR and AR is estimated to grow to $143.3 billion by 2020.
