Who should virtual reality devices sell to?

In a corner of the office of Shanghai Man Heng Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (Mann), a cube space (G-discover) consisting of 3 screens is built, with images projected from the projector on each screen. After wearing the 3D glasses, you can clearly see an engine model placed in front of you. By moving the joystick you hold on your hand, you can zoom in or out of the engine and look at it from different angles, even inside the engine to see its structure. If you're not satisfied with the part of the engine design, you can also remove the unsatisfied part by removing it from the moving joystick (which usually keeps it in the air) and tell the person around it (usually wearing a pair of 3D glasses), you see, the design has to be changed.

If the engine designer is efficient, he can even modify the engine's data model directly in the field, then the data into the design of the DVS3D system, and then through the system quickly to the revised engine model again projected to you. For designers, the use of this set of Mann is called G-magic "can support multi-user interaction of virtual reality immersion system", can work together with the modification, the work of its design to visually display and interaction, to improve its design efficiency.

Mann founder Zhouqingzhuang will hope to rely on g-magic, so that Mann established in the Chinese 3D industry advantages, the current customer includes China Comac, Zoomlion, ebay, including more than 400 enterprises, as well as Tongji University, Zhongshan University and more than 300 universities. Last year, the company's sales amounted to 60 million yuan, but compared with the famous Oculus, the Chinese companies that provide virtual reality systems to enterprise users are not too high-profile and too high valuations. The corporate-level market sounds good, but its imaginative space is not attractive enough.

As early as 1960, virtual reality technology was put forward and applied to the training of U.S. aircraft carrier pilots, but until 2010, its commercial application range is very narrow, in addition to video games, you can see the actual application of the scene is not much.

When Mann was founded in 2007, Zhouqingzhuang will mainly represent a Dutch 3D design software, and based on its two development. "From 2010 onwards, we began to make a real sense of our own development." "Zhouqingzhuang will say.

Zhouqingzhuang would think that the biggest bottleneck in virtual reality was that there was no content and we didn't know how to produce it. "In fact, we all think that the real estate business association needs such technology, when selling the house, let the customer into the virtual reality space roaming," Zhouqingzhuang will be to "first financial weekly" said, "This sounds cool, but when you set up the platform, you will find that you can not find the data and content. ”

Designers have these data, except that they are isolated and unusable. The data format can be transformed between the design software, but there is no data format to transform between the design software and the virtual reality. Zhouqingzhuang will want to get through the obstacles in between.

In this context, Mann's research and development team has found an open Source engine, based on its development, and launched the first version of the DVS3D system. The name of DVS3D system represents three main directions of 3D technology application, D refers to the design design,v refers to virtual reality Reality, while s refers to simulation simulation. "I'll solve a problem: how the data flows in. "Zhouqingzhuang will say.

The first customer to purchase the DVS3D system is a good-hao ship. Still in development, Zhouqingzhuang will show the system to the other party, telling them that they can turn the ship's data around and assemble it. Jia Hao ship was very recognized at that time, paid more than 2 million yuan to purchase the 1.0 version of the system. But this is not a satisfactory version, due to the engine reasons and the team's own experience, in the 2012 release of the 1.0 version, many of the previously envisaged features are not implemented in this version.

Mann had to overturn the 1.0 version previously developed, looking for new engines to be developed globally. Soon they found the engine of a Russian company that met the demands of Manchester, after changing all the underlying code and shell and recompiling the scripting system, Mann developed version 2.0.

A 3D model database similar to the App Store is implemented in version 2.0. After solving the problem of data import for people with data, Mann wanted to provide data models for those who did not have data. "We provide such a database, if you have a model, you can charge for uploading; If you don't have a model, you can also pay for the download." "Zhouqingzhuang will explain. For those who need a 3D model for scenario development, reducing unnecessary 3D model development can greatly save time and labor costs. Above the 3D model trading platform Turbosquid, which has acquired Intel Capital investment, the database has more than 300,000 3D models, with an annual turnover of more than 100 million dollars.

Mann to this end in the interior set up a new business unit: Wei Map Network, in accordance with the TURBOSQUID model to create a Chinese version of the 3D model trading platform. In the DVS3D system, users can also fetch 3D models from the graph network in the database.

But for Zhouqingzhuang, simply selling software is always a tough business. The object he wanted to imitate was Apple. In his eyes, Dvs3d is just a software system similar to iOS, and in the 3D world, if the user wants to interact, it must be driven by a combination of hardware and software. He wants to be able to make money by selling hardware and software as Apple sells ipads and iphones.

So in the process of dvs3d system development, Mann has set up a new group, and started the research and development of interactive equipment g-motion. This is a set of hardware system which can capture the real-time position and direction information of the object by optical recognition technology. "It can measure the absolute coordinates of an object's space and is widely used." For example, the doctor in the operation of the time with a scalpel, because after the person anesthesia the body's absolute position is fixed, so the doctor can from the scalpel shape and coordinates, know the tip should be used in what part. "Zhouqingzhuang will say.

After the launch of the G-motion in 2013, the G-motion and Dvs3d were fused, and the "g-magic, virtual reality immersive interactive system" was introduced, which allowed the profit margin to be greatly improved. "The first time in other people's software to do two development, our gross margin is about 40%, after we launched the G-magic, now has reached 65% of the gross margin." "Zhouqingzhuang will say," and I expect the ideal gross margin should be able to reach 70% to 75% level. ”

The introduction of G-magic also let more and more organizations began to interest in the product of Mann. "Architecture and planning are the art of regret, such as the creation of a person in order to find some problems, through the virtual reality of the environment, you can modify the problem at any time." From this perspective, we will improve our design level. "Cheng, director of Art design and Media College, East China University of Technology, said to the first financial weekly.

And for students, before this, most of their design is only in the drawings above, can hold a model of wood and other materials to do some 500:1 or even smaller architectural models, it is difficult to realize the design after the real feeling of completion. Through G-magic, teachers can let students put the design plan on the platform, tell students which design is problematic, so that students more intuitive understanding of design theory. "At present we have four professional courses have been arranged to use this equipment to teach, students generally respond well." "Cheng said.

The Ministry of Education from 2013 onwards, the hope that the national establishment of 100 national virtual simulation Experimental Teaching Center program also stimulated Zhouqingzhuang, colleges and universities are becoming his focus on the target market. "All along, the Manchester constant has maintained about 40% of customers from colleges and universities, now this proportion to further expand." "Zhouqingzhuang will say. and energy, high-end manufacturing enterprises in these industries is also the main customer of Mann.

In addition, Mann has developed a mini version of virtual work platform G-bench and portable mobile work platform G-mobile to meet the needs of SME customers. And the market expansion also extends abroad, at present Mann Heng opens a sales office in San Jose, California, to compete with rivals such as Germany a.r.t for overseas markets.

This is not a fully competitive industry. "From our high gross margin you can see that in this industry, competition is not sufficient." "Zhouqingzhuang will say.

The problem is that this is an industry that cannot produce much of a repeat purchase, while at home, selling to an enterprise-class customer faces an uncertain hidden cost of selling. For Mann, after spending a lot of energy persuading customers to buy their products, there is no more way to make money out of these customers ' pockets than some specific virtual scene customization services. Even Zhouqingzhuang would have thought it would be a problem, and he hoped that by adjusting the business model, the current mode of selling through the power line would be transformed into a way for customers to proactively look for Mann's online model.

Becoming a trading platform for 3D models and providing personalized manufacturing services is the two Zhouqingzhuang that will be considered correct.

His first move was to rename the network to 3D City and start devoting more resources to it. Zhouqingzhuang will want dvs3d users to upload their 3D models to 3D City. "There are two types of users in this field, one is the designer, they have the data, the second is not the designer, they want the data to download from 3D city." This becomes the Internet enterprise, the 3D into the online service mode. "The recent CG Juno of the similar model platform acquired by Intel Capital in the Middle East is one of the sources of Zhouqingzhuang's confidence.

Since the 3D model can be used as a visual tool, but also as a 3D print material, Zhouqingzhuang will want to be able to join the 3D printed elements. If consumers like a 3D model, not only can download from 3D City, can also be like the 3D model upload, Mann help them print out. In Zhouqingzhuang's view, the price and printing costs of a 3D printer never seem to fall to a level that can go into ordinary families.

"Now 3D City platform is my personal more optimistic, more representative of the future." "Zhouqingzhuang will say. But when the market finally has a saturated day, Zhouqingzhuang will need to think about how to find the direction for Mann before the day arrives, if that is the right direction. He had to make sure that the market capacity in the right direction was large enough, as Oculus found.