When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we were driven apart. Now, starting in South Korea, DoubleMe is embracing 5G-enabled holographic reality to bring us together again.
SUNNYVALE, CA—Leveraging support from Korean telcos, holographic reality developer DoubleMe wants to establish a lead in ‘contactless’ technologies in South Korea, starting with the commercial launch of their hologram experience centers and rapid growth of their social holographic reality application, TwinWorld.
Selected for both Samsung’s C-Lab Outside program and SK Telecom’s True Innovation program earlier this week, DoubleMe sees South Korea as the perfect environment to test 5G-enabled real-time 3D holographic communication and entertainment.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has been making a national push to reshape the economy around a concept called “untact,” which describes doing things without direct contact with others. The widespread adoption of this movement, in combination with the country's frequent use of virtual and augmented reality, is why DoubleMe is doubling down on South Korea.
“South Korea was one of the earliest countries to launch 5G service, so there is already an early adopter culture in place to embrace advanced technologies. Through holographic entertainment, teleconferencing and social sharing, we hope that our TwinWorld software will allow us all to be ‘close’ again,” said Albert Kim, CEO of DoubleMe.
DoubleMe, who has already partnered with LG U+, British Telecom, MTS, Singtel, as well as 12 other global telecom operators, offers a personal real-time 3D capture system, HoloPort™, that converts 2D videos into dynamic 3D models in real-time for various 3D content markets.
This technology is brought to life through the company’s commercially-available TwinWorld Experience Centers. Similar to the Holodeck from Star Trek, these rooms provide everyday users the opportunity to meet “face-to-face” without risking in-person contact.
Given the scarcity of mixed reality headsets like HoloLens 2, this “try before you buy” model allows anyone to play with the TwinWorld application, turn themselves into a hologram, or instantly “Holoport” to one of many TwinWorld Experience Centers across the globe. These exhibits will also allow for the promotion of mixed reality glasses, like Nreal, which will be distributed by LG U+ in South Korea.
There will be 13 TwinWorld experience centers operational by January 2021 in locations such as Paris, Bangkok, London, Moscow and more, and the company is always seeking more partners worldwide.
Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency, located in the second largest city in Korea, has already purchased 2 TwinWorld experience centers that will be permanently installed in their exhibition center early December.
To further cement DoubleMe’s commitment to Korea, the company will be relocating to Samsung Electronics Seoul R&D campus in early 2021, beating out 501 other companies for one of 18 spots. Samsung will provide DoubleMe with expert mentoring, participation in domestic and overseas IT exhibitions, and 100 million Korean won (more than $90,000).
According to global industry analysts (GIA), the hologram Korean market is expected to grow from approximately $800 million in 2020 to $1.6 billion in 2025, and DoubleMe hopes that with Samsung and SK Telecom’s support, they will be the ones leading the charge.
The pandemic has shown that South Korea is leaning towards an ‘untact’ future with opportunities for contact-free technologies, so DoubleMe is exploring ways to help us gather ‘in person’ again.
About DoubleMe
DoubleMe provides an end-to-end platform for Social Holographic Reality Experiences. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, and operates its volumetric video capture studios in London and Seoul. So far, DoubleMe has raised $12.7M.
To learn more about DoubleMe, visit https://www.doubleme.me/.
DoubleMe Social Media: https://linktr.ee/DoubleMe
TwinWorld Social Media: https://linktr.ee/TwinWorld
Contact: Kristen Pimley, Marketing Content Manager at DoubleMe
Email: kristen@doubleme.me
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