[WIT Asia series] Want to know what tech we will be using in 2 years time? Chances are it’s already in Shenzhen’s electronics market. We constantly hear of the new innovations coming out of Asia, but to truly understand what’s going on, you have to witness it. The proliferation of VR technology was unmistakable. Everyone from maker studios to accelerators to large corporates are investing time and money in this space to engineer the ‘next big thing’. The solutions are hitting the electronics market in Shenzhen at an incredible rate. Forget Silicon Valley, forget the USA, this is the place to come if you want to see the future of electronics.One of the highlights in this regard was a visit to the HTC Hive in Shenzhen. This is a VR experience store where young millennials come to enjoy a cappuccino and use the many VR toys and simulators in the space. It feels like an arcade from the future. At present, their incredibly interactive games are prohibitively expensive to the average consumer just like the Atari was when it first came out but how long will it be before mass production makes it possible that VR gaming will replace the PlayStations or similar we find in most family homes?
Literally across the road is Lit Chee Lab a maker studio in Shenzhen that has been teaching kids how to become ‘makers’ through physical skills and a design thinking approach after school instead of standard childcare. It’s exciting to imagine what these kids will create in 10-15 years time.At the InnoDesignTech expo in Hong Kong where we finish our tour, there was a whole Pavilion dedicated to VR full of some of the busiest stands at the whole expo. Branded VR headsets are given out as promotional tools by exhibiting companies instead of pens or similar you might get at any other expo. Likewise at the IngDan experience store, we were greeted by an AR Robot who was able to tell how old we looked, if we were stressed or not and how good looking we were on a scale of 1-100. Considering it was the last stop in our last destination after a busy schedule, we didn’t fare to well. Throughout the store we explored the many VR gadgets available. It’s the stores fastest growing segment.