The 2024 World Virtual Reality Innovation Conference was held on Nov 12 and 13 in Laoshan district, Qingdao. As a global benchmark for the development of the virtual reality industry, the conference focused on building a well-developed industrial ecosystem.

As an international summit in the field of virtual reality, the conference attracted over 1,000 attendees, including renowned academicians, experts, and scholars, who gathered to discuss the future development of virtual reality technology.

Tan Jianrong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered a speech on the theme of the metaverse, and focused on development trends of the industry.

A speech by Chen Shiqing of the National Academy of Engineering in the United States covered examples from fields such as intelligent healthcare, education, energy, cultural creativity, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, and smart science cities. He illustrated the extensive application of the combination of brain science, artificial intelligence, and intelligent supercomputing in virtual reality scenarios.

During the keynote speeches, top executives from leading companies such as Goertek Inc and HTC delivered keynote addresses, sharing practical experiences around building an entire ecosystem for the virtual reality industry value chain.

At the conference, Laoshan district signed agreements with 30 projects, further connecting over 300 upstream and downstream companies to form industry value chains and clusters.  

It is estimated that this year, the scale of the virtual reality industry in Laoshan will exceed 22 billion yuan ($3.05 billion), with a growth rate of over 22 percent year-on-year. The artificial intelligence industry scale will reach 35 billion yuan, growing by over 25 percent year-on-year.

Laoshan district will focus on the high-quality development of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, software and information services, intelligent manufacturing, and industrial internet. It will also work to set up business parks for virtual reality and artificial intelligence, aiming for next-generation information technology industries to exceed 100 billion yuan in value.

The 2024 World Virtual Reality Innovation Conference opens in Laoshan district, Qingdao, on Nov 12. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Visitors at the exhibition of next-generation information technology industries at the 2024 World Virtual Reality Innovation Conference in Qingdao on Nov 12. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Visitors try virtual reality technologies at the 2024 World Virtual Reality Innovation Conference in Qingdao on Nov 12. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]