Experience Kaohsiung's Metaverse

　When you put on the VIVE monitor, the world in front of you suddenly changes. Participants are virtually transported to places like Egypt's pyramids or even Mars. Kaohsiung's Metaverse has been made possible with the strategic integration of academia, technology, and art. It is also becoming an integral part of Kaohsiung's 5G AIoT smart city.

　In VIVELAND VR Theme Park, visitors can enjoy an immersive virtual experience. HTC has spearheaded these VR applications, allowing users to enter and explore the Metaverse. This space covers 300 square meters and provides users with 30 VR games including virtual museums. Although the Metaverse has sparked a heated global debate, the advanced VR technology allows people to enter an exciting 3D world, integrating the virtual with the real and defying physical boundaries. This medium is regarded as a new trend where people create an imaginary Metaverse world.

　"HTC hopes to continue developing virtual reality technologies and applications for various educational and training programs. The Metaverse will have various functional, industrial, and ecological applications," explained the manager of the Kaohsiung branch, Guo Jhen-sian.

　Sun Jhih-bin, director of I-Shou University's Digital Media Design Department, leads efforts to integrate the Metaverse VR Game Center with the Technology and Art Design Center. These innovations will be carried out through industry-university cooperation and continue cultivating talents to develop Kaohsiung's Metaverse further.

　Kaohsiung city government is also promoting VR. Kaohsiung's VR FILM LAB launched more than 20 original VR films that won awards at Venice International, Cannes, and Sundance Film Festivals. The city government has set up a VR Film Lab in Pier-2 Art Center. This lab is the first open art space in Taiwan that exhibits VR movies and provides immersive experiences for visitors.

　Sun Jhih-bin believes the Metaverse will continue integrating innovative technologies, including NFT, blockchain, and VR. Kaohsiung will integrate its smart city capabilities with Metaverse's virtual cities. In the future, people will also be able to access Metaverse for e-commerce transactions. The Metaverse project in Kaohsiung has been made possible with the New Asia Bay's 5G platform and partnerships between industries, government, and academia.

高雄前進元宇宙

　　戴上VIVE顯示器，眼前的世界倏然改變，瞬間移動到埃及金字塔，接著又飛上火星……，這情境是現今炙手可熱的虛擬實境(Virtual Reality, VR)。VR作為前進元宇宙重要技術之一，高雄早已全面布局，整合學術、技術與藝術，打造高雄成為5G AIoT智慧城市。

　　高雄SKM Park內的VIVELAND VR虛擬實境樂園，帶給觀眾身歷其境的感受，這是宏達電HTC在高雄傾力打造的VR遊樂體驗空間，以遊戲應用作為進入元宇宙的敲門磚。超過300坪以上的空間，擁有超過30款包括虛擬博物館等VR遊戲。隨著元宇宙話題全球延燒，民眾透過VR技術進入虛實整合互通的3D虛擬世界，打破疆域進行互動，被視為是開啟未來的新趨勢，藉由VR顯示器，開啟使用者對元宇宙的無限想像。

　　HTC希望把VR技術應用到消防演習、教育訓練等教學上，並且連結生活消費等機能，打造元宇宙生態鏈產業建構。」高雄店經理郭振賢解釋道。

　　義守大學數媒系主任孫志彬表示，義守大學將整合數媒系的元宇宙VR遊戲中心及科技藝術設計中心，並積極進行產學合作，培養元宇宙領域相關的人才。

　　市府在VR影像上也不缺席，高雄市電影館「高雄VR FILM LAB計畫」，推出超過20部臺灣原創的VR電影，在威尼斯、坎城、日舞等影展上皆有獲獎成績。並在駁二藝術特區設置VR體感劇院，這可是全臺灣第一間放映VR電影、沉浸式內容體驗的藝文空間。

　　對於元宇宙未來趨勢，孫志彬主任表示，從運用NFT、區塊鏈、VR等創新科技，進行虛實整合的產品開發，到未來結合智慧城市的元宇宙虛擬城市、元宇宙電子商務等，高雄以亞灣5G產業為起點，產官學聯手，迎接元宇宙時代。