[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Naver's global artificial intelligence (AI) research lab, Naver Labs, has unveiled a blueprint for the global expansion of its new metaverse (extended virtual world) ecosystem, ARCVERSE. ARCVERSE is a hybrid metaverse that closely connects the virtual and real worlds, unlike Naver Z's fully independent virtual world platform, ZEPETO.
◆ Linking the real and virtual worlds based on 'Digital Twin' = Seok Sang-ok, CEO of Naver Labs, introduced ARCVERSE at a press briefing (MEET UP) on the 1st, saying, "The biggest feature is that it forms a virtual world that interacts with the real world through technology rather than being an independent virtual space, organically connecting the two worlds and providing users with an equal experience without spatial gaps."
The solutions and systems that make up ARCVERSE are connected to real-world services and infrastructure such as service robots, autonomous mobility, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), smart buildings, and smart cities. This concept is similar to the 'Mirror World' among various definitions of the metaverse. The Mirror World refers to a virtual world where information reflecting the real world is expanded.
The core of this connection is ARC, a multi-robot intelligence system that acts as the brain for buildings and robots based on Naver Cloud and 5G, and ALIKE, an independent indoor and outdoor digital twin data creation solution.
CEO Seok said, "Thanks to the massive testbed of Naver's second headquarters, various technologies could quickly converge into one ecosystem called ARCVERSE," adding, "We will continue to advance the technology through various partnerships with local governments, companies, and academia."
◆ Collaboration with SoftBank on HD mapping in Japan = On the same day, CEO Seok revealed another case of challenging the global market with proprietary technology: a city-scale high-definition map (HD map) production project in Japan using the ALIKE solution in collaboration with SoftBank.
Regarding this, Junichi Miyakawa, CEO of SoftBank, said, "We expect that mapping-related projects in Japan utilizing Naver Labs' technology could become new business opportunities."
Naver Labs plans to discover more business opportunities in the long term through technology advancement and collaboration with Naver Cloud. CEO Seok explained, "The components that make up ARCVERSE can each become individual services or, through convergence, entirely new services. We expect that the ARCVERSE we build will be integrated into various industries, leading to the birth of infrastructure and services that drive paradigm shifts."
Han Sang-young, Executive Director of Naver Cloud, also stated, "In response to the increasing demand for digital transformation, we plan to provide Naver Labs' core technologies such as ALIKE and ARC through Naver Cloud so that various partners can utilize them."
◆ Naver focuses its capabilities on the metaverse = Another Naver affiliate, Naver Z, which developed the metaverse platform ZEPETO, announced plans for the metaverse platform ZEP service in partnership with game company Supercat to build a metaverse ecosystem the day before. Supercat is a game company that developed the mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 'Baram-ui Nara: Yeon.'
Naver Z plans to actively utilize Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and list the ZEP governance token. It also succeeded in raising 223.5 billion KRW in investment. Investors include HYBE, the agency of BTS, as well as YG, JYP, SoftBank, Mirae Asset Capital, Mirae Asset Consulting, and Naver Webtoon.
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