Gwangju City, Achievements in Supporting Virtual and Augmented Reality Companies

After Over 3 Years of Support from the Production Hub Center, Sales Reach 5.9 Billion Won... 123 New Jobs Created

StudioCoin ICT psychological care content based on virtual reality to alleviate PTSD after a traffic accident while driving. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 11th that the virtual and augmented reality (VR·AR) sector is becoming a new growth engine for the region as local companies supported through the Gwangju VR·AR Production Hub Center support project have been achieving continuous results.

Supported by Gwangju City and the Ministry of Science and ICT, the center support project, launched in May 2018, has achieved KRW 5.9 billion in sales of produced content and created 123 new jobs in just over three years by supporting the development of virtual and augmented reality content linked to regional specialized industries such as biomedical, eco-friendly automobiles, energy, and cultural content.

Notably, the ‘Psychological Care Content for Alleviating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from Traffic Accidents While Driving,’ developed by Studio Coin Co., Ltd. and Mega Works Co., Ltd., is content that combines virtual reality technology with the biomedical field, one of the region’s specialized industries, and confirmed its potential as a digital therapeutic through a demonstration project with a local university hospital.

Studio Coin Co., Ltd. aims to obtain domestic digital therapeutic approval in the future by utilizing clinical trial data conducted from January 19 last year to November 2022, starting with the final approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Chonnam National University Hospital at the end of January to ensure the reliability of the content.

Additionally, UOK Co., Ltd. produced ‘Virtual Reality Non-Face-to-Face Rehabilitation Medical Service Content’ that can be used on-site, enabling safe use and provision of medical services even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Darwin Tech Co., Ltd. created virtual reality-based cadaver content for anatomical practice and provided it for practical training to health and medical students at Gwangju Women’s University, receiving favorable reviews.

Oh Dong-gyo, Director of the Future Industry Policy Division of the city, said, “As the transition to non-face-to-face services accelerates due to COVID-19, the demand for virtual and augmented reality technology adoption is increasing in other industrial fields such as medical equipment, manufacturing, and automobiles.” He added, “We will spare no support to revitalize the virtual and augmented reality industry linked to regional specialized industries based on these achievements in the future.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.