IN a year that seems more “virtual” than ever, with the world struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, China is embracing the booming virtual reality (VR) industry and making it more real in terms of integrating this technology in various fields to envision a better-off and safer society.

The 2020 World Conference on VR Industry, which closed Tuesday in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi Province, focused on the key and common problems in VR industry development, discussed industry trends and solutions, and illustrated the latest achievements in the field.

This conference has prompted businesses to sign projects with contracted amounts totaling 66.2 billion yuan (US$10 billion), according to organizers.

VR technology has been exposed to the public in more fields in the past years, such as gaming, livestreaming, shopping, and tourism. Besides these familiar life scenarios, it is also integrating with other significant industries.

More than 160 exhibitors, including Huawei and Microsoft, have presented their products and projects on VR, AR (augmented reality), and MR (mixed reality) technologies at an expo during the conference.

Jiangxi Copper presented its VR application scenarios at the expo. Staff can monitor mining sites, whose images can be projected on screens in VR form, inside their offices.

With such a vivid and intelligent approach, the company said they could increase the qualified rates of selected copper grade and sulfur grade by 11.34 percent and 4.43 percent, respectively.

The application of VR in the mining process not only drives the working efficiency but also ensures the safety of workers. As technologies create a better life for humankind, the VR industry is no exception, especially in healthcare fields.

It has brought more possibilities to medics. Wearing VR glasses, a doctor can clearly see lung images, even fine structures, of COVID-19 patients in three dimensions.

Telemedicine has undergone rapid development based on 5G, VR, and other technologies in this extraordinary year, as such methods play a significant role in treating critical COVID-19 patients.

According to the MIIT, China’s VR market will amount to 54.45 billion yuan by 2021.(Xinhua)