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CloudMD Reports Record Revenue of $8.8 Million in First Quarter 2021.
source
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cloudmd-reports-record-revenue-8-200900295.html
Thu, May 27, 2021, 10:09 PM
- Q1 2021 revenue of $8.8 million; an increase of 187% compared to Q1 2020 and 51% compared to Q4 2020.
- Q1 2021 gross margin1 of 41% attributable to strong revenue mix.
- Closed 5 acquisitions in Q1 2021, providing the foundation for scale and growth across North America and Europe.
- Closed Aspiria and Rxi subsequent to Q1 2021 and anticipated to close VisionPros and Oncidium in June 2021. These acquisitions are expected to add an additional $79 million in annual run rate revenue.
- Strong 2021 financial expectations with annualized revenue run rate exceeding $120 million and positive Adjusted EBITDA1 in the second half of 2021.
1 Gross margin and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures as described in the Non-GAAP Financial Measures section of this News Release.
CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (TSXV: DOC, OTCQB: DOCRF, Frankfurt: 6PH), a healthcare technology company revolutionizing the delivery of care, announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021. All financial information is presented in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Dr. Essam Hamza, CEO of CloudMD commented, “We are excited to share our record Q1 2021 financial results that continue to improve quarter over quarter. Q1 was a transformative period for CloudMD, as we closed 5 acquisitions, adding $13 million in annualized revenue and establishing the foundation for our Enterprise Health Solutions division. I am very proud of the strategic roadmap we have built and the team’s ability to execute on our growth strategy. We identified key acquisition targets that were synergistic to our overall vision and we remain focused on building a complete healthcare ecosystem, providing connected, holistic care. We continue to integrate all of our capabilities into one comprehensive platform, which is the foundation for scale and expansion. Within our Enterprise Health Solutions division, we have already seen significant early adoption and through cross-selling opportunities, attained over $5 million in new multi-year contracts in the first quarter. Equally exciting is that CloudMD already has a revenue run rate of over $120 million, and through highly profitable acquisitions coupled with organic growth and realization of cost synergies, we expect to be profitable in the second half of 2021.”
First Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights
- Q1 2021 revenue was $8.8 million, compared to $5.8 million in Q4 2020 and $3.1 million in Q1 2020. The increase is primarily attributable to acquisition growth with 5 acquisitions completed in the quarter, and 11 acquisitions completed in the last twelve months. Excluding the impact of Q1 business acquisitions, the Company achieved organic growth from its existing businesses.
- Q1 2021 gross margin was 41%, compared to 40% in Q4 2020 and 37% in Q1 2020. The increase is primarily attributable to revenue mix where higher margin revenues from Enterprise Health Solutions (“EHS”) and Digital Services made up a stronger percentage of overall revenues.
- Net comprehensive loss attributable to equity holders of the Company in Q1 2021 was $5.3 million or $0.03 per share, compared to $5.2 million or $0.04 per share in Q4 2020 and $1.6 million or $0.02 per share in Q1 2020. In the quarter, the Company completed numerous strategic initiatives, including the completion of 5 acquisitions in the quarter and raising $58.2 million in gross proceeds from a bought deal short form prospectus offering, which the Company expects will contribute to strong future growth of the Company.
- Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”) was a loss of $1.5 million in Q1 2021, compared to a loss of $1.5 million in Q4 2020 and a loss of $0.8 million in Q1 2020. The Adjusted EBITDA calculation adjusts for share-based compensation, costs related to financing, acquisitions, integration, litigation including associated loss provisions, and change in fair value of contingent consideration. Adjusted EBITDA is used by management to evaluate the Company’s cash operating performance, and a complete definition and calculation are provided further below.
- Cash and cash equivalents were $99.2 million as at March 31, 2021, compared to $59.7 million at December 31, 2020. In Q1 2021, the Company raised gross proceeds of $58.2 million in a bought deal short form prospectus offering in March 2021 and the Company’s current cash balance is approximately $95 million.
First Quarter & Subsequent Highlights
- During January 2021, the Company closed the previously announced acquisitions of HumanaCare, Medical Confidence and Canadian Medical Directory, strengthening the Company’s EHS division by adding a leading Employee Assistance Program and healthcare navigation platform.
- On February 8, 2021 the Company closed the acquisition of 51% of West Mississauga Medical Clinic, expanding the Company’s hybrid clinic footprint in Ontario.
- On February 16, 2021, the Company announced that it signed a binding term sheet to acquire VisionPros, a rapidly growing digital eyecare platform with a robust suite of digital vision care tools.
- In March 2021, the Company closed the short form prospectus offering, on a bought deal basis, including the full over-allotment option for total gross proceeds of $58.2 million.
- On March 18, 2021, the Company provided an update on the rapid growth of its Enterprise Health Solutions division, realizing over $5 million in new multi-year contracts since the beginning of 2021.
- On March 23, 2021, the Company announced that it closed the acquisition of IDYA4, the technology platform used to integrate all of our healthcare solutions, providing a fully automated, seamless patient experience.
- On April 6, 2021, the Company announced that it closed the acquisition of Aspiria, adding another leading Employee and Student-focused assistance program to the Company’s EHS division.
- On April 8, 2021, the Company announced that it entered into a binding term sheet to acquire Oncidium, creating one of the largest providers to the employer market in Canada.
- On May 12, 2021, the Company announced that it closed the acquisition of Rxi, a proprietary specialty drug management and patient support platform.
Outlook
The Company is focused on revolutionizing the healthcare industry by leveraging technology to digitalize its delivery in providing more efficient access to care and achieving better health outcomes. CloudMD is integrating its health technology solutions to build one, connected healthcare ecosystem that addresses all points of a patient’s care from one platform. The Company remains on track to launch a fully automated, connected solution later in 2021. This connected platform is the foundation for scale and growth and the Company will continue expanding its footprint across North America and strategically in Europe.
CloudMD’s current revenue run rate is over $120 million which does not take into consideration any expected organic growth or cross-selling synergies. CloudMD expects to see continued organic growth across all divisions of its business largely due to the integration of its health technology solutions and cross-selling synergies in the EHS division.
The Company has a strong cash position with approximately $95 million on hand, and approximately $35 million remaining after the closing of the acquisitions of VisionPros and Oncidium, which both are expected to close in June 2021. With a strong balance sheet, CloudMD is able to seek debt financing options to conserve cash and equity. The Company is on track to be profitable and expects to be Adjusted EBITDA-positive in the second half of 2021.
CloudMD will continue to focus on delivering meaningful shareholder value by executing on its growth strategy through accretive, synergistic acquisitions, achieving organic growth across all divisions, and the full integration of its healthcare solutions to provide one, connected platform that addresses all points of care for patients.
Selected Financial Information
All results were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.
To see the table please look at:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cloudmd-reports-record-revenue-8-200900295.html
First Quarter Earnings Conference Call
CloudMD invites all interested parties to join the conference call or webinar:
CloudMD Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Date: Today, May 27, 2021
Time: 2:00 pm PT / 5:00 pm ET
Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (833) 562-0117
International Dial-In Number: (661) 567-1009
Conference ID: 7655837
Webcast Link:
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/ozdza9aq
Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis
This news release should be read in conjunction with the Company’s condensed interim consolidated financial statements and related notes, and management’s discussion and analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, copies of which can be found at
https://www.sedar.com/
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to the results reported in accordance with IFRS, the Company uses various non-GAAP financial measures, which are not recognized under IFRS, as supplemental indicators of the Company’s operating performance and financial position. These non-GAAP financial measures are provided to enhance the user’s understanding of the Company’s historical and current financial performance and its prospects for the future. Management believes that these measures provide useful information in that they exclude amounts that are not indicative of the Company’s core operating results and ongoing operations and provide a more consistent basis for comparison between quarters and years. Details of such non-GAAP financial measures and how they are derived are provided below as well as in conjunction with the discussion of the financial information reported.
Since non-GAAP financial measures do not have any standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS, other companies may calculate these non-IFRS measures differently and our non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similar titled measures of other companies. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them and are also urged to read all IFRS accounting disclosures presented in the audited consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
EBITDA
EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have a standard meaning and may not be comparable to a similar measure disclosed by other issuers. EBITDA referenced herein relates to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. This measure does not have a comparable IFRS measure and is used by the Company to manage and evaluate the cash operating income (loss) of the business. Please refer to section on EBITDA for reconciliation.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have a standard meaning and may not be comparable to a similar measure disclosed by other issuers. Adjusted EBITDA referenced herein relates to earnings before interest; taxes; depreciation; amortization; share-based compensation; financing-related costs; acquisition-related and integration costs, net; litigation costs and loss provision; change in fair value of contingent consideration; and loss from discontinued operations. This measure does not have a comparable IFRS measure and is used by the Company to evaluate its cash operating income (loss) of the business, adjusted for factors that are unusual in nature or factors that are not indicative of the operating performance of the Company. Please refer to section on Adjusted EBITDA for reconciliation.
Gross Profit
Gross Profit is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have a standard meaning and may not be comparable to a similar measure disclosed by other issuers. Gross Profit referenced herein relates to revenues less cost sales. This measure does not have a comparable IFRS measure and is used by the Company to manage and evaluate the operating performance of the business.
Gross Margin
Gross Margin is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have a standard meaning and may not be comparable to a similar measure disclosed by other issuers. Gross Margin referenced herein is defined as gross profit as a percent of total revenue. This measure does not have a comparable IFRS measure and is used by the Company to manage and evaluate the operating performance of the business.
About CloudMD Software & Services
CloudMD is digitizing the delivery of healthcare by providing a patient-centric approach, with an emphasis on continuity of care. By leveraging healthcare technology, the Company is building one, connected platform that addresses all points of a patient’s healthcare journey and provides better access to care and improved outcomes. Through CloudMD’s proprietary technology, the Company delivers quality healthcare through a holistic offering including hybrid primary care clinics, specialist care, telemedicine, mental health support, educational resources and artificial intelligence (AI). CloudMD’s Enterprise Health Solutions Division includes one of the top 4 Employee Assistance Programs in Canada and offers one comprehensive, digitally connected platform for corporations, insurers and advisors to better manage the health and wellness of their employees and customers.
CloudMD currently services a combined ecosystem of over 7,000 psychiatrists, approximately 4,500 therapists and counsellors, approximately 4,000 psychologists, over 22,000 family physicians, over 34,000 medical specialists, over 1,500 allied health professionals, over 500 clinics, and over 5 million individuals across North America.
For more information visit:
https://investors.cloudmd.ca/
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Dr. Essam Hamza, MD"
Chief Executive Officer
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:
Julia Becker
VP, Investor Relations
julia@cloudmd.ca
(604) 785-0850
SoFi Stakeholders Hit by $560 Million Freeze Ahead of SPAC Debut.
source
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-25/sofi-stakeholders-hit-by-560-million-freeze-ahead-of-spac-debut
25. Mai 2021, 02:49 MESZ
- Renren investor suit claims 2018 SoFi share sale was a sham.
- N.Y. judge said ‘no legitimate corporate purpose’ for spin-off.
A New York court ordered the freezing of $560 million in assets held by entities controlled by Renren Inc. Chief Executive Officer Joseph Chen, Softbank Group Corp. and others, an amount pegged to a stake in personal-finance startup Social Finance Inc., which is slated for a blank-check merger this week.
Chen, who sits on SoFi’s board, Renren co-founder David Chao and Softbank are among the defendants in a 2018 suit brought by shareholders who claim the Chinese social networking company’s insiders and biggest investors engaged in self-dealing when they spun off its most valuable assets at artificially low prices, in particular a large stake in San Francisco-based SoFi. New York State Supreme Court Justice Andrew Borrok on Monday ordered the asset freeze while the suit continues.
Borrok’s ruling comes as SoFi is preparing for a merger this week with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. V, a special purpose acquisition company founded by former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya. SoFi, which was valued at $8.7 billion at the time the deal was announced in January, said it expects to begin trading on June 1.
The Renren shareholders, which include Heng Ren Silk Road Investments LLC and Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd., sued after Chen and Chao engaged in complex transactions that transferred most of the company’s assets to a vehicle called Oak Pacific Investments, which was then sold to a consortium that included the co-founders and Softbank. According to the plaintiffs, those assets were sold to Oak Pacific at artificially low prices, including SoFi shares that were valued in the deal at $269 million. They estimate those shares are now worth $560 million.
Borrok had ordered the assets attached earlier this month after the plaintiffs alleged that Oak Pacific sold 22 million SoFi shares at below-market value while delaying disclosure of its holdings, suggesting an attempt to hide assets. The judge also said he thought the Renren shareholders were likely to prevail in their claims because it appeared “these assets were spun off without legitimate corporate purpose.”
Eli Berman, a lawyer for Oak Pacific and Chen, declined to comment. Brian Pastuszenski, a lawyer for Chao, also declined to comment. Softbank and SoFi didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Renren, which once aspired to be the Facebook of China, said in 2018 that it needed to divest its holdings to avoid being regarded as an investment company by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It said it wasn’t practical to sell the investments itself and distribute cash to investors because most of its holdings were in closely held startups.
The case is In re: Renren Inc. derivative litigation, 653594/2018, New York State Supreme Court, New York County.
@'NorthShoreTrading According to Stewart Wallach,
I am quoting from the middle part of the transcript...
sources
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=163893074
So here we go, as I referred earlier to the elephant in the room. At this point, our planning is based on a best case scenario of five to six weeks out and a worst case scenario of eight to nine weeks.
Now this is in keeping with our first product Q2 goal date, which was to have initial shipments out within Q2, which of course is June 30. Our national launch in early Q3 which of course is July has always been in the plan.
We have had a few ups and downs. We've had a few false starts. And I know that everybody's hearing this ad nauseam. But at the end of the day, the pandemic continues to plague us unexpectedly look particularly like we just had some more instances where our management team in Bangkok is now completely locked down in their hotels. They can't even get to the factory. These things usually pass in a week. The government's very aggressive over there relative to controlling pandemic, but we have had some difficulties because of it. And that's why we've been hesitant to provide exact dates.
So I'm comfortable with the five to six weeks at the best case and eight to nine weeks in the worst case, and quite frankly after two years, I think we'll all agree that’s right around the corner. I've mentioned this in the webcast also, Mike that we will be updating in real time from this point forward of any expectations should they change.
So at the end of the day, we're going full steam ahead and we're ready to pull the trigger on all our marketing, programming, et cetera in the next five to six weeks.
Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. V (NYSE: IPOE) Recommends Shareholders Vote in Favor of the Proposed Business Combination with SoFi.
source
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/social-capital-hedosophia-holdings-corp-130000671.html
Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:00 PM
- Extraordinary general meeting of IPOE shareholders to approve proposed business combination with SoFi to be held on May 27, 2021 at 12 p.m. ET
- Shareholders as of the close of business on April 29, 2021 should vote their shares, no matter how many shares they own
- For assistance voting your shares, please visit https://voteipoe.com/ or contact Morrow Sodali LLC, Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. V’s proxy solicitor, toll-free at +1.800.460.1014, or send a message to IPOE.info@investor.morrowsodali.com
Background
https://voteipoe.com/
On January 7, Social Capital Hedosophia V (“SCH” or “IPOE”) announced its merger with SoFi, a leading next-generation financial services platform. Social Capital and IPOE are now seeking your support to complete the proposed merger with SoFi.
The board of SCH has unanimously recommended that IPOE shareholders approve the transaction.
Click here to read the Chairman’s Letter from Chamath Palihapitiya explaining why he supports the transaction and thinks you should too.
If you are an IPOE shareholder and purchased your shares on or before April 29, 2021 you are eligible to vote and will receive a proxy card from your brokerage firm with voting instructions. It is very important that you vote as soon as possible after you receive the proxy card.
Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. V ("SCH" or the "Company") (NYSE: IPOE), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, recommends its shareholders vote in favor of the Company’s proposed business combination with Social Finance, Inc. ("SoFi"), a leading next-generation financial services platform, and the related proposals described in the Company’s definitive proxy statement dated May 7, 2021 (the "Proxy Statement"), at SCH’s extraordinary general meeting (the "extraordinary general meeting"). The extraordinary general meeting will be held at 12 p.m. Eastern Time on May 27, 2021, at the offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP located at 525 University Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301,
or virtually via live webcast at
https://www.cstproxy.com/socialcapitalhedosophiaholdingsv/sm2021/HTML1/default.htm
, as further described in the Proxy Statement. Shareholders will be permitted to attend the extraordinary general meeting in person only to the extent consistent with, or permitted by, applicable law and directives of public health authorities, and we strongly urge you to attend the extraordinary general meeting virtually.
IPOE shareholders as of April 29, 2021, the record date for the extraordinary general meeting (the "record date"), are entitled to vote their shares either in person or by proxy card to ensure that their shares will be represented at the extraordinary general meeting.
Every shareholder’s vote is important, regardless of the number of shares held. As such, all shareholders as of the record date are encouraged to vote as soon as possible.
Voting is easy and free:
Please read at:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/social-capital-hedosophia-holdings-corp-130000671.html
Artificial Solutions further expands its Conversational AI platform reach to 86 languages.
source
https://www.artificial-solutions.com/blog/artificial-solutions-further-expands-its-conversational-ai-platform-reach-to-86-languages
May 25, 2021
Artificial Solutions today announced support for two additional languages, Korean and Albanian, to the already supported 84 languages, further expanding the company’s global footprint.
With the company’s built-in language support covering close to 40% of the world’s population, the Conversational AI platform can deliver assistance in multiple languages to audiences worldwide.
Artificial Solutions provides the most extensive conversational AI language solution in the market.
“Our technology can deliver solutions in languages that haven’t been catered to before, and our approach is to continue localizing top-level solutions to eliminate the need to rebuild bots whenever an enterprise wants to expand its reach”, said Andreas Wieweg, CTO at Artificial Solutions.
The two additional languages, Albanian and Korean, are now added to an extensive catalogue that include – Afrikaans, Amharic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Mandarin), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Ewe, Faroese, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Georgian, Gujarati, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Igbo, Irish, Japanese, Latvian, Kazakh, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Kyrgyz, Lithuanian, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Malay, Malagasy, Maltese, Marathi, Mongolian, Nepali, Norwegian, Odia, Oromo, Papiamento, Polish, Portuguese, Quechuan, Romansh, Romanian, Russian, Sámi, Sango, Scottish Gaelic, Shona, Sinhala, Somali, Swahili, Swazi, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Tigrinya, Tsonga, Tswana, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Welsh, West Frisian, Yoruba and Zulu.
The platform also caters for regional differences and different writing scripts. Examples of this include the different spelling variations between UK and US English, the differences in vocabulary and grammar for Brazilian and European Portuguese, and the different Japanese writing systems.
Verimatrix Joins AWS for Media & Entertainment Initiative.
Content providers now have access to Verimatrix’s Multi-DRM Core solution through the new AWS initiative.
source
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210525005479/en/Verimatrix-Joins-AWS-for-Media-Entertainment-Initiative
May 25, 2021 11:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time
“Verimatrix is proud to collaborate with AWS to offer content providers a powerful choice for scaling and securing content as efficiently as possible”
Verimatrix, (Paris:VMX), the leader in powering the modern connected world with people-centered security, today announced its support for the AWS for Media & Entertainment initiative from Amazon Web Services (AWS)
https://aws.amazon.com/de/blogs/media/announcing-aws-for-media-and-entertainment/
– enabling content service providers that deploy on AWS to implement Verimatrix’s Multi-DRM Core solution
https://www.verimatrix.com/products/multi-drm/
to negotiate premium content rights with pre-approved and pre-integrated security for the distribution of licensed content.
Cloud-native and unencumbered by legacy development and deployment processes, Verimatrix Multi-DRM Core scales according to customer demand. It optimizes costs instead of purchasing pre-committed fixed capacity and ultimately results in faster launches for Direct-to-Consumer offerings.
“Verimatrix is proud to collaborate with AWS to offer content providers a powerful choice for scaling and securing content as efficiently as possible,” said Asaf Ashkenazi, Chief Operating Officer at Verimatrix. “Entertainment content is being consumed like never before – by larger and larger audiences and often simultaneously around the globe. Innovatively addressing the need to deploy quickly while also ensuring a stellar user experience, Verimatrix’s Multi-DRM Core solution brings proven scalability and reliability when it’s needed most.”
Today, content owners require a highly sophisticated, yet exceptionally rapid key-granting DRM solution as streaming workloads drastically increase. Verimatrix’s Multi-DRM solution efficiently secures AWS video processing and transcoding services, with integration typically taking less than 20 minutes to complete.
Uniquely built to address the needs of today’s video streaming providers that are rich with highly valuable exclusive content, Multi-DRM Core’s swift yet secure key-granting technology takes place at SaaS speed, handling a deluge of viewers across the vast variety of streaming platforms. Authentication requirements can easily be fine-tuned per country, meeting changing needs to satisfy content owner demands. Additionally, Multi-DRM Core extends the native security within AWS to offer deeper levels of DDoS and intrusion prevention.
By building on AWS, media & entertainment customers can accelerate innovation, achieve operational excellence and greater business agility, and quickly develop new paths to revenue with technologies tailored to media & entertainment organizations. AWS customers can turn to Verimatrix’s Multi-DRM Core to securely and quickly stream both broadcast and on-demand offerings when consumers request authorization to view content.
About AWS for Media & Entertainment
AWS for Media & Entertainment is an initiative featuring new and existing services and solutions from AWS and AWS Partners, built specifically for content creators, rights holders, producers, broadcasters, and distributors. AWS for Media & Entertainment also simplifies the process of building, deploying, and reinventing mission-critical industry workloads by aligning AWS and AWS Partner capabilities against five solution areas: Content Production; Media Supply Chain & Archive; Broadcast; Direct-to-Consumer & Streaming; and Data Science & Analytics.
About Verimatrix
Verimatrix (Euronext Paris: VMX) helps power the modern connected world with security made for people. We protect digital content, applications, and devices with intuitive, people-centered and frictionless security. Leading brands turn to Verimatrix to secure everything from premium movies and live streaming sports, to sensitive financial and healthcare data, to mission-critical mobile applications. We enable the trusted connections our customers depend on to deliver compelling content and experiences to millions of consumers around the world. Verimatrix helps partners get to market faster, scale easily, protect valuable revenue streams, and win new business.
To learn more, visit
https://www.verimatrix.com/
Contacts
Verimatrix Investor Relations:
Richard Vacher Detournière
General Manager & Chief Financial Officer
+33 (0)4 42 905 905
finance@verimatrix.com
Verimatrix Media:
Matthew Zintel
+1 281 444 1590
Automotive Natural Gas Vehicle Market will generate massive revenue by 2027 according to forecasts by Report Ocean.
source
https://manometcurrent.com/automotive-natural-gas-vehicle-market-will-generate-massive-revenue-by-2027-according-to-forecasts-by-report-ocean/
May 25, 2021
Global Automotive Natural Gas Vehicle Market is valued approximately at USD XXX million in 2019 and is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 3.5% over the forecast period 2020-2027.
Automotive natural gas vehicle is the vehicle that uses liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas used as substitute fuels. Transportation sector is adopting natural gas as fuel for the vehicles as it does low emission. Natural gas is safer as compared to diesel and gasoline as they cause pollution and emit greenhouse gases on large scale. As government is coming up with various regulations for low emissions of greenhouse effect in order to reduce pollutions and need lower fuel at lower cost, this might act as driving factor for the growth of the market. For Instance, according to Sublime China Information, the demand for CNG in China is expected to be 10bn m3 less in the year 2020 than earlier. However, High price of the automotive natural gas vehicle is restraining the market growth. Nevertheless, as people are becoming aware of safety and the hazardous effects of greenhouse gas, they would demand and it will provide as opportunity for the market.
The regional analysis of Automotive Natural Gas Vehicle market is considered for the key regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America and Rest of the World. Asia Pacific is the leading/significant region across the world in terms of market share in order to develop natural gas infrastructure.
Major market player included in this report are:
Agility Fuel Solutions
AB Volvo
Beiqi Foton Motor Co., Ltd.
CNH Industrial N.V.
Clean Energy Fuels
Cummins, Inc.
PACCAR, Inc.
Navistar, Inc.
Quantum Fuel Systems LLC
Westport Fuel Systems Inc.
The objective of the study is to define market sizes of different segments & countries in recent years and to forecast the values to the coming eight years. The report is designed to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the industry within each of the regions and countries involved in the study. Furthermore, the report also caters the detailed information about the crucial aspects such as driving factors & challenges which will define the future growth of the market. Additionally, the report shall also incorporate available opportunities in micro markets for stakeholders to invest along with the detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product offerings of key players. The detailed segments and sub-segment of the market are explained below:
By Fuel Type:
CNG
LNG
By Vehicle Type:
Passenger Vehicles
Light-duty & Heavy-duty Buses and Trucks
Three-wheelers
By Region:
North America
U.S.
Canada
Europe
UK
Germany
France
Spain
Italy
ROE
Asia Pacific
China
India
Japan
Australia
South Korea
RoAPAC
Latin America
Brazil
Mexico
Rest of the World
Furthermore, years considered for the study are as follows:
Historical year – 2017, 2018
Base year – 2019
Forecast period – 2020 to 2027
Target Audience of the Automotive Natural Gas Vehicle Market in Market Study:
Key Consulting Companies & Advisors
Large, medium-sized, and small enterprises
Venture capitalists
Value-Added Resellers (VARs)
Third-party knowledge providers
Investment bankers
Investors
WiMi Hologram Wins "2020-2021 Advanced Unit in Science and Technology Innovation" Award at 18th China Scientist Forum.
source
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wimi-hologram-wins-2020-2021-advanced-unit-in-science-and-technology-innovation-award-at-18th-china-scientist-forum-301298489.html
May 25, 2021, 08:00 ET
WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc. (Nasdaq: WIMI), a leading Hologram Augmented Reality ("AR") Technology provider, today announced that it won the "2020-2021 Advanced Unit in Science and Technology Innovation" award at the 18th China Scientist Forum. The Company received the award based on its excellence in technological innovation achievement and the public's exceptional evaluation of the Company.
The China Scientists Forum was founded in 2002 by the distinguished scientist Zhou Guangzhao, who was then Vice Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee and Chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology. This forum has been held successfully for 18 years to date. Over the past two decades, the China Scientists Forum has received strong support from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the China Association for Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Tsinghua University, Peking University, and more. As one of the industry's most influential exchanges and platforms for cooperation, the China Scientist Forum insists on reform, encourages the scientific spirit, supports scientific research for the benefit of enterprises, and always adheres to the tenet that "Science, Technology, and Innovation Lead the Future."
The forum has always maintained its distinctive characteristics of being scientific, pragmatic, and extensive. With the yearly expansion of the forum's scale, quality, and influence, it has now become a renowned national technology event with high participation rates from the government, industry players, universities, and institutions. As a result of its wide coverage and great social influence, this event has become a symbolic activity to promote the development of China's science and technology industry. Furthermore, it is an important platform for promoting the development of China's technology, facilitating in-depth analysis and discussion on trending topics, advancing the frontier trends of science and technology, and developing models for the explorations of broader integrations between scientific and technological innovations in various fields. As a result, the event has made great contributions to China's scientific and technological innovations, social and economic developments, as well as the development of subjects for enterprise innovation.
The three necessary requirements for winning the award are as follows:
1) the organization has made an important achievement or published significant academic works in the field of scientific and technology research, which has had a certain influence in China and abroad;
2) it has delivered significant economic or social benefits through innovation in its area of scientific research and practice, with this innovation also playing an exemplary and leading role in its field;
3) it has made a great contribution to the promotion of science and technology.
WiMi is China's leading hologram platform. After six years of development, it has established a relatively complete holographic technology research and development system, holographic content production and storage system, and holographic commercialization system. Currently, WiMi has 132 holographic related patents and 214 software copyrights. WiMi has also produced nearly 5,000 pieces of high-quality, high-fidelity holographic content. WiMi has more than 500 business partners, and its entire holographic segment revenue exceeded RMB 700 million in 2020. Since April 2020, WiMi has been successfully listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. As the first holographic company to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, WiMi has achieved remarkable results thus far.
At present, WiMi has leading 3D computer vision technology and SaaS platform technology for holographic technology. By using AI algorithms to turn ordinary images into 3D holographic content, WiMi's solutions are widely used in holographic advertising, holographic entertainment, holographic education, holographic communications, and other fields. With the development of 5G holographic communications, enhanced Mobile Broadband ("eMBB"), and the Internet of Things ("IoT") applications, the holographic cloud industry, in which WiMi currently operates, should see explosive growth going forward.
About WIMI Hologram Cloud Inc.
WiMi Hologram Cloud, Inc.(NASDAQ: WIMI), whose commercial operations began in 2015, is a holographic cloud comprehensive technical solution provider that focuses on professional areas including holographic AR automotive HUD software, 3D holographic pulse LiDAR, head-mounted light field holographic equipment, holographic semiconductor, holographic cloud software, holographic car navigation and others. Its services and holographic AR technologies include holographic AR automotive application, 3D holographic pulse LiDAR technology, holographic vision semiconductor technology, holographic software development, holographic AR advertising technology, holographic AR entertainment technology, holographic ARSDK payment, interactive holographic communication and other holographic AR technologies.
For more information, please visit
http://ir.wimiar.com/
Contacts
WIMI Hologram Cloud Inc.
Email: pr@wimiar.com
ICR, LLC
Robin Yang
Tel: +1 (646) 975-9495
Email: wimi@icrinc.com
SoFi Reports Blowout Results Ahead of SPAC Merger
The fintech start-up is seeing growth accelerate on numerous fronts.
source
https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/05/22/sofi-reports-blowout-results-ahead-of-spac-merger/?source=eptyholnk0000202&utm_source=yahoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article
May 22, 2021 at 11:00AM
Social Finance (SoFi) is preparing to close its merger with special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC)
https://www.fool.com/investing/how-to-invest/stocks/spac/
Social Capital Hedosophia V (NYSE:IPOE),
https://www.fool.com/quote/nyse/social-capital-hedosophia-holdings-corp-v/ipoe/
and the fintech start-up released first-quarter results last week that blew away its own guidance. SoFi is seeing growth accelerate on a number of fronts as it positions itself as a one-stop shop for financial services targeting younger demographics.
Here's what Social Capital Hedosophia V shareholders need to know.
Accelerating growth
Adjusted net revenue in the first quarter came in at $216 million, well ahead of SoFi's guidance of $190 million to $195 million. The top-line result also includes a $5 million hit due to interest expense related to paying back debt. That all translated into adjusted EBITDA
https://www.fool.com/investing/how-to-invest/stocks/ebitda/
of $4.1 million, similarly beating the outlook of negative $5 million to positive $1 million.
Member growth meaningfully accelerated, with total members jumping 110% to 2.28 million. This was the seventh consecutive quarter of accelerating growth, and SoFi continues to roll out new products for its members. The number of accounts on SoFi's Galileo platform, which SoFi acquired last year, has reached 70 million, up from 59 million in the fourth quarter. Galileo provides back-end infrastructure functionalities to third-party companies.
Student loan originations, which is where SoFi initially started as a business, remain the dominant loan category, with $1 billion in originations in the first quarter. Personal loan originations were $805.7 million and home loan originations were $735.6 million. That brought total originations to over $2.5 billion.
SoFi reiterated its full-year 2021 guidance, with the fintech company
https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/market-sectors/financials/fintech-stocks/
forecasting adjusted net revenue of $980 million for the year, representing growth of 58% over 2020. Adjusted EBITDA in 2021 is expected to be $27 million.
What comes next
SoFi has recently detailed several additional catalysts to continue driving future growth. The company plans to allow retail investors to participate directly in IPOs, a departure from the status quo where IPO allocations are typically heavily skewed toward ultra-high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors. That disruptive move is already attracting competition: Robinhood said on Thursday that it would follow suit and do likewise.
SoFi also recently launched auto loan refinancing through its Lantern subsidiary and in partnership with smaller fintech start-up MotoRefi. The company sees significant opportunities in auto loans, as total auto debt in the U.S. hit a record $1.37 trillion in 2020, according to Experian. (Disclaimer: The Motley Fool has invested in MotoRefi through Motley Fool Ventures.)
The company is also still working on obtaining a national bank charter, which will meaningfully reduce its borrowing costs and bolster profitability by using member deposits as a source of funding. SoFi is in the processing of acquiring Golden Pacific Bancorp to accelerate that strategy.
Social Capital Hedosophia V shareholders are set to vote on the merger next week.
Backed by Chamath Palihapitiya, SoFi Will Begin Trading on the Nasdaq. Here's When.
The highly anticipated SPAC merger will resume after a much-publicized delay.
source
https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/05/18/backed-by-chamath-palihapitiya-sofi-will-begin-tra/?source=eptyholnk0000202&utm_source=yahoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article
May 18, 2021 at 4:21PM
Investors in Chamath Palihapitiya's Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings V (NYSE:IPOE) finally got the news they've been waiting for on Tuesday. The merger of the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with personal financial services company Social Finance (known as SoFi) will go ahead as planned.
The business combination is expected to be completed on May 28. Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings V shares will then be exchanged one-for-one for SoFi shares and transferred to the Nasdaq exchange. Social Finance Technologies stock is scheduled to begin trading on Tuesday, June 1, using the ticker SOFI.
The news comes just weeks after the company announced it had restated its financials to comply with a recent directive issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the accounting treatment of SPAC warrants -- which allow early investors to buy stock at a pre-determined price. There has been explosive growth in these deals over the past year, with many start-up companies bypassing the traditional initial public offering in favor of the SPAC merger. The SEC concluded that SPAC warrants should be listed as liabilities on the balance sheet, rather than being carried as equity, resulting in a waterfall of restatements.
SoFi boasts more than 1.8 million members and offers a host of personal financial services including individual loans, credit cards, home mortgages, student loans, and investing brokerage services. As part of its services, SoFi provides no-cost member benefits including financial planning.
The company made waves earlier this year when it announced plans to acquire Golden Pacific Bancorp,
https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/03/09/sofi-has-big-banking-ambitions-and-is-committing-7/
a move that will jump-start SoFi's banking ambitions while also expanding its product offerings.
IMPACT ANALYSIS OF COVID-19 ON SMART MIRROR MARKET
Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019 - 2026
source
https://www.researchdive.com/covid-19-insights/217/global-smart-mirror-market
The global smart mirror market was valued at $2,046.1 million in 2018 and is anticipated to surpass $4,028.3 million by 2026, at a CAGR of 8.8%. The smart mirror is a two-way mirror mounted with an electronic display behind the glass. The integrated display can exhibit information such as news updates, time, date, and weather forecast among others.
The growth of the global smart mirror market is majorly attributed to the tremendously increasing adoption of smart mirrors in a luxurious lifestyle. Smart mirrors are highly useful for busy individuals who prefer multitasking. Moreover, multiple businesses across the world, such as beauty shops, clothing shops, kiosk mall, and many others are also choosing the option of smart mirrors. In 2020, the market is predicted to experience little decline due to the lockdown conditions across the globe.
MARKET STATS
CAGR Pre COVID-19 - 9.5 %
CAGR Post COVID-19 - 8.8 %
Recovery By - Q3/Q4 2022
Realtime BPS - 70
*Estimated market Size, 2020, Pre COVID - USD 2,433.8 Million
**Real Time market Size, 2020, Post COVID - USD 1,460.3 Million
* The numbers are estimated prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020.
** The data will vary depending on upcoming developments announced by the operating players.
KEY ASPECTS OF THE INDUSTRY
BOOMERS AND DECLINERS
The growing emphasis on digital innovations and transformation across multiple businesses such as fashion, footwear, beauty, and eyewear is projected to drive the demand for smart mirrors in the global market, as the mirrors can help the users to analyze and understand the appropriate products. Moreover, retailers can get valuable customer insights that can help them to build and improve their relationship with customers. Also, smart mirrors address common pain points of customers and offer in-depth information such as brand loyalty, customer demographics, shopping preferences. Such factors are boosting the growth of the smart mirror market, during the forecast period.
In addition, the rising popularity of smart mirrors as an excellent home feature is also driving the growth of the smart mirror market. Moreover, global leaders are highly focusing on multiple strategies such as product innovations and technological advancements in this field. For instance, Kohler has manufactured a highly advanced bathroom mirror which is powered by Amazon Alexa. This mirror is inbuilt with many integrated features such as the updated news, voice command, full stereo sound, and many others. These key factors may significantly augment the demand for smart mirrors and eventually, it will help to grow the global market, during the period of forecast.
CONSTRUCTING BRIDGES
APPLYING WISDOM
In the last several months of 2019, the communal spread of the corona-virus pandemic disease has brought as an unprecedented global health crisis. In addition, Due to the downfall in the current year, the market will experience profitability by Q3/Q4 2022. The majority of the developing, as well as developed countries, have implemented lockdowns in order to defeat the COVID-19 spread. This lockdown has led to a tremendous decline in business processes, in the global marketplace. However, several market players are highly focusing on strengthening market leadership to sustain in the COVID-19 chaos. For instance, in March 2020, Samsung, the multinational conglomerate company, has launched a new series of televisions. The company has claimed that the new TV sets come with enhanced picture quality, an excellent visual experience, and contrast levels. These factors may increase the demand for smart mirrors in the global market, which will foster the growth of the market, during the forecast period.
Moreover, to strengthen the existence into the global market, new players are also concentrating more on multiple business strategies and situational decisions. For instance, in India, New Delhi-based firm, Pink Tech Design has launched a smart mirror also known for Miaza mirror (health mirror) during the COVID-19 outbreak crisis. This mirror detects human presence with the help of a dynamic sensor and it shows the multi-step hand-washing technique recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the 35-second animated video. Furthermore, the Miaza smart mirror has multiple applications that can be used for breast self-examination and even set remainder to take medication by the user. This implementation of strategic plans by the newly emerging companies may drive the demand for the smart mirror in the global market.
MANAGING SUCCESS AMIDST
THE PANDEMIC STRESS
Furthermore, as per a new report published by Research Dive, it is estimated that the global market for the smart mirror will witness exponential growth after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. In the midst of the communal spread of COVID-19, the demand for the smart mirror has tremendously declined mainly due to quarantine and lockdowns conditions. The majority of the market players across the world are adopting effective strategies to sustain in this crisis situation. In addition, governments are also providing support to these ventures to grow in the global market, after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
In the post-COVID-19 world fitness freak people around the world will mostly prefer for home fitness machines. Thus, the venture such as Fuseproject has developed an innovative AI-powered smart mirror that displays workouts and fitness classes. These smart mirrors (forme) are 6-foot equipped with a camera, microphone, and speakers. the station is also equipped with pullies, high-quality cast aluminum arms; so the user can attend classes of boxing, guided meditation, yoga, and barre. By implementing these extra-ordinary strategies, many other industry leaders of the global smart mirror market are preparing for the post-COVID-19 impact.
How can we help you?
Our group of skilled analysts provide a solution to help the companies to survive and sustain in this global pandemic. We support companies to make informed decisions based on our findings resulting from the comprehensive study by our qualified team of experts. Our study helps to acquire the following:
- Long-term and Short-term impact of Covid-19 on the market.
- Cascading impact of Covid-19 on the Smart Mirror Market , due to the impact on its extended ecosystem.
- Understanding the market behaviour pre- and post-Covid-19 pandemic.
- Strategic suggestions to overcome the negative impact on your business or turn the positive impact into an opportunity.
We'll help you fight this crisis through our business intelligence solutions.
When and How will the Global Smart Mirror Market Recover From the Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic?
source
https://thebrockvilleobserver.ca/uncategorized/657451/when-and-how-will-the-global-smart-mirror-market-recover-from-the-impact-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic/
22 hours ago Research Dive
A recent report by Research Dive states that the global smart mirror market
https://www.researchdive.com/covid-19-insights/217/global-smart-mirror-market
is predicted to experience a slight drop in its growth in 2020 due to COVID-19. The pandemic brought the world to a standstill due to the extensive lockdowns along with the sealing of borders. This in turn also led to the disruption of the supply chain as raw material and finished goods couldn’t be transported to their destinations.
Smart mirrors are mirrors that are fitted with an additional digital screen which mostly displays information of all kinds including the weather, news, as well as the general date and time. This makes it a suitable option for those who love to keep themselves updated at all times.
These mirrors are also largely in demand in stores related to fashion, beauty, and eyewear as it also contains the technology to provide the customer with suggestions and ideas while they shop. Many organizations have been working on creating more advanced products to provide options to the customers
For instance, in February 2021, Capstone Companies, a pioneer and manufacturer of consumer products decided to launch an advanced two way mirror known as the Wardrobe/Fitness Smart Mirror. This full length mirror works on providing fitness updates to the consumers on a regular basis.
Global Market Scenario
As per the report, the global smart mirror market was expected to garner revenue of $2,433.8 million in 2020, but due to COVID-19 it’s expected to garner a revenue of $1,460.3 million in 2020. But, due to the rising demand among various sectors, the market is predicted to regain its momentum by the 3rd or 4th quarter of 2022. According to further estimates, the smart mirror market is set to surpass revenue of $4,028.3 million at a CAGR of 8.8% from 2019-2026.
Renren Receives Notification from NYSE Regarding Delayed Filing of 2020 Annual Report.
source
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/renren-receives-notification-nyse-regarding-110000450.html
Thu, May 20, 2021, 1:00 PM
Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) ("Renren" or the "Company") today announced that it received a notice from NYSE Regulation indicating that the Company is not in compliance with Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual as a result of its failure to timely file its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 (the "2020 Form 20-F") with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").
The Company was not able to file the 2020 Form 20-F by its due date primarily due to the additional time required to prepare the Company's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, as set forth in the Form 12b-25 submitted to the SEC on April 30, 2021. The Company is making all efforts to file the 2020 Form 20-F as soon as possible.
NYSE Regulation notified the Company that the NYSE will closely monitor the status of the Company's late filing and related public disclosures for up to a six-month period from the due date of the annual report. If the Company fails to file its annual report and any subsequent delayed filings within six months from the filing due date, the NYSE may, in its sole discretion, allow the Company's securities to trade for up to an additional six months depending on specific circumstances, as outlined in Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. It is expected by the NYSE that the Company will submit an official request for NYSE's consideration at the appropriate time. If the NYSE determines that an additional six-month trading period is not appropriate, suspension and delisting procedures will commence pursuant to Section 804.00 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual.
About Renren Inc.
Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) operates several US-based SaaS businesses. Renren's American depositary shares, each of which currently represents 45 Class A ordinary shares, trade on NYSE under the symbol "RENN".
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING IN ARTIFICIAL SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL AB (PUBL).
source
https://www.investors.artificial-solutions.com/notice-of-annual-general-meeting-in-artificial-solutions-international-ab-publ
May 20, 2021
The shareholders of Artificial Solutions International AB (publ), reg. no. 556840-2076, (the “Company”) are hereby invited to the annual general meeting (the “AGM”) on Friday 18 June 2021.
Due to the continued spread of the coronavirus and the authorities’ regulations/advice on avoiding public gatherings in order to reduce the risk of infection spreading, the board of directors has resolved that the AGM will be held without physical presence of shareholders, proxies or external parties and that shareholder only can exercise their voting rights by advance voting in accordance with the procedure prescribed below. Information on the resolutions passed at the AGM will be published on Friday 18 June 2021, as soon as the result of the voting has been finally confirmed.
Participation and notification of attendance
Shareholders who wish to participate in the AGM by advanced voting must:
- Bbe registered in the share register kept by Euroclear Sweden AB on Thursday 10 June 2021, and
- give notice of their intention to participate by submitting their advance vote in accordance with the instructions under the heading Advance voting below, so that the advance vote is received by the Company, through Computershare AB, no later than Thursday 17 June 2021.
Nominee registered shares
For shareholders who have their shares nominee-registered through a bank or other nominee, the following applies in order to be entitled to participate in the meeting. In addition to giving notice of participation by submitting its advance vote, such shareholder must re-register its shares in its own name so that the shareholder is registered in the share register kept by Euroclear Sweden AB as of the record date Thursday 10 June 2021. Such re-registration may be temporary (so-called voting rights registration). Shareholders who wish to register their shares in their own names must, in accordance with the respective nominee’s routines, request that the nominee make such registration. Voting rights registration that have been requested by the shareholder at such time that the registration has been completed by the nominee no later than Monday 14 May 2021 will be taken into account in the preparation of the share register.
Advance voting
The shareholders may only exercise their voting rights at the AGM by voting in advance, so-called postal voting, in accordance with Section 22 of the Act (2020:198) on temporary exceptions to facilitate the execution of general meetings in companies and other associations.
A special form must be used for the advance vote. The form is available on the Company’s website
https://www.artificial-solutions.com/
and can also be sent by mail to shareholders at the request by telephone no 0771-24 64 00. Submission of the advance voting form in accordance with the below will be considered as notice of attendance.
Completed and signed forms for advance voting shall be sent by mail to Computershare AB, attention: ”Artificial Solutions International AB’s AGM”, Box 5267, 102 46 Stockholm and must be received by Computershare AB on Thursday 17 June 2021 at the latest. The advance voting form may also be submitted electronically. Electronic submission can be made either through verification through BankID in accordance with instructions at the Company’s website
https://www.artificial-solutions.com/
or by sending the completed advance voting form by e-mail to
info@computershare.se
together with power of attorney and other documentation of authority. The Shareholders may not provide special instructions or conditions to the advance vote. If so, the entire advance vote is invalid. Further found in the advance voting form.
Proxy
If the shareholders submit a advance vote by proxy, a power of attorney must be attached to the form. Proxy form for shareholders who wish to advance vote by proxy is available at the Company’s website,
https://www.artificial-solutions.com/
If the shareholder is a legal entity, a certificate of registration or corresponding authorisation documents must be attached to the form.
Proposed agenda
Please read the following at:
https://www.investors.artificial-solutions.com/notice-of-annual-general-meeting-in-artificial-solutions-international-ab-publ
CloudMD to Report First Quarter 2021 Financial Results on May 27, 2021.
source
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cloudmd-report-first-quarter-2021-073000674.html
Thu, May 20, 2021, 9:30 AM
CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (TSXV: DOC, OTCQB: DOCRF, Frankfurt: 6PH), a healthcare technology company revolutionizing the delivery of care, announces that it will release its first quarter 2021 financial results on Thursday, May 27, 2021 after market close. Related earnings release materials can be found in the Investors section on the Company’s website.
Management will be hosting an earnings conference call and webinar on the same day (Thursday, May 27, 2021) at 2:00 pm Pacific Time / 5:00 pm Eastern Time to review and discuss the quarterly operational highlights and financial results, followed by a question and answer session.
CloudMD invites all interested parties to join the conference call or webinar:
Date: Thursday, May 27, 2021
Time: 2:00 pm PT / 5:00 pm ET
Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (833) 562-0117
International Dial-In Number: (661) 567-1009
Webcast Link:
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/ozdza9aq
About CloudMD Software & Services
CloudMD is digitizing the delivery of healthcare by providing a patient-centric approach, with an emphasis on continuity of care. By leveraging healthcare technology, the Company is building one, connected platform that addresses all points of a patient’s healthcare journey and provides better access to care and improved outcomes. Through CloudMD’s proprietary technology, the Company delivers quality healthcare through a holistic offering including hybrid primary care clinics, specialist care, telemedicine, mental health support, educational resources and artificial intelligence (AI).
CloudMD currently services a combined ecosystem of over 7,000 psychiatrists, approximately 4,500 therapists and counsellors, approximately 4,000 psychologists, over 22,000 family physicians, over 34,000 medical specialists, over 1,500 allied health professionals, over 500 clinics, and over 5 million individuals across North America. CloudMD’s Enterprise Health Solutions Division includes one of the top 4 Employee Assistance Programs in Canada and offers a comprehensive, digitally connected platform for corporations, insurers and advisors to better manage the health and wellness of their employees and customers.
For more information visit:
https://investors.cloudmd.ca/
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Dr. Essam Hamza, MD"
Chief Executive Officer
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:
Julia Becker
VP, Investor Relations
julia@cloudmd.ca
(604) 785-0850
Leading Wisdom on the Cloud Guizhou ChinaSoft International and Guizhou on the Cloud in-depth cooperation to help the government's digital transformation.
source
http://www.chinasofti.com/news/2203.htm
2021-05-20
A few days ago, Chen Yuhong, Chairman and CEO of ChinaSoft International, Tang Zhenming, Executive Director and Senior Vice President, Xiong Yong, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, and his entourage with Yunshang Guizhou Big Data Group Party Secretary and Chairman Kang Keyan, and Yunshang Guizhou Company Party Secretary , Executive Director Deng Longjiang, General Manager Yang Yunyong of Yunshang Guizhou Company, etc., held talks on deepening joint innovation and empowering the construction of digital government.
Chen Yuhong first congratulated Yunshang Guizhou on the development achievements in the post-epidemic era, and combined the practice of the Cloud Intelligence Business Group in Shenzhen Longgang Government Data Bureau and the development experience of Jiefanghao, and put forward constructive suggestions for the two parties to deepen joint innovation. At the just-successful Shenzhen Longgang District Digital Government Construction Exchange Conference, ChinaSoft International shared its successful experience in helping to build the country’s first online government software development platform, the Longgang District Government Software Development Cloud Platform, which was tailored for it. The 1+3+3" solution realizes the cloud application of government software development process, which is safe and reliable, visible, controllable, and manageable in the whole process, helping Longgang District to improve the efficiency and quality of government software development, and ensuring the effectiveness of government departments for software code assets Management, empowering the construction of Wisdom Longgang.
As an Internet platform for the software industry, Jiefanghao was born in Nanjing. With the strong support of many local governments, including Nanjing and Suzhou, it has developed in an all-round way. The city station service covers 70 cities. It has reached strategic cooperation with 23 city governments to create smart series and digital A series of core products help the government achieve high-quality development of regional digital industries and digital integration and innovation with traditional industries.
Kang Keyan first expressed his appreciation for Chen Yuhong's innovative spirit as an entrepreneur and ChinaSoft International's achievements over the years. Then introduced the key business sectors of Guizhou on the cloud, Apple China iCloud services, corporate services, and focused on joint innovation in the direction of party and government credit creation. It is recommended that Guizhou’s rich experience in government application development and service and Chinasoft International’s software should be added to the cloud. Combining development and service capabilities, building a unified cooperation mechanism, personnel organization and operation team, realizing the good development of the enterprise, and providing momentum for the construction of Guizhou's digital government and the development of digital economy.
After the meeting, Chen Yuhong and his entourage visited the Yunshang Guizhou Big Data Dispatching Center and investigated Guizhou Chinasoft Yunshang Data Technology Service Co., Ltd., which is a joint venture established by Beijing Chinasoft International and Yunshang Guizhou Company in April 2015. It focuses on supporting the core businesses of Guizhou government cloud operation and maintenance, government data platform construction, government data services, and government data standard preparation on the cloud; the company operates in a market-oriented manner, based on the development of big data in Guizhou, and integrates Chinasoft International in national e-government Rich experience in the field and the platform and technical support advantages of Guizhou on the cloud, and actively participate in the construction of Guizhou Province’s social assistance big data monitoring platform, Guizhou Province’s digital economy talent pool, and Guizhou Province’s education industry data management platform undertaken by Guizhou on the cloud. , To become a professional technical support team for government data services in Guizhou Province.
Digital government is the result of the reform and development of government governance in the era of technological revolution. The national "14th Five-Year Plan" puts forward the goals and requirements of improving the efficiency of national governance and "strengthening the construction of digital government". Actively responding to the call of the country, ChinaSoft International is committed to creating digital government application management solutions, promoting the application of e-government concepts with scientific and systematic management; building a "new IT governance system" through "1+3+X" services The model provides driving capabilities for the digital transformation of the government and enterprises at three levels; comprehensively upgrade the Jiefang, and promote the government's digital transformation process with "full domain, full process, and full ecology". Taking this meeting as an opportunity, ChinaSoft International will work with Guizhou to complement each other's advantages, jointly innovate, and explore a new path for building a global digital economy.
Harmony is upgraded again, ChinaSoft International continues to enable HarmonyOS Connect.
source
http://www.chinasofti.com/news/2202.htm
2021-05-20
On May 18, 2021, the Huawei HarmonyOS Connect Partner Summit was grandly held in Shanghai, and important strategies such as the HarmonyOS Connect brand upgrade were announced. ChinaSoft International was invited to attend the summit and gave a keynote speech on "Enable HarmonyOS Connect in Full Stack".
As the earliest enabling service provider of the HUAWEI HiLink ecosystem, ChinaSoft International continues to build Harmony's software and hardware solution capabilities. After the integration and upgrade of Huawei's ecological strategy, ChinaSoft International will continue to provide full-stack enabling services for HarmonyOS Connect ecosystem partners. From the joint customer ecological product innovation to the launch of self-developed Hongmeng development kits, ChinaSoft International has the software and hardware capabilities from Qing Hongmeng to Fu Hongmeng, and is fully prepared to provide HarmonyOS Connect enabling service capabilities for southbound ecological equipment manufacturers. ready.
Chao Xiaoping, vice president of the Hongmeng Ecological Business Department of Chinasoft International Technology and Professional Services Group, is full of confidence in the future development. He said that Chinasoft International will continue to develop cooperation with Huawei and provide customers with efficient and high-quality products through complementary advantages and resource sharing. Services and solutions; implement the full-stack ecological enabling service strategy, from the bottom chip adaptation to software and hardware, and full-scenario solutions, comprehensively build Hongmeng's enabling service capabilities, continue to build a world where Hongmeng is connected to all things, and become Hongmeng's ecological whole Stack-enabled service leader.
ChinaSoft International has provided services to more than 70 equipment vendors such as Qingyi Technology and Omron, and has access to more than 100 SKUs; and has cooperated with Sino United to release new products, and at the same time, the self-developed intelligent Internet of Things development board has been fully launched for sale, and it continues to be in actual combat. China accumulates innovation capabilities in the full-scenario ecosystem such as smart home and smart medical, and works with Huawei and equipment manufacturers to jointly create a new experience of HarmonyOS Connect smart full-scene.
In the future, ChinaSoft International will take "the leader of HarmonyOS Connect full-stack enabling services" as its strategic goal, work with Huawei and more ecosystem partners to move steadily and continue to enable HarmonyOS Connect, making it a part of the HarmonyOS hyper terminal. Consumers bring a new cross-terminal experience; provide a unified language for the intelligence, interconnection and collaboration of different devices, prosper the Hongmeng ecology, and embrace the new era of interconnection of all things.
Artificial Solutions CEO accepted into Forbes Technology Council.
source
May 18, 2021
Forbes Technology Council is an Invitation-Only Community for World-Class CIOs, CTOs, and Technology Executives.
Per Ottosson, CEO at Artificial Solutions, has been accepted into Forbes Technology Council, an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs, and technology executives.
Per Ottosson was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors.
“We are honored to welcome Per Ottosson into the community,” said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Technology Council. “Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.”
As an accepted member of the Council, Per has access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help him reach peak professional influence. He will connect and collaborate with other respected local leaders in a private forum. Per will also be invited to work with a professional editorial team to share his expert insights in original business articles on Forbes.com, and to contribute to published Q&A panels alongside other experts.
Finally, Per will benefit from exclusive access to vetted business service partners, membership-branded marketing collateral, and the high-touch support of the Forbes Councils member concierge team.
“It is an honor to be associated with the group of technology leaders who make up the Forbes Technology Council”, said Per Ottosson. “The importance of community and collaboration is key to develop robust relationships and smarter solutions. I am happy to share ideas and learn from other Council Members and to leverage the expertise and business leadership that is synonymous with Forbes to further strengthen our position in the Conversational AI market.”
ABOUT FORBES COUNCILS
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ABOUT ARTIFICIAL SOLUTIONS
Artificial Solutions® (SSME:ASAI)
is the leading specialist in Conversational AI. They enable communication with applications, websites and devices in everyday, humanlike natural language via voice, text, touch or gesture input.
http://www.nasdaqomxnordic.com/aktier/microsite?Instrument=SSE145803&name=Indentive%20B
Artificial Solutions’ advanced conversational AI Teneo®, allows business users and developers to create sophisticated, highly intelligent applications that run across 84 languages and dialects, multiple platforms and channels in record time. The ability to analyse and make use of the enormous quantities of conversational data is fully integrated within Teneo, delivering unprecedented levels of data insight that reveal what customers are truly thinking.
Artificial Solutions’ conversational AI technology makes it easy to implement a wide range of natural language applications such as virtual assistants, conversational bots, speech-based conversational UIs for smart devices and more. It is already used daily by millions of people across hundreds of private and public sector deployments worldwide.
ChinaSoft International's cloud professional services won the double crown IDC rankings hotly released.
source
http://www.chinasofti.com/news/2200.htm
2021-05-19
Recently, IDC released "China Cloud Professional Services Market Tracking (2020H2)". The report shows that in the second half of 2020, China's overall cloud professional services market will be 9.12 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth rate of 27.5%. Affected by multiple factors such as the epidemic, new infrastructure and the 14th Five-Year Plan, the digital transformation process of enterprises has been accelerating; in particular, the epidemic has become a watershed in the digital transformation of enterprises. In order to respond to the new normal of Internet access behavior of netizens in the post-epidemic era, more enterprises Will be more determined to choose the cloud first strategy to win market opportunities.
Chinasoft International has insight into the future development trend of cloud services, integrated the company's cloud intelligence business capabilities, and established Chinasoft International Cloud Intelligence Business Group in early 2019. The report shows that in the second half of 2020, the market share of Chinasoft International's cloud service business increased by 60.6% year-on-year. Among them, Chinasoft International's cloud migration service business and cloud development service business both ranked TOP 1 in market share. At present, Chinasoft International Cloud Intelligent Business Group has launched the multi-cloud management platform CloudEasy, which has built cloud intelligent service capabilities covering the full life cycle, providing customers with cloud consulting, cloud migration, and cloud management services, helping enterprises to get better on the cloud, use the cloud, Take care of the cloud. ChinaSoft International not only provides comprehensive cloud intelligent services, but also builds solutions for smart cities, smart parks, digital offices, DevOps platforms, and hybrid cloud management to help the digital transformation of government and corporate customers.
The report pointed out that the development of the cloud development market needs to be driven by smart projects. The "14th Five-Year Plan" clearly puts forward ten digital application scenarios for smart industries and smart services. "Cloud and data usage" has become a topic of real concern for enterprises. ChinaSoft International has achieved rapid development in the value-added development direction of smart parks, smart cities, and smart medical upper-levels. Taking the cooperation with Longgang District, Shenzhen as an example, ChinaSoft International has built the country's first government software development cloud platform for Longgang District, effectively solving government software duplication The construction, operation inefficiency, safety hazards, software code transfer and other problems, effectively assist the construction of smart Longgang.
The report also mentioned that in the second half of the year, large government enterprises, finance and other industries will accelerate the demand for cloud professional services, and the market will have more demand for overall consulting and technical strength for top-level digital transformation projects and smart projects. Through the practical application of cutting-edge technology, CloudEasy of Chinasoft International Cloud Intelligent Business Group can achieve unified scheduling and hierarchical management and control of heterogeneous resource pools, as well as continuous integration of business systems and rapid application delivery. Before customers use the multi-cloud management platform, they only need one. The platform realizes collection management, achieves the advantages of uniformity and intelligence, and truly realizes cost reduction and efficiency increase.
ChinaSoft International’s Exchange, Oracle cloud intelligent service development and other solutions have received good feedback from the market. At the same time, we have consolidated our ability to serve large customers and completed TOP dairy companies, TOP communication tower infrastructure service companies, and TOP investment banks. Delivery of large-scale projects. The successful launch of the cloud management service platform V1.0, covering cloud management, cloud monitoring, cloud operation and maintenance, cloud optimization and other functions, can help companies reduce operating costs by nearly 30%.
ChinaSoft International has full-stack capabilities for professional services on the cloud. Facing the future, ChinaSoft International will continue to strengthen technical capabilities, improve service levels, further increase in-depth cooperation with partners in various industries, and make full use of cutting-edge technologies to help companies accelerate the process of digital transformation.
Welcoming the cloud and gather strength for ChinaSoft International to attend Huawei China Ecological Conference 2021.
source
http://www.chinasofti.com/news/2199.htm
2021-05-18
On May 17, Huawei's China Ecological Conference 2021 kicked off. ChinaSoft International attended the event, focusing on the theme of "Growing toward the Cloud and Gathering Strength", through full-stack full-lifecycle cloud management services, smart cloud solutions, Hongmeng ecological full-stack enabling services, and digital innovation consulting series of services and solutions Plans to showcase their own digital transformation achievements and shape the brand image of digital transformation experts.
In the morning, Chen Yuhong, Chairman and CEO of ChinaSoft International, attended the signing ceremony of Huawei Cloud Together. Since 2017, ChinaSoft International became the first partner of Huawei Cloud to help each other in the same boat. In the following four years, the performance of ChinaSoft International's Huawei Cloud business has increased by 9 times. Behind the results are the company and Huawei working together and achieving each other. This signing means that new partners will join the Huawei ecosystem in the same boat. In the growing ecological team, ChinaSoft International has always been a firm partner and vanguard, keeping up with the rapid progress of Huawei’s large forces and striving for greatness. On the new Long March of innovation.
During the awarding session, ChinaSoft International won the Huawei Excellent Solution Partner Award, the Best Solution Cooperation Award, and the Major Project Breakthrough Award. In the past year, ChinaSoft International has further promoted the FFW (For-From-With) strategy, served Huawei, originated from Huawei, and reached the end customer with Huawei. The combat capability of the Digital Railway Army has been recognized by Huawei.
The Chinasoft International Exhibition Area is located at E08, Hall 1, Futian Convention and Exhibition Center, Shenzhen. It is run through with "Growing into the Clouds and Working Together", through full-stack and full-lifecycle cloud management services, smart cloud solutions, and Hongmeng ecological full-stack Enabling services, digital innovation consulting, etc., to showcase Chinasoft International’s quality, valuable, and meaningful business portfolio formation: determine cloud smart business as the second growth curve, Hongmeng ecological business as the third growth curve, and use Digital-First to consult Towing the two-wheel drive of business and technology to create a brand image of "digital transformation expert".
On the first day of the conference, various speeches appeared in turn, colliding forward-looking views and wisdom. Experts and leaders from various business groups of Chinasoft International gave keynote speeches successively, sharing with the guests Chinasoft International's in-depth thinking on "being for the cloud and working together" and the cutting-edge exploration of digital transformation.
Lou Yazhou, product manager of CloudEasy multi-cloud management platform of Chinasoft International Cloud Intelligent Business Group, gave a special speech on "CloudEasy Helps Enterprises Realize Unified Management under Multi-cloud Architecture". CloudEasy cloud butler service provides one-stop cloud services such as consulting, migration, cloud management, DevOps, and hybrid cloud management platform solutions, which can be connected to public and private cloud platforms to realize the overall scheduling of multi-cloud heterogeneous resource pools; adopts IPaaS+APaaS architecture , Relying on digital infrastructure to in-depth business and strengthen delivery capabilities; support cost optimization with algorithms and big data to improve flexible scheduling of IT resources; achieve AIOPS intelligent operation and maintenance, based on data, scenario-oriented, and algorithm-supported, and comprehensively enhance enterprise customers Operation and maintenance management efficiency.
Yuan Wenbo, Director of Ecological Operations of the Smart Park Business Department of Chinasoft International Cloud Intelligent Business Group, emphasized in his speech "Future Smart Park Prospects" that the use of 5G, Internet of Things, cloud computing, AI, big data and other innovative technologies to connect physical space and digital space, Realizing the perception of all things, the interconnection of all things, and the intelligence of all things will become an important idea for the construction of smart parks in the future. ChinaSoft International is committed to leveraging its end-to-end solution consulting capabilities, deep business understanding, rich project delivery experience and diversified ecosystem, based on the park’s general basic capabilities, focusing on sub-industry application scenarios, and building an end-to-end smart park as a whole Solutions to help the park's intelligent, safe and sustainable development.
Yan Guodong, general manager of the ISV customer sales department of Chinasoft International Cloud Intelligence Business Group, gave a special speech "Going along the way, growing on the cloud", reviewing the history of Chinasoft International and Huawei walking together and helping each other in the same boat. In 2017, ChinaSoft International became a partner of Huawei Cloud in the same boat. Since then, it has achieved a 20-fold increase in cloud intelligence performance in four years, a 3.3-fold increase in cloud intelligence full-time staff in two years, 9 carefully selected solutions on the shelves in three years, and 1,100 consumer customers , And developed from a single basic cloud resource to a diversified cloud product sales. Based on the future, ChinaSoft International will build a two-wheel-drive business model of service + platform around the cloud, manage the cloud, and cloud native, and strive to become the top 1 cloud management service provider in China.
The trend value and opportunity space of digital transformation is turning into the bright light of the times to guide thousands of industries through the fog. ChinaSoft International is willing to work with Huawei and more ecological partners to explore the path of ecological advancement, integrate innovation, create value together, and play the role of digital transformation experts to help industry customers in digital transformation, achieve a win-win situation, and become the world's ChinaSoft International!
ChinaSoft International is committed to becoming a full range of Hongmeng ecological enabling service providers.
source
https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/relnews/hk/2021-05-18/doc-ikmyaawc5985219.shtml
May 18, 2021 10:49 Straight Flush
It is learned that recently, the "Huawei China Ecological Conference 2021" with the theme of "Prosperity due to gathering" kicked off at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. Huawei's rotating chairman Xu Zhijun delivered a keynote speech entitled "Growth and Development Together" at the meeting.
At the meeting, Xu Zhijun revealed that Hongmeng has made great progress, and the number of access devices will exceed 300 million units in 2021: "For 2021, Huawei 1+8 equipment will be fully upgraded to the Hongmeng operating system. It is expected that the overall scale will exceed 2 by the end of the year. At the same time, for our three-party partners, we will also fully adapt, including smart home , health equipment, travel, education and other terminal equipment will exceed 100 million. So far, the ecosystem of Hongmeng operating system has developed 1,000 Multiple smart hardware partners, more than 50 modules and chip solution partners."
ChinaSoft International (00354), as the first partner to sign the "HiLink Eco-Solution Service Cooperation Agreement" with Huawei, keeps pace with Huawei and helps dozens of manufacturers access the HiLink ecosystem in the short term, and simultaneously develops its own HiLink access modules .
In the future, ChinaSoft International will continue to start with HiLink service enabling ecosystem partners, relying on Hongmeng OS, HMS and other base capabilities, and give full play to powerful software services and innovation capabilities to provide ecological manufacturers with access, intelligence, and full-scenario solutions. Be able to serve and be committed to being a full partyHongmeng Ecological Enabling Service Provider.
China Software International: Appointment of Executive Director and Vice Chairman.
source
https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/relnews/hk/2021-05-18/doc-ikmyaawc6107824.shtml
May 18, 2021 22:45 Straight Flush
CHINASOFTINTERNATIONALLIMITED Chinasoft International Co., Ltd. *
(Incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability)
(Stock code: 354)
Appointment of executive director and deputy chairman
The board of directors (the “Board”) of Chinasoft International Limited (the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, collectively referred to as the “Group”) is pleased to announce that Dr. He Ning (“Dr. He”) has been appointed as the company’s executive director and Vice Chairman, effective from May 18, 2021.
Dr. He Ning, 59 years old, has more than 38 years of management experience in technology, operation, investment and other fields. His work experience is accompanied by the development of China's telecommunications and IT industry. He is familiar with the development rules of the TMT industry and has rich management and operation experience.
Dr. He graduated from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in automatic telephone switching. He later obtained a master's degree in business management from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands in 2002; and in 2020 In 2005, he received a doctorate in business administration from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Dr. He was appointed as an executive director and vice chairman of the board of directors of the company on May 18, 2021. Prior to this, Dr. Ho served as a director of the board of directors of China Telecom (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. from August 1998 to June 2000 and China Mobile from June 2000 to January 2003 Director of the Board of Directors of (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., Chairman and General Manager of Jiangsu Mobile Communications Co., Ltd., served as Director and Deputy General Manager of China Mobile (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. from January 2003 to December 2005 , Served as the chairman and general manager of China Mobile Communications Group Beijing Co., Ltd. from December 2005 to February 2012, and served as China Mobile Communications Group Beijing Co., Ltd. from February 2012 to October 2015 Chairman and General Manager of Mobile Communication Group Terminal Co., Ltd., and
From October 2016 to September 2020, he served as the chairman of China Mobile Capital Holdings Co., Ltd. and the chairman of China Mobile Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. In addition, from September 2019 to November 2020, Dr. He also served as the chairman of 5G fund management company, executive director of China Mobile Venture Capital Co., Ltd., and China Mobile International Investment Innovation Investment Management Co., Ltd. Company director, director and supervisor of the National 100 Billion Industrial Investment Fund Co., Ltd.
Dr. Ho has entered into a service contract with the company for a term of three (3) years. Dr. He may receive a salary of RMB 2,400,000 per year plus an annual management bonus that does not exceed his annual salary. The company may award up to 5,000,000 ordinary shares of the company (the "rewarded shares") to Dr. Ho in accordance with the company's share award plan. The amount of management bonus and the number of such award shares will be determined by the board of directors at its sole discretion after taking into account the operating results of the Group and the performance of Dr. He. The salary, bonuses, and these award shares are determined by the board of directors after considering the recommendations of the remuneration committee, which has referenced current market benchmarks and his role and duties in the company. Dr. Ho shall retire by rotation and be re-elected in accordance with the company's articles of association.
Dr. Ho has not held any other positions in the Company or any of its subsidiaries, and has not held any other director positions in any public company listed on any securities market in Hong Kong or overseas in the past three years.
Dr. He has no relationship with any director, senior management, major shareholder or controlling shareholder of the company.
As of the date of this announcement, Dr. Ho does not have an interest as defined in Part XV of the Securities and Futures Ordinance, Chapter 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong and is deemed to have an interest in the shares or related shares of the Company.
There is no need to disclose any information about Dr. Ho in accordance with Rules 13.51(2)(h) to 13.51(2)(v) of the Securities Listing Rules of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, nor any other matters related to the appointment of any doctor. Holders of the company’s securities.
The board of directors would like to warmly welcome Dr. He to join the board of directors.
By order of the board of directors
Chinasoft International Co., Ltd.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Chen Yuhong
Hong Kong, May 18, 2021
As of the date of this announcement, the board of directors includes three executive directors, namely Dr. Chen Yuhong (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer), Dr. He Ning (Vice Chairman) and Dr. Tang Zhenming, and three non-executive directors, namely Dr. Zhang Yaqin and Mr. Gao Liangyu And Ms. Gavriella Schuster, and three independent non-executive directors, namely Mr. Zeng Zhijie, Dr. Lai Guanrong and Professor Wu Lilan.
FULL TRANSCRIPT - Earnings call transcript CAPC Capstone Companies 18 May 212021 Q1.
source
https://docoh.com/transcript/814926/2021Q1/CAPC
Participants
Aimee Brown Corporate Secretary
Stewart Wallach President and CEO
Gerry McClinton CFO
Call transcript
Operator
Greetings, and welcome to Capstone Companies, First Quarter 2021 Financial Results Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host Aimee Brown, Corporate Secretary. Thank you.
You may begin.
Aimee Brown
Thank you, Doug, and good morning to, everyone.
On the call today is Stewart Wallach, Capstone's President and Chief Executive Officer; and Gerry McClinton, Chief Financial Officer. They will be discussing the first quarter 2021 financial results as well as give us an update on the strategy and outlook, followed by a question-and-answer session.
If you do not have the release that was distributed yesterday afternoon, it is available on the Company's website at capstonecompaniesinc.com.
As you are aware, we may make forward-looking statements during today's presentation. These statements apply to future events, which are subject to risks and uncertainties as well as other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from where we are today. These factors are outlined in our earnings release as well as in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be found at capstonecompaniesinc.com or sec.gov. With that, I'll turn it over to you, Stewart.
Stewart Wallach
Thank you, Amie, and good morning to everyone.
First, before we start discussion about what lies before us in the months ahead, I would like to express my appreciation for the continuing support we're receiving from the shareholder community. I am keenly sensitive to your interest in knowing as much as possible about the company's Smart Mirror program status. And toward that end, we will continue to communicate openly and honestly so that your expectations are aligned with our progress. Frankly, it is hard to contain the management's enthusiasm, as the major milestone of first deliveries is within reach.
As we impatiently wait for the final testing and certifications of the Mirror program to be completed, we are readying ourselves to effectively execute the Capstone Connected and Amazon online programs, the plan to Google advertising campaign, paid social ad campaigns and email marketing to support the paid advertising. Accordingly, we will continue to draw your attention to these developments in real time, and share material events through PR releases ongoing.
Following Gerry's financial review, I will highlight the drivers behind our business and discuss how these will affect our future performance. At this time, I'll turn it over to Gerry.
Gerry McClinton
Thank you, Stewart and good morning everyone. We encourage you to review the filed Form 10-K report as Form 10-Q report is in our condensed format.
During the quarter ended March 31, 2021, the company continues to be negatively impacted by COVID-19 pandemic. Revenue although higher than 2020 remain reduced as compared to pre-pandemic levels. Since the beginning of the year, we've been able to secure necessary financial support that will allow us to remain focused on operational objectives while providing the required funding for the Smart Mirror inventory and support programming for direct-to-consumer online business. As anticipated the online business will be driven through the capital connected an Amazon online marketplace.
So let's take a look at the numbers, for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 net revenues were approximately $438,000 and $149,000 respectively that's an increase of $289,000. The revenues were the result solely of LED promotional activity. International sales in the quarter were approximately $296,500 or 68% of revenue as compared to $100,000 or 68% of revenue in 2020. Gross profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was approximately $129,000 or 29.5% of net revenue and $34,000 or 22.8% of net revenue respectively.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 cost of sales were approximately $310,000 at $115,000 respectively and represented 70.8% and 77.2% of net revenue. Product unit costs have remained stable during the period. The improvement in gross profit percentage resulted from a reduction of promotional allowances in the quarter ended March 31, 2021. We provided $7,500 of promotional allowances as compared to $30,000 in 2020. Total operating expenses for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 were $613,500 against $1.2 million respectively. This represents a $591,000 or 49% decrease over last year. $290,000 of that decrease resulted from a reduction of goodwill impairment charge, which was not required in the first quarter of 2021, but was recorded in 2020. Sales and marketing expenses were $4,200 in Q1, 2021, compared to $212,000 in 2020 that's a decrease of $207,000, now $147,000 of that reduction resulted from that attending the 2021 CES Show and a further $34,700 was from a reduction of advertising and promotional allowances in the period.
We also achieved a combined $52,000 or 9.4% expense, reductions in compensation, professional fees and product development over the same period of 2020. Other G&A expenses was $103,000 in Q1, 2021, as compared to $144,000, in Q1, 2020 a reduction of $41,000, or 28.6%.
During the period, the company has had a cost mitigation plan in effect, which resulted in a reduction of various discretionary expenses.
For the quarters ended March 31, 2021, the operating loss was $484,900 as compared to $1,171,000 in 2020 and that's an improvement of $686,000 or 58.6% over last year. For Q1, 2021 other income was approximately $10,400 compared to zero in 2020.
As we did receive interest income from $576,000 tax refunds that we received in the quarter. Other expenses were approximately $24,500 compared to zero in 2020. This expense related to the finance fees associated with the issuance of preferred shares for the Director’s loan facility that was negotiated at the start of the year. The loss before tax benefit in Q1, 2021 and 2020 was $499,000 and $1.171 million respectively that's a $672,000 or 57.4% improvement over last year. In Q1, 2021, we were not entitled to any tax benefits, but in Q1, 2020 we did receive $574,000 tax benefit. In Q1, 2021 and 2020 the net loss was approximately $499,000 against $597,000 a net loss decrease of approximately $98,000 over 2020.
We'll talk a bit about liquidity and capital resources. Cash flow from operating activities as of March 31, 2021 cash on hand was approximately $1.5 million compared to approximately $1.2 million at December 31, 2021. A net improvement which mainly resulted from the $576,000 tax refund that we received from the IRS in the period and $145,000 increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities while this cash offset $499,000 loss during the quarter. Cash flows in investing activities in Q1, 2021 and 2020 were zero and $50,700 respectively. Cash flows used in financing activities for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 were zero and $36,300 respectively. In 2020, we use these funds to repurchase $283,000 of company stock. On January 4, the company entered a $750,000 GAAP working capital loan agreement with the Director’s Stewart Wallach and Jeffrey Postal.
The term of the loan started January 4, 2021 and ends June 30, 2021 that's the initial period. The company has an option to extend the initial period for additional six consecutive months ending December 31, 2021.
As of this date of this report, the balance available under that facility remains at $750,000. And the company does not have plans to extend the agreement as equity funding is now available to us. [b[color=green]]On April 5, 2021, the company entered into a private equity placement with five separate securities purchase agreement, whereby the company privately placed an aggregate of 2,496,667 shares of its common stock for the aggregate purchase price of $1,498,000. The five investors in the private placement consisted of four private equity funds and one individual. The $1,498,000 in proceeds from the placement will be used mostly to purchase start-up inventory for the company's new Smart Mirror product line that was used for marketing, advertising, and working capital.
As of March 31, 2021, the company has zero debt outstanding [/color] other than accounts payable and accrued liabilities, and no incumbencies on the assets of the company. This concludes my financial summary for the first quarter 2021. Stewart, I'll turn the call back to you.
Stewart Wallach
Thank you, Gerry.
Let's start the discussion today with an overview of the Smart Home segment as this is the space we will be participating in. Acknowledging the early Smart Home companies helps frame the potential that has been created for companies such as ourselves.
While the success of Smart Home companies like Ring, SimpliSafe, and Nest are commonly known, the impact of their successes are far reaching and possibly less obvious. In short, these companies have opened the door into the 21st century living space through the introduction of technology to the most basic and traditional home devices. The growth within the segment speaks volumes and validating the growing consumer acceptance rates and interest in smart products. The Smart Home segment is projecting an annual growth from 2018 to 2020 to approximately 18% resulting in a market volume of $140 billion in 2023. Household penetration is expected to hit 20% by 2022.
The Smart Home is logic - the Smart Mirror I'm sorry is a logical addition to today's living spaces as the acceptance of technology continues to grow. Mirrors are considered an important and essential item in modern day life. In the simplest analysis, we are updating the traditional Mirror similarly to the updating that has occurred with doorbells, light bulbs, security systems, to name a few. Essentially, people want to remain connected as content and device capabilities continued to advance. It is hard to imagine a home five years from now that will not have numerous smart devices and computing platforms operating seamlessly within.
So what I'm often asked about the revenue potential of the Capstone Smart Mirror program, I consider all of the above data points, which paints a very encouraging picture. Further to the above, technology companies continue to invest heavily into the integration of computer platforms across all aspects of our daily lives. Advancements and processors, sensors, affordable cloud services, and the increasing speed of broadband will all continue to contribute to the rapid change of the physical living space.
So let's now talk about the elephant in the room. When are we getting Mirrors? I hear this often. And I completely understand your concerns.
As I have shared with you in the last two webcast discussions. The final steps before production are the required testing and certifications which the product has been submitted. We remain resolute to initiate shipping before the close of Q2, the shipments will be expedited by air. The initial shipments will be directed to Amazon warehouse to support the Capstone Connected and Amazon online introductions. That being said, the real meaningful kickoff will be July.
For the purpose of this discussion, meaningful translates to having stateside inventories to fulfill both Capstone Connected and Amazon orders - online orders, full production underway, and all marketing campaigns running at full tilt. In short, we are only weeks away from crossing the goal line.
While getting this first product released is the focus of us all.
Let's not forget the disciplined experience and approach we have in managing large volume programs produced in the Pacific Rim for the North American marketplace.
Your management team prides itself on operational excellence low costs, high output is at the core of everything we do. This philosophy governs us all in our daily activities. With 100 plus combined years of experience in this arena, we have proven ourselves to be a leader time and time again.
Our attention to business fundamentals as in the past will be the driver behind Capstone’s next success story. Creating new innovative products affordably is not the only differentiator of Capstone companies.
We are well disciplined and not only execute strategies effectively, but also strictly monitor our performance to ensure we maximize value at every level. In closing on a personal note, I can tell you that I have never endured a more challenging project. The past two plus years have been overwhelming at times. But here we are well funded, product just around the corner and ready to launch the most exciting program that I have been responsible for in my entire business career.
Our Connected Surfaces’ campaign will truly be the Capstone of my business experiences. I’d like to thank you for your ongoing and continuous support. We will now move to our question-and-answer session.
Operator
Thank you. Our first question comes from the line of David Kuras, a Private Investor. Please proceed with your question.
Unidentified Analyst
Thank you for taking my question. I was part of the last April 1 conference call. And my question was pertaining to that you mentioned something that gained my interest that you're getting numerous interest from different types of - industries in the biggest industry that sounds like a no brainer to me would be the hospitality industry that you mentioned last time? Is there any updates on that, is there any future plans to have a sales team go out to resorts and major hotel corporations like you know the big ones and hit that up?
Stewart Wallach
David, Stewart Wallach thanks for your question. Absolutely, hospitality market is clearly identified in our growth strategy, but there's certain things that have to be accomplished of course, before we could even anticipate that.
And so far as accessing the potential there it's relatively commonplace for us to deal in headquarters, and that's exactly what we would be doing.
So if we were to talk to a flagship like Marriott we'd be doing at the headquarter offices. They do have programs in place which we have researched relative to procurement for future developments, interior design et cetera.
We are familiarizing ourselves with that, but I want to emphasize the fact that, that will not be at the front end of our marketing strategy.
We have to first exploit the market that's right in front of us identify the capacities and identify what additional business we want to entertain. The hospitality market will certainly have a different set of requirements than the mainstream product we're distributing - for residential use.
We are already have been advised that in some of those cases, they don't want to have the integration of their hotel software into the Mirror so that people see those back in their rooms. None of these by the way are technical hurdles, but they aren't. They clearly haven't been identified and they will be down the road.
The second area I did mention, by the way, was developers’ market i.e. luxury condominiums, luxury property development. And there we have received a lot of inquiry.
In fact, I can tell you that we are negotiating with a company right now that's just miles away from our Thai factory. We've been contacted, and - we've been asked to open discussions with them on a luxury condominium tower.
So these things will all be pursued. But clearly, we have a major opportunity in front of us. We worked hard to get to this point.
So, we will exhaust the leverage, our position in the retail market, and then we'll go from there.
Operator
Our next question comes from the line of [Mike Curry with Capstone Companies]. Please proceed with your question.
Unidentified Analyst
First, I'd like to let you know how much the shareholder community appreciates your openness and can’t understand how difficult - we understand how difficult it is to give exact dates for these different milestones, because of the pandemic and whatnot. But today you mentioned being weeks away could you add a little more specifics on that for us, please?
Stewart Wallach
Sure, Mike how are you today?
Unidentified Analyst
Good thanks.
Stewart Wallach
So here we go, as I referred earlier to the elephant in the room. At this point, our planning is based on a best case scenario of five to six weeks out and a worst case scenario of eight to nine weeks.
Now this is in keeping with our first product Q2 goal date, which was to have initial shipments out within Q2, which of course is June 30.
Our national launch in early Q3 which of course is July has always been in the plan.
We have had a few ups and downs. We've had a few false starts. And I know that everybody's hearing this ad nauseam. But at the end of the day, the pandemic continues to plague us unexpectedly look particularly like we just had some more instances where our management team in Bangkok is now completely locked down in their hotels. They can't even get to the factory. These things usually pass in a week. The government's very aggressive over there relative to controlling pandemic, but we have had some difficulties because of it. And that's why we've been hesitant to provide exact dates.
So I'm comfortable with the five to six weeks at the best case and eight to nine weeks in the worst case, and quite frankly after two years, I think we'll all agree that’s right around the corner. I've mentioned this in the webcast also, Mike that we will be updating in real time from this point forward of any expectations should they change.
So at the end of the day, we're going full steam ahead and we're ready to pull the trigger on all our marketing, programming, et cetera in the next five to six weeks.
Operator
Our next question comes from a line of [Baron Cohen], a Private Investor. Please proceed with your question.
Unidentified Analyst
Good morning, Stewart, I'm Crew, can you give us a quick insight to how many preorders do you have on the books and how many units you actually expect to sell over the next year?
Stewart Wallach
That will vary obviously I can't possibly tell you what we expect to ship over the course of the year. It's a new program, its emerging category. This is why we've always referred to data points relative to the market potential. It's why I referenced companies that that will be competing in the same space like Ring, and SimpliSafe, et cetera. That is the space will be competing in. Quite the fact Ring started, I guess around that fourth year, and they were bought out for over $1 billion last year by Amazon. I'm sure that they couldn't anticipate that type of success by simply bringing technology to a doorbell. But at the end of the day, the projections are difficult.
However, that being the case, when you start to take a look at the size and the enormity of the market, consider the fact that there's over 110 million homes just in America that have broadband subscriptions.
So do the math, at 1.5 of 1%. We're talking about crazy numbers.
Unidentified Analyst
I understand.
Stewart Wallach
So our biggest concern, I think my biggest challenge, the balance of this year is going to be capacity. And I'm anxious to take that monster on, as soon as we start booking.
Now the first part of your question relative to preorders, one of the things we did, which I thought was the right thing to do was we contacted people that had preorders initially, and we asked them to cancel those orders. Those orders were on the Capstone Connected home site, that site doesn't exist any longer. What we did Barry was we converted to a concept of reservation. However, because it's a reservation, it's not guaranteed.
So I don't have credit card supporting that. What I can tell you though, is that our phones ring every day, from the people that we asked to cancel the orders plus the new reservations. And people are calling every day saying when am I getting my Mirror, please get me my Mirror.
So we certainly haven't lost any interest.
In fact, the mere fact that we've been a little quiet on it seems to be raising their enthusiasm. But I'm hesitant to give you those numbers because as I said, they're variable, they're not guaranteed. Suffice it to say this, the first inventories that we put in airplanes are sold, they'll be gone.
Soon as they hit Amazon's warehouse and as soon as they hit, they'll be moving out to the Capstone Connected customers as well as Amazon customers. I will also tell you this that we have in development and in manufacturing, and this will help you possibly conclude some numbers for your benefit would be we are placing orders, we have actually placed orders for well over 1,000 Mirrors and that's the first initial shipments in July.
Unidentified Analyst
Great.
Stewart Wallach
So that'll give you some idea, I'll put a little color to that question. I hate to avoid questions, but I hope you understand that these things these questions, whatever answers we have come back at me on a pretty regular basis of and quoted as what you said this. And I haven’t stated for that reason all right.
Unidentified Analyst
One last question, will you be reaching out to the big box warehouses again, to sell this product?
Stewart Wallach
All right, so interesting question and obviously you've been a longtime investor so you've followed our career here you know, we're very strong as a big boxes.
Unidentified Analyst
Yes.
Stewart Wallach
The big boxes have already reached out to us and said when are, we going to have a discussion about this new category.
Here is the interesting thing about big box retailers, particularly the warehouse clubs variance. They don't launch new products never have it's not part of their business strategy.
So they were waiting to see us create the market and they've already called and said we see your website. We know what you're doing of course they know me for a very long time.
So they follow us. But at the same time, I've had to tell them honestly, I don't know that we're going to be providing product for you to distribute. One, you're going to have or we're going to have a significant compromise on our margin. And two, I don't want to cannibalize the retail price positions that we think will be very sustainable at a substantial level.
So the door is always open to us on the big box. I don't have any problem getting meetings at the highest level of those companies.
We are going to gauge our performance online. We're going to be very smart about this. And quite frankly, if we don't need or want to have a pop-in volume at the expense of margin that I think this will be a decision we'll make. I don't think we're going to be forced to make that decision. I think this is going to be an option that will choose to do.
Unidentified Analyst
Well. That's the greatest place to be. Thank you for taking….
Stewart Wallach
Yes I think. Thank you, Barry.
Operator
There are no further questions in the queue. I'd like to hand the call back to management for closing remarks.
Stewart Wallach
Well, I know today was a brief session. And the financial performance was not riveting but certainly it's up ticking. I can't tell you how much our management is looking forward to next month. This is exciting. We've got so many things in the works relative to promotional possibilities, opportunities, ideas and we're just standing by until the very first product passes the certification testing, and is in route to the States. But it's been a pretty long trip here. And we are just minutes away.
So bear with us. I hope you understand that. We're sensitive to your interest in seeing this happen sooner than later. But I can tell you no more sensitive than I am, as the largest shareholder. And Dr. Postal and myself as you know, we continue to financing early in the year. We have not sold any stock.
We are very, very excited about this. And we can't wait to launch the product over the course of the next month or two.
So, we'll keep you informed.
As I mentioned, we're going to do real time updates. And if there's anything really substantial relative to development in the channels, et cetera. Then we'll also contemplate having marketing's update webcasts. So stay tuned. And again, thank you all for your support.
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time and have a wonderful day.
Excerpts from the Form 10-Q Quarterly report of Capstone Companies, Inc.
source
https://sec.report/Document/0000939802-21-000047/
Published: 2021-05-17 15:22:12
Submitted: 2021-05-17
Filing Agent: MBBL, LLC
Period Ending In: 2021-03-31
NOTE:
Positive explanations are highlighted in green letters.
Negative explanations are highlighted in red.
A real investor draws Pros and Cons in Consideration. And not only has the rose-colored glasses on his eyes.
- We have developed a new product line for internet connected surfaces, like smart mirrors, (“Connected Surface”) for residential use, but this new product line as a replacement core product line for the LED lighting products, had not shipped as of March 31, 2021 but is scheduled to ship in the second quarter ending June 20, 2021. The marketing launch of the initial products of the Connected Surface program began in February 2021. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business and financial performance has been significant and ongoing and, coupled with the development of the Connected Surface product line, has placed a significant financial strain on Capstone Companies, Inc. Despite the ramped up vaccination program in the United States and its beneficial impact on the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat of new mutations or variants of the virus creates the specter of a vaccine-resistant strain and a future waive of economic disruption from a new wave of pandemic infections.
- Our business operations and financial performance for the period ended March 31, 2021 continued to be adversely impacted by COVID-19. As of March 31, 2021 net revenue was $438 thousand as compared to $149 thousand in the same period 2020, which was also significantly impacted by the start of the pandemic last year. The net loss for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was approximately $499 thousand and $597 thousand, respectively.
- The Company has been building its infrastructure to transition into the online retail business by developing an e-commerce website and has invested in developing a social media presence over the last year and these systems are now ready to launch and ship its Smart Mirror product in the second quarter 2021.
- During the period ended March 31, 2021, the Company generated approximately $238 thousand of cash despite a net operating loss of $499 thousand. As of March 31, 2021, the Company had working capital of approximately $955 thousand and an accumulated deficit of $5.0 million. The Company’s cash balance as of March 31, 2021 was $1.5 million.
- During the period ended March 31, 2021, the Company has been in discussions with an investor group that on April 5, 2021 made an equity investment in the Company that will provide sufficient funding to purchase the initial Smart Mirror rollout inventory. Management believes that without additional capital or increased cash generated from operations, there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern and meet its obligations over the next twelve months from the filing date of this report.
- As previously reported on Form 8-K dated April 6, 2021, the Company entered into five separate securities purchase agreements (“SPAs”) whereby the Company privately placed an aggregate of 2,496,667 shares of Company common stock for an aggregate purchase price $1,498,000 (transactions being referred to as the “Private Placement”). The five investors in the Private Placement consisted of four private equity funds and one individual – all being “accredited investors” (under Rule 501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (“Securities Act”). The $1,498,000 in proceeds from the Private Placement will be used mostly to purchase start up inventory for the Company’s new Smart Mirror product line, for a major online e-commerce fulfilment company, and the remainder for advertising and working capital (See Note 7). The Company will most likely need additional outside funding in fiscal year 2021 to support the company critical launch of the Smart Mirror product line.
- At March 31, 2021, the Company remained debt free, except for accounts payable and accrued liabilities, had a cash balance of $1.5 million and an available credit facility of $750,000.
- Lighting Products- U.S: $ 141,900 32 % of Revenue.
- Lighting Products-International: $ 296,523 68 % of Revenue.
- Total Revenue: $ 438,423 100 % of Revenue.
- Our business operations and financial performance for the period ended March 31, 2021 continued to be adversely impacted by COVID-19. As of March 31, 2021 net revenue was $438 thousand as compared to $149 thousand in the same period 2020, which was significantly impacted by the start of the pandemic last year. The net loss for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was approximately $499 thousand and $597 thousand, respectively.
The Company has been building its infrastructure to transition into the online retail business by developing an e-commerce website and has invested in developing a social media presence over the last year and is now ready to launch shipping product by its online Smart Mirror business in the second quarter 2021.
- With a successful launch of the Smart Mirror portfolio using the online retail platform, the Company will not be as dependent on Big Box retailers for our revenue streams as in previous years.
During the period ended March 31, 2021, the Company generated approximately $238 thousand of cash despite a net operating loss of $499 thousand. As of March 31, 2021, the Company had working capital of approximately $955 thousand and an accumulated deficit of $5.0 million.
- Our Growth Strategy
The Company's focus in recent years has been in the integration of LEDs into most commonly used lighting products for today's home. The LED lighting market is now mainstream and opportunities for growth have been minimized. Further impacting the category were the tariff penalties resulting from the trade dispute between U.S. and China making products less competitive.
The Company’s looking forward strategy requires continued expansion of its product development and engineering, manufacturing base marketing and distribution of a broadened portfolio of consumer electronic products. The Company will pursue new revenue opportunities through the introduction and expansion of its “Connected Surfaces” portfolio into alternate distribution channels including e-commerce and others that the Company has not previously focused on. The Company also intends to leverage its existing valuable customer base and strong relationships to achieve organic growth initiatives within this new category.
Capstone’s success has been in its ability to identify emerging product categories where Capstone’s management experience can be fully leveraged. We demonstrated this when the Company entered the LED lighting category. Our branding and product strategies delivered the Company to a well-respected market position. The Company’s low-cost manufacturing and operations have provided an advantage in delivering great products affordably.
- Our expectation is that the new portfolio advancing in 2021 appeals to a much larger audience than our traditional LED lighting product line. The new Connected Surfaces portfolio is designed to tap into consumer’s ever-expanding connected lifestyles prevalent today. The products have both touch screen and voice interfacing, internet access and an operating system capable of running downloadable applications. The average selling prices will be comparable to that of tablets and smartphones, expected retails to start at $699.00, with the goal to deliver exceptional consumer value to mainstream America.
- Products and Customers
While the Company is expanding its product portfolio through the introduction of the Capstone Connected Surfaces program, it still maintains a select number of LED lighting products under the "Capstone Lighting®” brand at both Costco and Sam’s Wholesale Clubs and available through Amazon. The product lines available as of the date of this 10-Q report are as follows:
Connected Surfaces
– Smart Mirrors Standard Rectangular Wardrobe/Fitness Mirror
- LED Puck Lights
- LED Undercabinet Light Bars
- LED Motion Sensor Lights.
- Sales and Marketing
Our products are sold nationally and internationally through a direct sales force. The sales force markets the Company's products through numerous retail locations worldwide, including larger retail warehouse clubs, hardware centers and e-commerce websites. Our business model has been designed to support “direct import sales” made directly to the retail customer. However, we also offer “domestic sales” programs which will be expanded in the future as a result of the Capstone Connected program becomes available.
Direct Import Sales.
We currently ship finished products directly to our retail customer from Thailand and China. The sales transaction and title of goods are completed by delivering products to the customers overseas shipping point. The customer takes title of the goods at that point and is responsible for inbound ocean freight and import duties. Direct import sales are made in larger quantities (generally container sized lots) to customers worldwide.
Domestic Sales.
The strategy of selling products from a U.S. domestic warehouse enables the Company to provide timely delivery and serve as a domestic supplier of imported goods. With this model the Company imports goods from overseas and is responsible for all related costs including ocean freight, insurance, customs clearance, duties, storage and distribution charges related to such products and therefore such sales command higher sales prices than direct sales. Domestic orders are for a much smaller size and could be as low as a single unit directly to the end consumer if ordered through an online website. To support an effective e-commerce business model, we will be required to warehouse adequate inventory levels enabling the Company to ship orders directly to the end consumer expediently.
- To the extent permitted by our current financial condition, we continue to make investments to expand our sales, marketing, technical applications support and distribution capabilities to sell our product portfolio. We also continue to make investments to promote and build market awareness of the products and brands we offer. Our sales within the U.S. are primarily made by our in-house sales team and our independent sales agencies. Our independent sales agencies are paid a commission based upon sales made in their respective territories. Our sales agencies are recruited, trained and monitored by us directly. We will utilize an agency as needed to help us provide service to our retail customers as required. The sales agency agreements are generally one (1) year agreements, which automatically renew on an annual basis, unless terminated by either party on 30 days’ prior notice. Our international sales to divisions of U.S. based retailers are made by our in-house sales team. Other international sales are made by our Hong-Kong based CIHK staff.
- The Company actively promotes its products to retailers and distributors at North American trade shows, such as the Consumer Electronics Show (“CES”) or the International Hardware Show, but also relies on the retail sales channels to advertise its products directly to the end user consumers through various promotional activities. This marketing effort will continue as a complement to the Social Media and e-commerce initiatives.
- During last year, we utilized social media platforms and online advertising campaigns to further grow the Company’s online presence. In addition to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn, Capstone has launched a You Tube channel to host Smart Mirror videos and established a Twitter account. The Company has a Social Media presence on the following Social Media platforms:
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/capstoneindustries and https://www.facebook.com/capstoneconnected
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/capstoneconnected
PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/capstoneconnected/
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/6251882
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/capc
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMX5W8PV0Q59qoAdMxKcAig
- Gross Profit and Cost of Sales
Gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, was approximately $128.6 thousand, and $34.2 thousand, respectively, an increase of $94.8 thousand. Gross Profit as a percent of revenue was 29.4% in the first quarter 2021 as compared to 22.8% in 2020. The Gross Profit increase resulted from the higher revenue in the period, but the margin also increased as we reduced marketing allowance to retailers in the period. In the quarter ended March 31, 2021 we provided $7.5 thousand of marketing allowances as compared to $30.8 thousand in the same period last year.
- Operating Loss
For the three months ended March 31, 2021 the operating loss was approximately $484.8 thousand compared to a loss of $1.171 million in 2020, a decrease of $686.2 thousand or 58.6%.
- Net Loss
For the three months ended March 31, 2021 the net loss was approximately $498.9 thousand compared to a net loss of $597.4 thousand in the same period 2020.
Form 10-Q Capstone Companies, Inc. Quarterly report.
sources
- SEC:
https://sec.report/Document/0000939802-21-000047/
- HTML:
http://irdirect.net/filings/viewer/index/814926/000093980221000047/
- PDF
http://filings.irdirect.net/data/814926/000093980221000047/form10q033121.pdf
- XBRL:
http://irdirect.net/filings/viewer/index/814926/000093980221000047/xbrl/
Published: 2021-05-17 15:22:12
Submitted: 2021-05-17
Period Ending In: 2021-03-31
The full Reports with financial tables have all more than 50 sites, you can
read them at the sources.
Capstone Companies Reports First Quarter 2021 Performance.
source
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/capstone-companies-reports-first-quarter-193000748.html
Mon, May 17, 2021, 9:30 PM
Capstone Companies, Inc. (OTC: CAPC), a designer, manufacturer and marketer of consumer inspired products that simplify daily living through technology reported its first quarter 2021 financial results.
Gerry McClinton, Capstone’s Chief Financial Officer, commented, "With equity funding now in place, we can focus on the Smart Mirror rollout, inventory build and social media expansion."
Stewart Wallach, Capstone’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, added, "While financial performance has improved minimally as revenues increased, we will be updating our shareholder community on the progress of the Company’s Smart Mirror program which is its future core business."
Webcast and Teleconference to Review Results and Outlook
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
10:30 a.m. Eastern Time
Phone: (201) 689-8562
Internet webcast link available at:
https://capstonecompaniesinc.com/
A telephonic replay will be available from 1:30 p.m. ET the day of the call until Tuesday, May 25, 2021. To listen to the archived call, dial (412) 317-6671 and enter conference ID number 13718602. Alternatively, the archive of the webcast will be available on the Company’s website at https://capstonecompaniesinc.com/, along with a transcript once available.
About Capstone Companies, Inc.
Capstone Companies, Inc. is a public holding company that engages, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Capstone Industries, Inc., Capstone Lighting Technologies, LLC, and Capstone International HK, Ltd., in the development, manufacturing and marketing of consumer products to retail channels throughout North America and certain international markets.
FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW. THE FOLLOWING SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATEMENT SHOULD BE READ ALONG WITH THE FORM 10K FINANCIAL STATEMENT FILED BY THE COMPANY WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION.
Please look at:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/capstone-companies-reports-first-quarter-193000748.html
Official announcement: Huawei China Ecological Conference Chinasoft International Hotspots First Look!
source
http://www.chinasofti.com/news/2198.htm
2021-05-17
Successfully signed the East Malaysia Smart City Project to become the world's ChinaSoft International.
source
http://www.chinasofti.com/news/2197.htm
2021-05-17
Cities are the main battlefield of digital transformation. Promoting the comprehensive digitalization and intelligentization of urban facilities is the future development direction of urban governance. Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia. The regional government has a forward-looking vision. ChinaSoft International Cloud Smart Business Group took this opportunity to cooperate and successfully cooperated with the Sarawak state government to sign the smart city of Sarawak in East Malaysia. IOC project (referred to as East Malaysia SIOC project).
Recently, ChinaSoft International invited Tan Chee Kang (Chief Representative of Digital Economy Strategy), the senior leader of Sarawak SMA, to the site to listen to the latest progress and phased reports of the SIOC project. The other party further clarified the project details such as the implementation method of the technical solution for the rich and diverse seminars and technical exchange activities at the site, and shared with everyone their views and suggestions on the SIOC platform, and affirmed the results we have achieved.
To comply with the general trend of urbanization, efficient use and management of resources is required, which highlights the importance of smart city construction. The project adopted the Chinasoft International IPD implementation plan, using a variety of information technologies and innovative concepts to achieve the highest efficiency in the use of resources, thereby improving the city's management and service quality.
Prior to this, the East Malaysia Kuching Smart City Project was the first to adopt the IOC platform project independently developed by ChinaSoft International in Southeast Asia, as a regional pioneer to develop the booming Southeast Asian market. The signing of the East Malaysia SIOC project is not only the first overseas expansion of Chinasoft International’s cloud intelligence business group’s smart park products, but for the Sarawak Multimedia Data Bureau, it is also the SMA Government’s Digital Economy Enablers in the wisdom. The first practice in the field, the project plans to pass the 6-month delivery period and complete the deployment including an integrated smart surveillance command center focusing on comprehensive situation, smart security, smart transportation, smart management and control, with the help of high-definition cameras, artificial intelligence, face recognition, etc. The technology brings a brand new mobile service experience for 2.7 million people in Sarawak, including travel information, real-time video (live broadcast), repairs to public facilities, and emergency relief to the public.
With the acceleration of urbanization and increasing population density, the application of smart cities has become a major trend, playing a pivotal role in construction and management. ChinaSoft International Cloud Intelligent Business Group is fully aware of the necessity of urban digital development, makes full use of cutting-edge technology, integrates industry resources, and will continue to empower urban construction in the future, continue to deepen the international market, and build a more comprehensive and professional core solution for smart cities Ability to further promote the digital transformation of cities.
Email: cig.intl@chinasofti.com
Application of Virtual Reality in University Campus Planning-Dr. Jianxun Lu - Scientific achievements 10
source
http://hologramsociety.wimiar.com/index.php?m=Home&c=Index&a=news_view&id=160
2021-05-14
Abstract:
With the progress of the times and the needs of campus development, many colleges and universities have experienced the process of new construction, expansion and reconstruction, and a number of new modern college campuses have been established one after another. During the construction of modern university campuses, there have been problems such as the history of the campus, the lack of integrity and predictability of campus planning, the consideration of details, the single campus display method, and the confusion of campus data management. After years of accumulation and development since its introduction, virtual reality technology is now the mainstream method of assisting campus planning, design and construction in colleges and universities at home and abroad.
This article firstly provides an overview of virtual reality technology, and then analyzes and summarizes the problems existing in the construction of modern university campuses in my country, and then analyzes the application of virtual reality technology to modern university campus planning and design, and finally focuses on the current modern university campuses. Solutions to various problems existing in the construction process were proposed.
Keywords:
Virtual reality technology; modern university campus; virtual campus; digital design;
1 Introduction
Virtual reality technology, because it can achieve an immersive virtual experience, brings users a virtual environment integrating vision, hearing, and touch, and realizes behaviors that cannot be achieved in the real environment. Therefore, it has been widely used in various fields. Including games, medical care, military, and construction.
In the construction industry, combining virtual reality technology with architectural design will be the main trend in the future. As my country's investment in education continues to increase, the scale of enrollment in various universities has also continued to increase, and the number of students has also continued to increase.
The construction of university campuses in my country has thus set off an upsurge, and university campuses have gradually developed in the direction of intelligence and comfort. However, with the construction of a large number of modern campuses, waste of resources, unreasonable planning, and cultural gaps between the new campus and the old campus are also emerging.
Virtual reality technology has emerged in the field of architecture with its advantages of interaction and immersion. , There are more and more researches and achievements on virtual campuses using virtual reality technology. The established virtual campus can not only show the campus landscape very vividly, but also can browse and query work and carry out campus roaming activities to realize the digitalization of campus information management. The application of virtual reality technology in modern campuses will enable campus environmental planning More reasonable and more efficient resource management.
2. Virtual reality technology
Virtual reality technology is also called VR technology for short. It combines computer sensing technology, display technology, computer simulation technology and other technologies to create a virtual environment that can provide users with various physical perceptions such as touch and hearing. Observation, analysis and operation of the virtual environment, the user has a sense of immersion in it and interacts with the environment in it. The virtual environment created by this technology not only originates from the objective environment, but also transcends the objective environment, so that users can not only immerse in it, but also freely control the virtual environment. In addition, this kind of technology will greatly broaden human's understanding of the environment and the field of understanding. Through the interactive operation of the virtual environment, humans will not need to learn about the environment through personal experience. Applying this technology to the field of design will also completely change the existing design methods, shifting from focusing on two-dimensional planes to focusing on three-dimensional space experience.
Virtual roaming technology is an important aspect of the application of virtual reality technology, and it is also the most important application aspect of the technology in the construction industry. Use virtual reality technology to create a scene and make a series of connections to form a complete virtual environment, and then add functions such as images, maps, links, and sounds. After the completion, when the user browses in it, it is like browsing the scene in reality, which greatly enhances the realism of the virtual environment. Users can also adjust the environment according to different needs, such as adjusting time, sunshine, weather and other parameters, and can also zoom in on the scene for close viewing. The virtual building scene roaming is an important branch of virtual roaming, which is a combination of virtual scene establishment and roaming.
3. Current status and problems of modern university campuses
Since the 1990s, due to the continuous increase in the number of students enrolled, the speed of campus scientific research and teaching facilities has increased
Fast, leading to the continuous expansion of the scale of university campuses and the increasingly diversified architectural needs. The existing old campuses can no longer meet the needs of teaching and living, which has caused a climax of university campus construction across the country. Currently our country
Modern university campus construction mainly has the following three modes:
?Establish branch campus, coexisting new campus and old campus,
?Demolition and relocation as a whole,
?New school. In this tide of construction, the building area, campus scale and building quality of our university campuses have been greatly improved. These modern university campuses also have some basic characteristics that are different from traditional universities:
?flexible layout,
?variable architectural shapes,
?focus on communication space, openness and strong sociality.
With the development of the times, many historic buildings on campus no longer meet the needs of modern teaching. Even if they carry many memories and history of campus teachers and students, they still have to face the end of being demolished. Or, in order to seek broader development space, some campuses are relocated as a whole to new campuses in the suburbs of the city, while the old campuses are abandoned and demolished as a whole. In the process of demolition and relocation of these old campuses, the data storage of the historical buildings on the campus seemed a little sloppy and inadequate. In particular, some buildings built in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of my country are extremely important because they witness and represent the historical environment of our country at that time. The architectural design of that era mainly relied on hand-drawn drawings, which were extremely easy to lose and damage during the preservation process, and there were also large errors in the storage and processing of data. After the old buildings were rashly demolished, many precious history and data also disappeared.
During the development of the campus, the campus environment presents a variety of forms, and the humanistic spirit and traditional context of the campus are also various carriers. These carriers not only include the specific landscape and cultural environment, but also hide the intangible architectural connotation. The intangible architectural connotation refers to the historical significance behind the architectural space and architectural form of the campus, a force that unknowingly affects the behavior and ideas of the teachers and students on the campus. At the same time, historical buildings with a certain tradition can also strengthen the campus. The sense of culture and heaviness of the school makes students have a stronger sense of belonging to the campus. Looking at the construction process of modern universities in recent decades, the rapidly emerging architectural complex lacks cultural accumulation and heritage, which reflects the impetuousness of the people. Among them, the way of relocating and establishing a new campus is the most complete separation of the old context of the campus. The unique atmosphere formed by the historical campus over the years will disappear with the overall relocation, and the shaping of the humanistic environment of the new campus is a long process.
4. Application analysis of virtual reality technology in university campus planning
4.1 Continuation of campus culture
Virtual reality technology is a space simulation technology based on three-dimensional effects. It can not only store data, but also realize an immersive roaming experience. When planning and designing a modern university campus, it provides advanced campus history protection and campus cultural heritage. The technical means of the old campus can firstly carry out overall digital modeling of the original appearance of the old campus, extract the characteristic symbols of the campus and save it in the information family database and establish a virtual campus of the old campus, which will be the historical basis in the design of the new campus. Secondly, in the design and construction of the new campus, the digitization of its preliminary research materials and the overall campus design plan will also become a new historical record of the campus, witnessing the historical starting point of the new era of the campus.
4.2 Campus planning
The use of virtual reality technology can provide assistance in the process of campus planning and design. After the virtual campus is established, it can provide voice commentary and campus browsing routes, etc., and change the design plan from a two-dimensional plane to an immersive three-dimensional environment. By wearing a VR helmet or VR Eyes come to interact with the campus environment. This method has strong interaction and a strong sense of reality, and the effect is intuitive and clear. Decision-makers can independently visit the campus style, architectural layout and landscape environment, and make judgments on the situation after the campus has been planned and constructed. The intuitiveness of the virtual campus can provide solutions for campus information management, campus planning and architectural design. Embed the design process and design plan in the virtual environment, evaluate the impact of the planning results on the real environment, and perceive the rationality of the space design in the virtual design environment, and reduce the repetitive design of the plan.
4.3 Campus Display
After the construction of the virtual campus is completed, it can be uploaded to the network after further upgrade processing and addition of building information, and users can browse the campus through a PC or a VR helmet. Compared with the traditional understanding of the campus through text and photos, the virtual campus system allows visitors to get the most intuitive understanding and experience of the campus. By combining vision, hearing, and touch, visitors can observe the campus vision at close range. You can even walk into the classroom and dormitory to experience the place where you will study and live in the future. This kind of immersion cannot be achieved by other methods of obtaining information. There are many public facilities such as teaching buildings, dormitory buildings, canteens and laboratory buildings on campus. With the virtual campus roaming system, freshmen can fully understand the campus layout and building functional zoning before enrolling, providing convenience for future life on campus and as soon as possible Adapt to campus life.
4.4 Information Management
While establishing the virtual campus, it has also established a complete and comprehensive database for the campus, so that the various data on the campus can be accurately and scientifically stored, including the specific data and component details of the building, as well as the road and traffic data on the campus. These data record the current status of the establishment of the new campus, and will also be a witness to the history of the new campus in the future. The three-dimensional expression method is more intuitive and easy to understand, effectively avoiding the traditional way of huge data and inconvenient storage and retrieval, so that non-professionals can quickly obtain the required data and extract relevant information, which improves the utilization of campus data. In the process of constructing the model, we also introduce the various data of the building into the model, so that the architectural model in the virtual campus not only plays the role of campus display, but also contains various data inside the campus, and is connected to each other to establish a whole, Complete database. In addition, the virtual campus can be connected to the network to upload various usage data of the campus in real time, including classroom usage frequency, road congestion during peak hours, usage of various activity venues in the campus, and even various auxiliary rooms. Usage conditions, including spaces such as canteens, activity centers, and libraries. Through the analysis of the data, the students' usage frequency and usage trajectory are studied, and various campus resources can be adjusted in time to realize the reasonable allocation of campus resources.
5. Summary
The rapid development of virtual reality technology makes it play an increasingly important role in the planning and construction of modern university campuses. The main research content of this article is the application of virtual reality technology in the process of modern university campus planning and construction. The main content includes issues such as continuation of campus culture, auxiliary campus planning and design, campus publicity and display, and campus information management. With the initial maturity of this technology, our development and
The research will be more in-depth. In the future, the virtual campus system can even rely on the online virtual reality roaming system to further develop virtual classrooms, virtual meetings, etc., so that campus teachers and students can obtain campus information in a timely, real-time, and true manner without leaving home. The virtual campus system will not only provide users with a way to visit and browse, but also develop more diverse applications to adapt to the development of digitalization.
Research on 3D Graphics Modeling Method in Virtual Reality-Dr. Huajun Peng - Scientific achievements 9
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Virtual Reality (VR Virtual Reality) is a three-dimensional, computer-made simulation environment in which users can manipulate the machine to interact with the machine and be completely immersed in it. Virtual reality is derived from the concept of "virtual memory" of computers and provides us with a virtual world that is very similar to our real life.
Human actions depend to a large extent on visual activities. People’s response to space and three-dimensional images is stronger than that of flat two-dimensional images. Through the three-dimensional images generated in VR, we can better see samples and more Have a good understanding of the relationships and development trends of various aspects. The space that virtual reality shows to people is far beyond the scope of still images so that we can manipulate and influence the reality that appears in front of us in real time, observe objects from any angle, and bring us into Visualize the world.
VR technology refers to the creation of a three-dimensional world that reflects the changes and interactions of physical objects for users in a simulation mode, and provides a three-dimensional interface for observing and interacting with the virtual world through helmet-mounted displays, data gloves and auxiliary sensing devices Its environment and interaction are the main characteristics of virtual reality.
Realistic three-dimensional objects are the basis of VR. The ability of VR to a large extent depends on the fidelity of this three-dimensional object. Therefore, the generation of three-dimensional objects is an important component of the VR system. It is very important to produce a realistic three-dimensional object to construct a three-dimensional object model. Because a good model can make us feel and react naturally to the same level of immersion as normal. The real world problem is described in a computer-based model, and then the computer is used to get the answer and redraw it to reality. In the world.
1 VR technology's requirements for 3D graphics generation
The most important feature of virtual reality is that people can feel the dynamic characteristics of the scene under the randomly changing interactive control. In other words, the virtual reality system requires that the corresponding graphic images are generated immediately with the human activities (changes in position and direction).
There are two important indicators to measure the effect and degree of user immersion in the virtual environment.
One is dynamic characteristics, and the other is interactive delay characteristics. The natural dynamic characteristics require the generation and display of 30 frames of graphics per second, at least not less than 10 frames, otherwise it will produce discontinuity and a sense of jumping. Interaction delay is another important indicator that affects user perception. For human-generated interactive actions, such as the control of flight position and direction during flight simulation, and the graphics generation of the system, it must be able to react immediately and generate the corresponding environment and scene.
The time delay during this period should not be greater than 0.1 second, and should not be greater than 1/4 second at most. Otherwise, people will experience fatigue, irritability and even nausea during long-term work, which will seriously affect the actual effect. Both of the above indicators depend on the speed at which the system generates graphics. For dynamic graphics effects, the generation time of each frame of graphics is limited to 30-50 milliseconds; for interactive input and processing time, graphics generation speed is also an important factor. Obviously, the graphics generation speed is an important bottleneck of virtual reality. The speed of graphics generation mainly depends on the software and hardware architecture of graphics processing, especially the graphics processing capabilities of hardware accelerators, and the various acceleration technologies used in graphics generation. In addition, it also depends on application factors and virtual scenes. The degree of complexity and the degree of realism required for graphics generation.
2 3D graphics geometric modeling
2.1 Types of geometric modeling
The geometric modeling of objects in the VR virtual environment is essentially different from traditional CAD and animation modeling. The latter is based on modeling. In order to improve the fidelity, the complexity of geometric modeling must be increased. The VR 3D graphics generation needs to take into account real-time and realism, so the method of reducing the complexity of modeling and enhancing the texture display is adopted. It includes: geometric modeling of regular objects, geometric modeling of irregular objects, and geometric modeling of irregular fuzzy objects
(1) Geometric modeling of regular objects. A virtual environment often includes many regular objects, such as people, buildings, railways, and bridges. The modeling theory of these regular objects is relatively mature. As long as you choose suitable modeling tools to construct them, the current research key is the simplification of the model, the LOD level details and the structure of the parameter library and the model library.
(2) Geometric modeling of irregular objects. The natural sceneries in the virtual environment, such as clouds, mountains, trees, etc., show great randomness and irregularity, which are difficult to describe with traditional geometric modeling tools. Generally, random fractal modeling methods are used. For example, Alain Fournier used fractal Brownian motion to construct complex terrain as early as 1993; later Rober Marshall used random models to combine basic data elements to construct forests, bushes, mountains, etc. Georgios Saka used time-varying fractals to construct random gas turbulence; Gavin Miller uses recursive fractals to generate complex terrain and sky. However, the random fractal technology currently has many issues worthy of discussion: fractal modeling also relies on complex mathematical models, and a simplified model must be studied; how to choose a suitable self-similar set and the minimum range of fractal dimensions; research Fast fractal generation and rendering algorithm; research on the elimination of fuzzy blocky effects, etc.
(3) Geometric modeling of irregular fuzzy objects. There are still some fuzzy sceneries in the virtual environment, such as fire, smoke, ash, dust, mud, etc. They are also an important part of the original scenery. Because its surface has roughness, uncertainty, irregularity, and even motion variability, particle systems are generally used to describe it at present. Current research results include William Reeves’s display of smoke, water, sparks and explosions; Ray Smith and Jim Biinn used particle systems to simulate the formation and death of galaxies; Karl Smith used particle systems to draw waterfalls; Forcade Tim designed GIG3DG0 particle system to generate explosion animation. There are many issues that need to be discussed at present, such as: the natural shapes and changing laws of various effects, from which suitable particle parameters and motion models can be abstracted; research on the rapid display of particle systems; research on multi-level particle systems with different levels of detail.
2.2 The geometric description of the object
The modeling of object shapes and geometric properties is a huge and rich research field. Some methods pursue the accuracy of modeling in order to accurately describe the geometric shapes of objects in the real world; other methods pursue simplicity of expression. Considering the drawing speed, most VR systems achieve the purpose of concise description by sacrificing details and precise methods.
The simplest object is a one-dimensional point, followed by a two-dimensional vector. Many CAD systems generate and exchange data in two-dimensional views. Except for displaying on a two-dimensional plane in the virtual world, 2D information is of little use to a VR system. Using given two or more two-dimensional views, some programs can reconstruct a three-dimensional model of an object.
The following describes the commonly used geometric modeling methods. The choice of modeling method is closely related to the selected rendering method. Some tracers can handle multiple types of models, but most can only handle one type, especially for VR. The complexity of the model is generally inversely proportional to the drawing speed. The more complex the modeling and the more details, the slower the frame speed.
2.2.1 Three-dimensional polygon and multipoint
The simplest 3D objects are Polypoints (a set of points in space) and Polylines, a collection of continuous vectors.
2.2.2 Polygon
The most common object shapes in VR are plane-based polygons. Polygons are two-dimensional, multilateral closed graphics, which are divided into convex polygons and concave polygons. However, when some systems require convex polygons to use polygons to represent objects, the objects often appear to be composed of many small faces. Use more advanced drawing techniques to reduce or eliminate this feeling.
Some systems use simpler triangles or quadrilaterals instead of general polygons. Since all faces have the same shape, the drawing process is simplified, but the number of faces that need to be drawn is increased.
Polygon Mest Formal (Polygon Mest Formal, or Vertex Join Set) is a commonly used representation of polygon objects. For each object represented in a mesh manner, there are several common point buffer pools, which are referenced by the object's polygon. Shared point transformation will reduce the amount of calculation required to render the object. For example, the vertices of a cube are processed only once, instead of being processed 3 times because it is referenced by 3 sides or 3 polygons. The PIG format used by REND386 is an example of the polygon mesh format.
This geometric format supports pre-normalization of polygons and vertices. Both polygons and vertices should be assigned a color attribute, and different renderers may use or ignore color attributes or more advanced plane attributes. Normalizing the polygons in advance is helpful to conceal the polygons on the back side. You can also assign texture coordinates to vertices to support texture or other graphics mapping techniques.
2.2.3 Basic objects
Some systems only provide basic objects, such as cubes, cones, and spheres. Sometimes you can use modeling tools to deform these objects to get more interesting objects
2.2.4 Three-dimensional modeling and Boolean operations
Stereo modeling is a form of geometric modeling using basic objects. It allows addition, subtraction, Boolean and other operations between basic objects, thereby expanding the concept of modeling. This is useful when modeling objects when you care about physical calculations. However, this method also results in a considerable amount of calculations, so it is not very valuable in VR applications. A feasible solution is to convert the CSG model to a polygonal model. A CSG-type high-resolution meta-object can generate many complex polygonal objects.
3 A 3D graphics real-time generation system
Based on the in-depth study of the theory and technology of real-time generation and display of 3D realistic graphics, a 3D graphics generation system in VR is designed, and its logical block diagram is shown in Figure 1.
5G Network Helps XR (7)-@Mobile VR-oriented 5G C-RAN Resource Scheduling and Optimization-Dr. Junchao Yang - Scientific achievements 8
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2021-05-14
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1 Introduction
Among the many application scenarios of 5G, mobile AR/VR is considered to be the first wave of killer applications of 5G, and has received extensive attention from academia and industry. Especially since 2020, the world has been severely impacted by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, which has greatly stimulated the development of non-contact economics including the virtual reality industry. With the advent of the 5G era, virtual reality and the real economy will be integrated in a wider, deeper, and higher level, accelerating the digital, networked, and intelligent upgrade of the real economy.
The basic definition of C-RAN (Centralized, Cooperative, Cloud and clean RAN) is: based on distributed remote base stations, the cloud access network C-RAN centralizes all or part of the baseband processing resources to form a baseband resource pool and Unified management and dynamic allocation of it, while improving resource utilization and reducing energy consumption, it also improves network performance through effective support for collaborative technology. Especially for the needs of 5G high frequency band, large bandwidth, multiple antennas, massive connections and low latency, the functional reconstruction of the centralized and distributed unit CU/DU (Centralized Unit/ Distributed Unit) and the next-generation fronthaul network interface NGFI ( Next-generation Fronthaul Interface) fronthaul architecture. 5G C-RAN introduces NFV (Network Function Virtualization) and SDN (Software Defined Network) into the virtualization of wireless resources. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a typical 5G C-RAN network architecture.
2. Mobile VR based on C-RAN resource scheduling and optimization
Flexible wireless resource management provides basic conditions for the implementation of mobile VR. In 5G, slicing technology is introduced. End-to-end network slicing provides multiple logical network services based on a unified physical network facility to achieve rapid business launch and flexible expansion, and facilitate new business expansion. Network slicing can not only provide traditional MBB basic communication services, but also meet the differentiated data transmission needs of vertical industries, and it can also support differentiated network application-related services. Therefore, the corresponding resource configuration of mobile VR applications can be performed through network slicing.
Cached VR content with high user interest in the C-RAN has the following advantages:
1) The computing resources and storage resources are closer to the user, and the communication delay can be significantly reduced.
2) The content can be cached to C-RAN through an efficient caching strategy to improve storage resource utilization. Therefore, resource allocation and optimization based on C-RAN combined with Cache will be an important idea to solve many challenges of mobile VR in the future.
In addition, considering the multi-user scenario, even if you watch the same mobile VR, the pictures required due to different user states are not exactly the same, so it is impossible to directly use the multicast transmission method to improve the spectrum efficiency like ordinary video. The use of unicast transmission will cause a huge waste of bandwidth resources. Users only watch part of the VR video content through the headset, while other video content outside the user's point of view also needs to consume a lot of bandwidth resources. By scheduling and optimizing C-RAN resources, maximize resource utilization in multi-user scenarios and enhance the user experience of mobile VR.
3. Concluding remarks
High-quality, high-efficiency, and low-latency mobile VR intelligent transmission under the 5G network environment is the core problem that needs to be solved. 5G has the characteristics of "high bandwidth, low latency, and wide connection", which provides basic conditions for the implementation of mobile VR. According to the application characteristics of mobile VR, C-RAN can be scheduled and optimized accordingly to achieve high-quality mobile VR experience. It is believed that with the continuous in-depth implementation of 5G networks, mobile VR will be widely used in the near future.
Memristive, Memories, Memories and Their Applications-Dr. Yao Wei - Scientific achievements 7
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2021-05-14
Memristors, memristors and memristors are new electronic components with "memory function", called memory elements. Especially memristors, since their physical objects were produced, they have received a lot of attention from experts and scholars at home and abroad.
The most widely studied memory element is the memristor. Since Professor Cai Shaotang proposed the memristor theory and realized its physical object in 2008, there has been a great upsurge in the research of memristors in academia. However, due to technical conditions and environmental constraints, the research on memristors is still mostly theoretical. At present, the materials for making memristors are mainly oxide materials. For example, the HP memristor model is made of TiO2 materials. Combined with nanotechnology, a pure titanium dioxide material and a doped titanium dioxide material are constructed between the two platinum electrodes. Because the conductivity of the doped material is higher than that of the normal material, when the current flows through this structure, the doped layer will When the undoped part is shifted, the resistance will change accordingly [1]. In addition, in addition to the research of the above-mentioned physical device model, the memristor also has three aspects: mathematical model, SPICE model and circuit simulator.
Compared with memristors, there are fewer studies on memristors and memristors. In 2009, Professor Cai Shaotang proposed the related concepts of memristor and memristor [2]. In 2010, SPICE was used to describe and construct a simulation model of the memristor, and the PSPICE simulation model of the memristor was proposed one after another in the second year. In addition, literature [3] proposes a universal converter for switching between three memory elements.
In the past ten years, a large number of theoretical models and circuit realization achievements of memory elements have emerged, and memory elements have achieved great success in applications, especially in chaotic applications. The following is a brief introduction to the research status of chaotic circuits based on memristors, memristors and memristors.
1. Current research status of chaotic circuits based on memristors
Compared with conventional chaotic circuits, chaotic circuits based on memristors have more complex chaotic characteristics. The memristive chaotic system is not only sensitive to circuit parameters, but also dependent on the initial value of the memristor. In 2009, the Chua diode in Chua’s circuit was replaced with piecewise linear memristive. The memristive chaotic circuit was designed for the first time, and the dynamic behavior of the circuit was analyzed. In addition, the simplest memristive chaotic circuit can be formed by using the three elements of inductor, capacitor and memristor in series. Some memristive chaos control circuits can use a double T notch filter to change their chaotic behavior. A third-order chaotic circuit can also be constructed using the memristive model considering the boundary effect. In 2014, Wang Guangyi's team proposed a chaotic system based on the realization of a photoresistor memristive simulator [4]. In 2015, a new 4th order chaotic circuit was proposed based on the Chua circuit and memristor. And through a series of dynamic analysis to verify the chaotic behavior.
2. Current research status of chaotic circuits based on memoir and memosensory components
Some scientific research results show that not only can the memristor be used to cause chaotic oscillation, but also the memristor and memristor can also be used to construct a chaotic oscillator. In recent years, some new mathematical models or circuit models of memristors and memristors have been continuously proposed, and chaotic oscillators have been designed based on the proposed models. In 2014, literature [5] proposed a smooth secondary charge-controlled memristor model. By replacing the nonlinear elements and capacitors in Chua’s circuit with the proposed memristor, a chaotic circuit based on the memristor was constructed and analyzed. In 2016, a smooth memristor curve model and its equivalent circuit and a new memristor chaotic circuit based on the memristor were designed. In 2017, a simple memetic chaotic circuit consisting of a memristor in parallel with a resistor and capacitor was proposed. In the same year, the memristor and memristor were used to replace the capacitors and non-linear elements in the canonical Chua’s circuit respectively, thereby designing a chaotic circuit based on the memristor and memristor [6]. After that, memcons and memsensors were used to replace the capacitance and inductance in Chua’s dual circuit, and a chaotic circuit based on memcons and memsensors was proposed [7].
At present, most of the contents of the existing literature are about putting a single memory element into different oscillating circuits to generate chaos, and a small amount of two identical or different memory elements are put into one circuit to generate chaotic oscillation. In the same position of a circuit, by inserting different memory elements, different chaotic phenomena can be obtained. When the inserted memory element has a general topology, then the entire chaotic circuit is equivalent to a general memory element chaotic circuit.
Research status of 360-degree video coding technology for virtual reality-Dr. Zhang Weilue - Scientific achievements 6
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2021-05-14
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A) Introduction
With the formal introduction of consumer-grade virtual reality (VR) devices into the market, users' demands for a full three-dimensional, immersive experience of virtual reality technology continue to grow, and a large amount of virtual reality content has appeared. At present, virtual reality content is mainly video game experience, which can be divided into two types: one is pure virtual scene video created by game engines such as Unity or Unreal; the other is 360-degree video obtained by shooting natural scenes through camera arrays . Among them, 360-degree video content has grown rapidly. Google and Facebook have not only launched 360-degree video content sharing platforms, but also released their own 360-degree panoramic cameras. It is foreseeable that 360-degree video will become a novel content carrier, occupying an important position in the field of virtual reality.
360-degree video is also called immersive video. You can view all surrounding scenes by changing the viewing direction at the same location. It has been widely used in landscape display, digital entertainment, video conferencing, telemedicine and consultation, remote monitoring, automatic robot navigation, military confrontation simulation and virtual battlefields.
360-degree video contains all the visual information in the surrounding space, and requires higher definition (video resolution 4K and above) to support a wider field of view. The amount of data is several times that of ordinary video. Video transmission faces a bandwidth bottleneck. The traditional Video encoding/decoding schemes can no longer meet the needs of storage and transmission. Improving the 360-degree video coding scheme to increase the compression efficiency is the main research hotspot at present.
B) 360-degree video introduction
Traditional optical photographic panoramic photos show all the scenes from 90 degrees to 360 degrees (cylindrical panorama) on a two-dimensional plane, and push the front, back, left, and right of a scene to the viewer's eyes at a glance, more so-called " Complete” panorama (spherical panorama), even the top of the head and soles of the feet are “painted”, as shown in Figure 1. With the development of multimedia technology, a new technology called virtual reality emerged, which can provide users with an immersive virtual world simulation system through real-time calculations. Virtual reality 360-degree video images can represent complete spherical information, which will be stored in the storage medium in the form of two-dimensional data, but it is easy to introduce distortion and pixel redundancy when projecting from spherical data to two-dimensional data.
Therefore, for virtual reality 360-degree video sequences, it is difficult to obtain satisfactory results directly using traditional two-dimensional encoders for compression coding. How to design projection methods with less distortion and pixel redundancy, and how to obtain better reconstructed image quality is the focus of research in this field.
C) The key technology of 360-degree video
Projection transformation
VR360-degree video content can represent a complete spherical image after being collected and spliced, but the spherical information cannot be directly used for storage and compression. Therefore, researchers expect to expand the three-dimensional scene to one or more two-dimensional planes as shown in Figure 2 through projection. As an important carrier of panoramic content, the projected image needs to meet two conditions:
1. The projected image must ensure that all spherical information is included.
2. The projected image should avoid introducing excessive image distortion as much as possible, causing loss of image quality. This article summarizes several projection methods used in the development of the Joint Video Research Group (JVET) coding standard:
1. Equidistant cylindrical projection (Equirectangular Projection, ERP), that is, the common latitude and longitude map projection. This projection will map the video sphere to a 2:1 rectangular plane. This projection method has good compatibility and is easy to implement and store. However, in the process of projection conversion, because of the different latitudes The shape sphere information is projected in a rectangle of equal width, which will cause pixel redundancy and pixel stretching. The phenomenon of redundancy and stretching gradually increases from the equator to the poles.
2. Cube projection (Cubemap Projection, CMP), also known as hexahedral projection. This projection projects the spherical surface to the circumscribed regular hexahedron, and then stitches the 6 surfaces together to form an image. At present, the regular hexahedron model has been used as a commonly used projection method in the projection of 360-degree video images.
3. Octahedron projection (Octahedron Projection, OHP), this projection projects the video sphere to 8 equilateral triangles, and then split and splice the triangles. The reasonable layout of the triangles of the projection can achieve higher compression efficiency, but the complexity of directly performing image rendering is higher.
4. Icosahedron projection (Icosahedron Projection, ISP), the projection method is similar to the octahedron projection, but the projection surface of the icosahedron is composed of twenty triangles. The tight projection layout can achieve good compression efficiency, and the distortion introduced by projection is small. However, multiple projections introduce a high degree of complexity, and also bring greater difficulties in real-time rendering of the video.
5. Segmented Sphere Projection (SSP), which divides the sphere into three parts along the 45-degree latitude line into the south, north, and middle. The divided north and south parts have less information on the sphere, so they are respectively projected to Two smaller square areas. The central area with rich video information is projected into a rectangle according to the spherical projection method. After the three parts are projected, they are spliced ??together to obtain the final image for encoding and compression. It is worth mentioning that spherical projection and hexahedral projection need to be interpolated during the projection process, resulting in a large number of pixel redundancy and a certain amount of non-information bearing pixels. The projection area of ??the spherical separated projection is similar to the actual spherical surface no matter at the equator or the poles, which can effectively reduce pixel redundancy. However, as with other projection methods, the physical separation of the three parts may result in discontinuous motion of the object in the projected image, which affects the accuracy of inter-frame prediction.
6. Cube Pyramid (Truncated Square Pyramid, TSP). The TSP projection divides the high-resolution area and the low-resolution area according to the prism direction. This kind of projection method is very suitable for combining with eye tracking technology to realize the area switching scheme. It transmits high-quality high-resolution video images for the content of the current area of ??interest, and the remaining projection areas transmit low-quality low-resolution video images. This kind of projection method can effectively reduce the size of the transmission code stream and reduce the bandwidth occupation.
2. Coding optimization
The 360-degree video has a large amount of data, and the projection layout is novel. The traditional video coding method is not ideal for compressing 360-degree video. It is necessary to optimize the encoding according to its characteristics, effectively reduce the amount of information data, and save storage space and network transmission bandwidth. The newly proposed optimized coding method is as follows.
2.1 HEVC local optimization method
2.1.1 Motion compensation prediction of co-projection plane
In the cube projection method, two adjacent surfaces belong to different projection planes, and there are texture discontinuities in the area near the surface boundary, which will affect the efficiency of the existing motion compensation prediction. In the co-projection-plane (CPP)-based motion compensation prediction method, when a motion vector points to a reference pixel in a different projection plane, the corresponding pixel in the current projection plane is derived as a new reference pixel . The layout information is used to further derive the position of the new reference pixel in the reference picture, and finally the position of the new reference pixel on the co-projection plane of the current pixel is derived.
2.1.2 Geometric filling for motion compensation prediction
Existing video codecs are only used for conventional 2D video encoding. When motion compensation prediction uses any samples outside the boundary of the reference image, it will simply copy the sample values ??from the image boundary to perform padding. However, the 360-degree video contains the information of the entire sphere and no longer has a boundary. The traditional copy and fill method in HEVC is not suitable for 360-degree video coding. Geometric filling takes into account the cyclic properties of 360-degree video, and introduces different filling methods in the motion compensation prediction of 360-degree video coding.
2.1.3 Reference sample derivation method for intra prediction
In HEVC, intra-frame coding reference samples usually use samples directly above and to the left of the current block. The newly proposed method relies on geometric filling methods when deriving reference samples outside the current plane to which the block belongs. The geometric projection of a 360-degree video is composed of many surfaces, each of which is located in a different plane, and the continuity between the surfaces is destroyed. When expanded into a 2D map, the discontinuity between different faces will increase. Similarly, for intra-frame coding, when the reference sample is outside the plane to which the current block belongs, the geometric filling method is used to derive the reference sample, and the average bit rate is reduced by about 0.3% on the Y component, and there is almost uniform brightness for all sequences. And chroma performance gain.
2.2 JEM overall solution
JEM (jointexploration model) is an enhanced video coding technology proposed by JVET. It is based on the HEVC test model and includes the basic coding and decoding processes in HEVC, such as block structure, intra and inter prediction, coefficient transformation, loop filter and Entropy coding, etc., new coding tools have been added, and some coding modules have been modified.
D) The problems of 360-degree video technology
The 360-degree video is shot by a set of camera arrays, which are stitched together by projection, and its content contains all the 360-degree video information of the current scene. 360-degree video can be projected and rendered in real time according to the user's perspective during playback. In order to allow users to watch high-definition projected images and not easily dizzy during the viewing process, 360-degree videos are required to have a resolution of 4k and above and 120Hz refresh rate. The increase in resolution and the doubling of the video refresh rate have led to an exponential increase in the amount of 360-degree video data, while the development of communication transmission technology and digital storage technology is relatively slow, and the rapid growth of video data has brought great challenges to these two industries.
360-degree video is usually stored in the storage medium in the form of two-dimensional data such as a latitude and longitude map. The traditional two-dimensional video coding system can be directly used to compress and encode the latitude and longitude map. However, due to the law of motion and deformation of objects in the latitude and longitude map compared to the traditional two-dimensional Video images are very different, so traditional coding techniques are not completely suitable for 360-degree videos, and compression efficiency has not been maximized. Effectively improving the compression efficiency of 360-degree video can reduce the cost of transmission, storage and operation for enterprises. Nowadays, domestic and international coding standards groups have included 360-degree video in their future work, and many universities and companies have participated in the research of 360-degree video coding optimization and coding standard algorithms.
Limited by the available bandwidth of the real-time network and the available storage space of the device, the service quality and playback experience of 360-degree virtual reality video content cannot meet people's needs. How to reasonably allocate the coding rate as far as possible to improve the overall coding efficiency under the limitation of limited network bandwidth is the key issue of rate control (RateControl, RC) research. When encoding, the encoder can choose to use different encoding parameters for encoding according to different encoding frame types and encoding scenarios. The core of rate control is to study how to find the most suitable encoding parameter set to make the encoder's encoding results meet the preset The target bit rate, while obtaining the highest possible video image quality. Rate control only intervenes in the parameter selection of video encoding, which does not belong to the category of coding standards. The existence of rate control cannot be perceived at the decoding end.
However, in the actual application process, the number of videos is large and complex, so use the reference software to encode directly Problems such as bit rate instability may occur. Therefore, rate control is very important in practical applications. Since the birth of rate control, it has been widely and in-depth studied by scholars from all over the world. How to establish a control model with more precise control and stronger adaptability, and to improve the quality of reconstructed video images on the basis of the control accuracy of the existing model, is the current and future research hotspot in the field of video coding.
For 360-degree virtual reality video, you can directly use traditional rate control algorithms to obtain precise control effects. Traditional rate control algorithms generally perform bit allocation modeling based on encoding information such as video content information, motion vectors, and prediction residual distribution. In addition to the characteristics of traditional video sequences, 360 degrees also has position-related pixel redundancy unique to virtual reality videos. Therefore, directly following the traditional rate control model will inevitably fail to achieve the optimal coding results.
E) Concluding remarks
Building a new generation of immersive technology means solving new and more difficult engineering challenges. For 360-degree video, a very efficient video compression technology is needed. With the popularity of virtual reality technology and the formulation of next-generation video coding standards, 360-degree video has received more and more attention from academia and industry. Innovative video projection methods, efficient compression coding to meet bandwidth and quality requirements, and optimize user experience Yes Research and explore the core issues.
Quantum interference involves applications-Dr. Yuan Zhihui - Scientific achievements 5
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Quantum interference, like the interference phenomenon of light, will also have interference, because quantum has wave-particle duality, and the most essential phenomenon of volatility is interference diffraction.
We can understand quantum interference from the following three aspects:
(1) Quantum interference describes the superposition of several different states of the same quantum system into a pure state. It can be that the particles interfere with themselves, and have nothing to do with the interaction between the particles. There is a well-known single-photon interference experiment on this article. In the double-slit interference experiment of photons, the photon flux is adjusted to a very low level, so that at most one photon can pass through the double-slit during the coherence time of the photon. In this case, although a single photon can only display one point on the screen, many photons passing through the double slits at different moments (not coherent in time) can form a double slit interference image on the screen.
(2) Quantum interference can only happen when there is path uncertainty. When the information about the path determination is possible to be known in principle, the interference will disappear. In 1991, two Chinese students studying in the United States completed a two-photon interference experiment under the leadership of their mentor. Experiments show that this principle is also followed in two-photon interference.
(3) From quantum interference experiments, people can get some information about the interaction between particles and the environment, but they can never get information about the internal state of particles. So far, no experimental fact has been found to violate this article.
As two kinds of interference phenomena in physics, quantum interference and classical interference have formal similarities and essential differences:
(1) The wave of classical interference is a real classical wave, which reflects the propagation of vibration in the medium. The wave of quantum interference is a probability wave describing the microscopic object. It reflects the statistical law of the uncertainty of the microscopic object, so the performance of the interference result is different. Classical interference strengthens or weakens vibration, and quantum interference increases and decreases the probability of quantum states appearing in certain superposition states. That is, classical interference shows a stable intensity distribution, while quantum interference shows a stable probability distribution.
(2) Both types of interference are mathematically the addition of wave functions, but the wave of classical interference is based on the actual medium, and the interference pattern formed by the medium can be observed. The wave function of quantum interference does not use physical media as the carrier, so there is no direct interference pattern like classical interference, but a quantum interference pattern similar to classical interference can be obtained indirectly through the collective performance of a large number of microscopic particles.
(3) Corresponding to the principle of superposition of waves in classical mechanics, the principle of state superposition in quantum mechanics. The two are similar in form, but have essential differences in meaning. The principle of wave superposition in classical mechanics is based on the relative independence of particle vibration and wave propagation, while the superposition of states in quantum mechanics is based on the linear law of Schrodinger equation followed by microscopic objects; the superposition of two waves in classical mechanics forms a new In quantum mechanics, the two possible states of a quantum system are superimposed. The result of superposition makes the system partly in each superposition state.
The superconducting quantum interference effect is the physical basis of the work of Super-conduct Quantum Interfere Device (SQUID). For a superconducting loop circuit composed of two superconducting junctions in parallel, when a magnetic field is applied, a circulating current will be induced in the superconducting loop, which makes the Josephson current through the two superconducting junctions no longer equal, and each superconducting junction The phase difference caused by the junction is also different, which causes the phase change of the superconducting loop circuit. The magnitude of the phase change of the superconducting loop circuit is proportional to the magnetic flux F passing through the enclosed area of ??the loop, and the total Josephson current at the superimposing point changes periodically with F.
This is the macroscopic quantum interference effect of the superconducting current. This effect confirms the interference and diffraction effects of Cooper electron pairs. A device that uses the superconducting quantum interference effect to work is called a superconducting quantum interference device (as shown in Figure 1), which can measure extremely weak magnetic field changes.
In 2019, Pan Jianwei and Lu Chaoyang of the University of Science and Technology of China cooperated with domestic and foreign collaborators to observe for the first time in the world the two-photon interference, quantum entanglement, and nonlocality between single photons of quantum dots and sunlight. This research work extends the quantum interference experiment between independent photons to two independent light sources separated by 150 million kilometers. It verifies the universality of the principle of quantum statistics on the astronomical scale for the first time, and gives the direct quantization of thermo-optic fields. Experimental evidence.
The typical application of quantum interference is quantum communication. Quantum communication has absolute security features that traditional communication methods do not have. When the quantum state is not destroyed, information will not be eavesdropped or copied during transmission. Therefore, it is used in information security fields such as national security and finance. It has great application value and prospects. It is believed that in the days to come, quantum technology will gradually enter people’s daily lives and be used more and more widely.
Surface Deformation Monitoring Technology-Dr. Zhihui Yuan - Scientific achievements 4
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Surface deformation is mainly manifested as earthquake deformation, ground subsidence (groundwater/oil and gas exploitation, mining area collapse, etc.), landslides, glacier flow, active volcano uplift or subsidence, crustal fault movement, etc. These surface deformation phenomena are closely related to human activities. my country is the country with the highest frequency of geological disasters in the world. Geological disasters such as landslides, avalanches, mudslides, ground fissures, ground subsidence, and surface subsidence are numerous and widely distributed. They cause hundreds of deaths each year and bring to the country and people. Huge economic loss.
According to the “China Land and Resources Bulletin”, there were 74,230 geological disasters in my country from 2011 to 2016, causing 2,431 deaths or missing persons, and direct economic losses of 30.51 billion yuan. On June 24, 2017, a high mountain collapse occurred in Xinmo Village, Maoxian County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The collapse amounted to about 8 million cubic meters, causing blockage of 2 kilometers of rivers, and 118 people were killed or missing. These geological disasters have brought huge losses to the people's production, life and safety of life and property. The occurrence of geological disasters is directly related to surface deformation, and timely and accurate monitoring of large-scale surface deformation information helps prevent and reduce the occurrence of geological disasters, and is of great significance to human production and life.
Traditional surface deformation measurement methods mainly include Global Positioning System (GPS) observation and precision leveling, etc. These two measurement methods can provide millimeter-level surface deformation measurement accuracy at equipment observation points. However, due to factors such as the price of equipment, the cost of manpower and material resources for implementing the measurement, and the accessibility of the measurement location, the surface deformation monitoring data obtained by traditional measurement methods have low spatial resolution and limited coverage, making it difficult to meet large-scale surface deformation monitoring. Demand.
And because Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has all-weather, all-weather working capabilities, high resolution and wide surveying band advantages, the synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) developed on this basis Technology can just overcome the shortcomings mentioned above, so it has gradually become the main technical means of surface deformation monitoring, and has been widely used in global and regional topographic mapping and large-scale surface deformation monitoring. InSAR technology uses the radar system to perform interference processing on two SAR images obtained from observations in the same area, thereby obtaining the corresponding interferometric phase information and finally inverting the three-dimensional information of the ground surface.
It is generally called the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) . For example, the US SRTM project uses InSAR technology to obtain medium-resolution DEM data for 80% of the world's land coverage, and Germany's TanDEM-X dual-satellite interference also obtains global high-resolution DEM data.
There are four main types of surface deformation monitoring technologies developed from InSAR:
Differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (D-InSAR) technology, permanent scatterer interferometry (PS-InSAR) technology, distributed scatterer interferometry (DS-InSAR) ) Technology and short baseline set measurement (SBAS-InSAR) technology.
Among them, D-InSAR can achieve cm-level accuracy, and PS-InSAR, DS-InSAR and SBAS-InSAR can achieve mm-level accuracy. D-InSAR uses the SAR image phase information of the same monitoring area acquired at different times, combined with radar parameters and terrain information to reverse the surface deformation information. The premise of the application of InSAR and D-InSAR technology is that the acquired SAR images have good coherence, but in practical applications, due to the influence of various decoherence factors, the surface deformation inversion accuracy of D-InSAR technology will be affected to a certain extent limits.
In order to improve the accuracy of surface deformation measurement, time series InSAR (Time Series InSAR, TSInSAR) technology came into being. This technology uses time series SAR images to obtain surface deformation information and can monitor various slow surface deformation processes with millimeter-level accuracy. It is applied to slow surface deformation monitoring in various areas, such as urban settlement monitoring, building group deformation monitoring, infrastructure settlement monitoring, artificial building deformation monitoring, etc. (see Figure 1). Among them, PS-InSAR, DS-InSAR and SBAS-InSAR are the three most representative advanced earth observation technologies in TSInSAR technology.
The PS-InSAR technology does not perform data processing for all pixels in the SAR image, but selects the PS points with relatively stable scattering characteristics in time and strong echo signals as the observation object. These PS points usually include artificial buildings, lighthouses, bare rocks, and artificial corner reflectors. DS-InSAR, also known as the second-generation permanent scatterer technology-SqueeSAR, is mainly aimed at distributed scatterer targets and can obtain time series deformation results with higher accuracy and greater spatial resolution. SBAS-InSAR is an InSAR time series method based on multi-primary images. It uses only interference pairs with a short time-space baseline to extract surface deformation information, which overcomes the partial interference caused by PS-InSAR's selection of an image as a common primary image. The insufficiency of poor graph coherence, while reducing the demand for SAR data and higher computational efficiency.
With the maturity of wide-range SAR imaging technology, the explosive growth of SAR satellite data at home and abroad. In the context of increasing computer storage and computing capabilities, the future must be the era of big data InSAR, and InSAR big data automation and batch parallel processing are required. , So as to obtain a large-scale surface deformation information of a uniform scale.
Overview of Phase Unwrapping Technology-Dr. Yuan Zhihui - Scientific achievements 3
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Phase unwrapping is a technology that recovers the absolute phase (ie, eliminates 2p ambiguity) from the entangled observation phase that can directly reflect the physical characteristics of the target. This technology is Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), magnetic One of the core technologies in applications such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and optical interferometry is also one of the most challenging research issues in the academic research field. InSAR can obtain the elevation information of the target point according to the absolute interference phase between the corresponding pixels of two SAR images, and finally can be used to draw the digital elevation model (DEM) of the target. But in fact, the interferometric phase measured by the InSAR system is a entangled interferometric phase that is limited to (or 0 to 2), and cannot be used directly to invert the physical characteristics of the target, so phase unwrapping must be performed.
Phase unwrapping technology can be roughly divided into two categories:
Single-baseline phase unwrapping technology and multi-baseline phase unwrapping technology [1].
People's research on single-baseline phase unwrapping technology can be traced back to the 1970s. Its theoretical basis is line integration, and the main research at that time was one-dimensional phase unwrapping. Later, due to the needs of two-dimensional image processing such as InSAR, people gradually extended one-dimensional phase unwrapping to two-dimensional phase unwrapping.
Single-baseline phase unwrapping techniques can be divided into three categories:
Methods based on path tracking, methods based on optimization theory, and methods that combine filtering and unwrapping techniques. Among them, the method based on path tracking finds the best integration path according to the distribution characteristics of residual points or the quality map of the interference phase to realize phase unwrapping. It includes methods based on residual theory and methods based on quality map guidance; The method of optimization theory realizes phase unwrapping by constructing an objective function that minimizes the difference between the unwrapping phase gradient and the estimated phase gradient, including the LP norm method and statistical-based methods; the method of fusion filtering technology and unwrapping technology first The estimated absolute phase gradient is filtered, and then integrated according to the denoised phase gradient, and finally phase unwrapping is realized. The filtering techniques it uses are mainly Kalman filtering and particle filtering.
The phase unwrapping algorithm based on path tracking was first proposed by Goldstein et al. in 1988, and later became the classic phase unwrapping algorithm-the "branch cut" method. The algorithm isolates noise by defining and identifying "residual points" and connecting the residual points to form a "branch tangent" line according to the principle of nearest neighbors to prevent local errors from propagating to the entire image, and then the winding phase gradient of adjacent pixels Integrate to achieve phase unwrapping. In the Goldstein branch-cut method, for interferograms with less concentrated residual points or less noise influence, the branch-cut method can achieve the unwrapping effect very well, but the branch tangent line generated by the Goldstein method is not necessarily the shortest. At the residual point Branch tangents generated in densely distributed areas will form many areas surrounded by branch tangents that cannot be unwrapped based on known points.
This will cause a group of unwrapped black spots in the unwrapping result, which greatly affects Accuracy. Therefore, how to set the best branch cutting line is the key to improving the performance of branch cutting. Later, researchers searched for more optimized branch tangents through continuous research, and finally made the total length of branch tangents the shortest and did not include isolated regions that cannot be unwrapped. This method is effective for dealing with dense residual points, making the performance of phase unwrapping greatly Promote. A schematic diagram of the actual winding phase and unwrapping phase in InSAR is shown in Figure 1.
The multi-baseline phase unwrapping technology originated in the 1990s and is an exciting emerging technology in InSAR applications. Different from the single-baseline phase unwrapping, the multi-baseline phase unwrapping technique uses the diversity of the baselines to greatly increase the ambiguity interval of the interference phase, thereby completely overcoming the limitation of the single-baseline phase unwrapping technique on the requirements of phase continuity conditions. However, the multi-baseline phase unwrapping technique also has a disadvantage, that is, it is more sensitive to phase noise, and a small phase noise may cause a very large unwrapping error. In response to this problem, researchers have proposed a variety of multi-baseline phase unwrapping methods to improve the robustness of the technology. According to whether the probability density function of the interference phase is used, the multi-baseline phase unwrapping method can be divided into two types:
The parameter-based method and the non-parametric method.
The parameter-based method constructs a statistical framework based on the probability density function of the interference phase, regards the elevation or elevation difference of the terrain as the parameter to be estimated in the statistical framework, and passes the maximum likelihood criterion (ML) or maximum a posteriori criterion ( MAP) Estimate this parameter to realize phase unwrapping. The non-parametric method uses unsupervised learning techniques to directly estimate the absolute interference phase, and does not use the probability density function of the interference phase.
The most representative algorithms are Cluster Analysis (CA) and Two-Stage Programming Approach (TSPA). The clustering analysis method groups all pixels according to different intercepts, where each group of pixels has the same fuzzy number vector, and then the phase unwrapping is performed group by group. The two-stage planning rule introduces the idea of ??single-baseline phase unwrapping technology into multi-baseline phase unwrapping. In the first stage, the Chinese remainder theorem is used to estimate the phase gradient between adjacent pixels, and then in the second stage, the traditional The single-baseline phase unwrapping algorithm performs phase unwrapping, which better combines the advantages of single-baseline phase unwrapping technology and multi-baseline phase unwrapping technology. However, there is still a more critical problem in the multi-baseline phase unwrapping technology that has not been completely solved, that is, what kind of baseline combination is optimal for multi-baseline phase unwrapping and how to obtain such an optimal baseline combination.
With the development of InSAR technology, the size and scale of interferograms have become larger and larger, and the latest InSAR technology puts forward higher requirements on the real-time performance and memory consumption of phase unwrapping, so large-scale phase unwrapping Technology came into being. This technology can be divided into methods based on regular sub-interferograms and methods based on irregular sub-interferograms. Both of these methods use a divide and conquer framework. Compared with the small and medium-scale phase unwrapping methods, both require additional calculations to ensure the consistency of the local solution and the global solution. Specifically, the first method uses a simple division strategy to regularly divide the input interferogram into fixed rectangular-shaped sub-interferograms (the size of each sub-interferogram is selected by the algorithm user), and each sub-interferogram is separately interfered The graph is phase unwrapping. Then, since the unwrapping result of each sub-interferogram is usually inconsistent with the unwrapping result of the entire interferogram, a complex stitching strategy is used to identify and correct the inconsistent regions between the local solution and the global solution to merge the unwrapping results of all sub-interferograms.
Unwrapping results. This method consumes only a small amount of calculation in the division step, but the calculation burden in the splicing step may be very high. The second method puts the main computational burden on the tiling step. According to the clustering characteristics of residual points or the quality map of the input interferogram, this method uses clustering analysis technology to divide the interferogram into non-fixed and non-fixed ones. Regular sub-interference graphs, and maintain the consistency of local and global results. The envelope sparsity theorem theoretically explains why this large-scale phase unwrapping method can ensure the consistency of the local solution and the global solution. Since the splicing strategy based on cluster analysis has ensured that the solution of each sub-interferogram is independent of other sub-interferograms, we can safely unwrap each sub-interferogram and use a simple splicing strategy to unwrap the results of all sub-interferograms merge together.
The mathematical theoretical basis of the multi-baseline phase unwrapping technique is the Chinese remainder theorem, which is too sensitive to measurement deviation. If the technique is used directly, there is no monotonicity between the unwrapping accuracy and the measurement deviation, which makes the multi-baseline phase unwrapping method practical The design becomes very difficult. Therefore, how to further improve the robustness of the multi-baseline phase unwrapping method will be one of the core research issues in the future. As for large-scale phase unwrapping, the current research results are mainly about single-baseline phase unwrapping, and have encountered two difficult problems: 1) the dilemma between execution speed and accuracy, and 2) the limitation of computing memory . Therefore, greatly reducing the calculation time and memory consumption of the algorithm in single-baseline phase unwrapping and multi-baseline phase unwrapping may be the future research direction. In addition, most of the current single-baseline and multi-baseline InSAR technologies are phase unwrapping on a regular grid. However, in the permanent scatterer (PS) InSAR technology, the distance between permanent scatterers is often very large, and their deformation laws are irregular, which requires the phase unwrapping technology to be applicable to data at any interval. Therefore, sparse phase unwrapping has important applications in PS-InSAR technology. In sparse phase unwrapping, how to design irregular sparse pixel networks, how to define residual points on irregular sparse networks, and how to design new residual balance strategies may be key research topics in the future.
In short, phase unwrapping has a very important position in InSAR technology. It can be said that the performance of the phase unwrapping algorithm directly determines the quality of InSAR products. Therefore, with the development of new airborne and spaceborne InSAR systems, the challenges faced by phase unwrapping technology will surely be well resolved in the future.
Thanks @Smooth_Legend for your fast reply.
@Smooth_Legend, please post a Link of the lawsuit, thanks.
Current Status and Future Development Trends of China's Chip Industry-Dr. Zhang Xin - Scientific achievements 2
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2021-05-14
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1. What is a chip
What is a chip? Chips are actually a general term for semiconductor component products. People tend to confuse Integrated Circuits with Chips most of the time. But in a strict sense, the chip is not completely equivalent to the integrated circuit. More precisely, the chip is the carrier of the integrated circuit [1].
The differences and connections between semiconductors, integrated circuits, and chips are shown in Figure 1. In a narrow sense, integrated circuits put more emphasis on the circuit itself. A simple combination of several components can also be called integrated circuits; when these integrated circuits are used, they need to rely on chip carriers to function. Integrated circuits put more emphasis on circuit design, wiring, etc.; chips put more emphasis on circuit integration, generation and packaging. Broadly speaking, integrated circuits are approximately equal to chips. However, there may not be integrated circuits in chips in some areas, such as DNA chips.
In summary:
Semiconductors are the basic materials that make up integrated circuits and chips, and chips are the final carrier of integrated circuits, and are independent mature products after integrated circuits have been designed, manufactured, packaged and tested. But in most cases, the chips mentioned daily are actually not much different from the concept of integrated circuits.
2. China's chip development is fast but the self-sufficiency rate is low
China's chip industry started late but has developed rapidly. It has maintained a double-digit growth rate for many years, which is significantly higher than the global growth rate. Although the mainland's integrated circuit industry is developing rapidly, the balance of China's integrated circuit imports and exports is still expanding. This is because the mainland's semiconductor demand, especially the demand for high-end products, continues to grow, while the mainland's integrated circuit products are more in the middle and low-end, and the import of chips is dependent on the situation. No change, China is still plagued by a lack of cores. For example, China's chip imports have surpassed crude oil for more than ten consecutive years [2], and it is the largest product that relies on imports and has been ranked first for a long time, showing a tendency to expand. The competition between China and the United States in science and technology is becoming increasingly fierce, and Sino-US relations have entered a new stage of confrontation, and technological control will increase. The Sino-US trade conflict has escalated into a battle for technological highlands. Chips are the only way out to be autonomous and controllable. Without autonomous and controllable technology reserves, they will face the risk of “null food” and “stuck necks”.
3. Difficulties in chip development and manufacturing
The chip industry has the dual attributes of economy and strategy. The development of autonomous and controllable chips is very important for national defense security, information security and economic security. However, the complexity of the chip is much higher than that of industrial products such as missiles, nuclear weapons, and aircraft carriers. If aero engines are known as the crown of modern industry, then the chip is the jewel on the crown, which is much more dazzling than the crown itself. my country has been able to manufacture world-advanced aero-engines, but it is still unable to manufacture world-advanced chips. The reason is that the development and manufacture of chips is too difficult [3].
The chip industry has the characteristics of large capital investment, long time-consuming, complex process flow, time and money constraints, and extremely high requirements for precision control.
4. Chip industry chain model and development opportunities of China's chip industry
The global chip industry chain development model is divided into two types: (1) Integrated Device Manufacture (IDM) model of design-manufacturing-package-testing integration; (2) Design-manufacturing-package-testing division of labor collaboration model. The IDM model integrates multiple industrial chain links such as chip design, chip manufacturing, chip packaging and testing. The advantage is that the design, manufacturing and other links can be collaboratively optimized, which helps to fully explore the technological potential; the disadvantage is that the company is large in scale and management costs. high. The division of labor cooperation model can stimulate the explosion of upstream IC (Integrated Circuit) designers, lower the entry barrier of the IC industry, stimulate industrial design and application innovation, accelerate the development cycle of IC products, and reduce costs can also expand the downstream applications of IC on a large scale.
The chip industry has a wide range of downstream applications, multiple production technology processes, multiple product types, fast technology upgrades, high investment risks, etc., superimposed on the continuous rise of the downstream application market, and the chip industry chain is increasing from IDM to division of labor. The more clear, and experienced two spatial industrial transfers [4].
(1) Origin, United States, vertical integration model
In the 1950s, the chip industry originated in the United States and was dominated by system manufacturers. The initial form of the global semiconductor industry is a vertically integrated operation model, that is, the company has all the manufacturing departments of the semiconductor industry, which are only used to meet the needs of the company's own products.
(2) Home appliances, US?Japan, IDM mode
In the 1970s, the United States transferred the assembly industry to Japan, and the semiconductor industry changed to an IDM model, which was responsible for all processes from design, manufacturing to packaging and testing. Unlike the vertical integration model, IDM's chip products are designed to meet the needs of other system manufacturers. With the mutual promotion of the home appliance industry and the semiconductor industry, Japan has incubated Sony, Toshiba and other manufacturers. Most of the discrete device manufacturers in my country also adopt this type of model.
(3) Personal Computer (PC, Personal Computer), the United States and Japan ? South Korea, Taiwan, division of labor and cooperation mode
In the 1990s, with the rise of PCs, the storage industry shifted from the United States to Japan and then to South Korea, which gave birth to manufacturers such as Samsung and Hynix. At the same time, after the establishment of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., it opened the foundry model, which solved the problem of huge investment in wafer manufacturing lines in order to design chips, and opened the prelude to vertical foundry, a design company without production lines. (Fabless) have been established. Traditional IDM manufacturers Intel, Samsung, etc. have joined the ranks of foundry. The vertical division of labor has gradually become the mainstream, forming three major links: design (Fabless) ? manufacturing (Foundry) ? packaging and testing (OSAT).
(4) Emerging technologies such as smartphones, artificial intelligence, 5G, global ? Mainland China
In 2020s, as the global market share of mainland smart phone brands continues to increase, a strong demand for chips has been spawned, coupled with the country’s strong support for the chip industry and the maturing industrial environment of talent, technology, and capital, the global chip industry is brewing a third industry The shift, that is, the trend of shifting to the mainland has gradually emerged.
From a historical perspective, the conditions for the first two transfers: 1. Carriers with new technologies (car electronics, smart phones, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, etc.); 2. Strong financial support (the world’s second largest economy, first Large consumer market); already available in mainland China. Figure 6 shows the transfer of leading industries and chip industries at different stages.
Application Fields and Current Status of M4-VR Technology-Dr. Zhou Fuliv - Scientific achievements 1
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This article summarizes the concepts and characteristics of virtual reality technology and sorts out the application fields of VR technology. This technology has been applied to various fields such as entertainment games, tourism, military, medical, media in the continuous development of science and technology And so on, and there are many application results in these fields [1], finally at the end of the article made a prospect for the future of VR technology.
Keywords:
VR, application areas, application examples, virtual reality technology
1 VR concept and characteristics
1.1 VR concept
The full name of VR is virtual reality technology, which is known as one of the key technologies in the computer field in the 21st century. It is a comprehensive information technology based on image digital processing, computer graphics, sensor technology, computer simulation and other technologies [2]. Through this technology, a virtual environment can be constructed to simulate things that are unknown or that do not exist in reality, and provide users with an immersive experience through touch, vision, hearing and other senses [3].
1.2 Characteristics of VR technology
VR technology allows users to be placed in a three-dimensional dynamic virtual environment by comprehensively simulating multiple sensory experiences of users. The interactivity, immersion, conception and other characteristics of its technology provide users with a real feeling experience [4].
(1) Immersion
That is, the user is immersed in the constructed virtual environment. VR technology uses infrared lasers, mobile devices, somatosensory and other equipment and technologies to monitor the user's actions, and then switches the virtual image playback to allow the user to experience the virtual environment in real time. , Making the virtual image more realistic.
(Two) sense of interaction
Interaction means the communication and interaction between each other, that is, the user can operate the objects in the environment in the constructed virtual environment and get feedback in time.
(3) Conceptual
Because VR technology can simulate not only the environment that exists in reality, but also things that are unknown or that do not exist in reality. The scenarios constructed by VR technology can stimulate the endless imagination of users. Therefore, VR technology has a strong conception.
2 VR application field and application status
2.1 VR technology application fields
(1) VR and game industry
VR technology has developed the earliest and fastest in the game industry. As early as 1990, Chicago in the United States invented the world's first multiplayer large-scale virtual reality game system with the theme of a future war in 2015. [5] As a result, virtual reality technology has kicked off in the game industry and has been outstandingly developed for more than 20 years, and both the sense of picture, immersion and interest have gradually increased [6].
(2) VR and real estate industry
With the rapid advancement of VR technology, in recent years, virtual inspections and space inspections have gradually entered people's lives. Users only need to wear 3D glasses, as if they are in the house and can understand the house type, orientation, decoration details and other aspects; the work of the house marketing staff also eliminates the process of reception and explanation, and the advancement of the entire marketing cycle is greatly accelerated. Withdrawal of funds from real estate developers.
(3) VR and medical industry
In the field of health care, virtual reality has great potential application value. It can not only help train medical staff, diagnose illnesses, and treat patients, but also can use virtual reality technology to create virtual human bodies in traditional surgical training [7] for medical staff Provide almost real training [8].
(4) VR and military research
Virtual reality has been used in the military field for a long time. Strategy, tactics and simulation exercises have been mentioned in "The Art of War". With the development of virtual reality technology, military exercise methods have also changed. Allow soldiers to wear special equipment to get a real combat experience.
(5) VR and clothing industry
VR shopping can break the physical limitations and allow merchants to bring the entire store to consumers. As long as the VR device can achieve "shopping" without leaving the house, just like visiting a physical store, you can touch the texture of the product and try on the experience. But at this stage, this is only a marketing method, an exploratory experiment in the industry [9].
(6) VR and tourism
The emergence of VR tourism is to use VR head-mounted displays to present the scenery in a 360-degree panoramic view in front of users in 3D [10]. Users can use virtual reality to preview and formulate itineraries; a new virtual reality travel experience subverts people’s expectations. The cognition of tourism will become an important development direction of future travel, sightseeing and cultural guidance.
(7) VR and film industry
Compared with the innovations made around flat screens such as 3D and giant screen movies, VR movies are a revolutionary change in perception. Traditional movies are presented on a two-dimensional plane, while VR movies have a 360-degree perspective. Existence can construct a three-dimensional space [11]. The emergence of VR makes movies pay more attention to the interaction with the experiencer, and can also bring shocking and immersive experiences.
(8) VR and media industry
With the widespread application of virtual technology, the interaction between the virtual environment and the real world has gradually got rid of restrictions and realized a new way of interaction. This interactive 3D dynamic simulation system integrates information from multiple sources [12] and then combines virtual reality. Technology is used for digital media artistic creation and use.
2.2 Current Status of VR Technology Application
(1) VR and game industry
Compared with traditional games, virtual reality games can create an immersive and realistic game environment for people, and players can participate in the game for interaction [13], such as the following virtual reality games that are all the rage.
The immersive shock and excitement that VR brings to gamers is unquestionable. After 5G+VR in the future, the defects of the integration of virtual reality technology will be changed in many ways, through the bandwidth and low latency of 5G. Improving the image quality and solving the vertigo caused by the device will enable the virtual reality game to be better developed [14], and bring stronger sensory impact to the player. However, for the game industry, in addition to good use of VR technology, good game content must be designed to be fascinating. Therefore, the game industry must return from focusing on the terminal to the development of content. This will be a major challenge for the development of the game industry in the future [15].
(2) VR and real estate industry
The use of the technology of 360° panoramic immersive viewing experience is bound to further advance the development of real estate and improve transaction efficiency. In VR+ real estate, Yunyan's Home is the leader. Yunyan's Home is a new generation of Internet real estate O2O integration service released by Shanghai Huayan Fangmeng Network Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as Huayan Fangmeng) in 2015; the most important one is Aiming at the virtual real-life viewing app for buyers in the house selection phase, this real-life viewing app moves the model house type of traditional offline sales offices to the mobile app, enabling the house model to be moved on mobile phones and tablets with limited hardware resources. The platform runs smoothly with a stable number of frames.
There is also Country Garden’s VR viewing + Didi special car mode. Country Garden not only uses virtual reality technology to move the physical house online, after buyers experience VR, they can also scan the code to make an appointment for a free Didi special car to go to Country Garden Tianxi Bay sales Inspections. The new model of "VR + special car" viewing is based on virtual reality high-tech technology and a huge audience of online platforms, breaking through the boundaries of time and space, and greatly reducing the various operating costs of developers; the benefits to buyers are even less It goes without saying.
At the moment when VR is hot, whether it is the real-view house-viewing app of Huayan Fangmeng or Country Garden’s new "VR+car" house-viewing model, it is bound to cause profound changes in the real estate industry and even completely subvert the traditional house-viewing model. Strategy will also benefit it a lot.
(3) VR and medical industry
With the development of virtual reality, VR also has more applications in the medical field. With the help of virtual reality technology, the hospital not only saves costs, but also improves the harm to animals in the traditional surgical procedure [16]. The following are three representative cases Sexual VR+ medical applications.
(4) VR and military research
The application of VR in the military can well make military training achieve the expected results, and allow soldiers to avoid the threat of death or serious injury. The following are the applications of several virtual reality technologies in the military.
(5) VR and clothing industry
Since 2015, many businesses in the apparel industry have used VR to attract customers, narrow the distance with users and fans, and better promote their products, as shown in the following table.
(6) VR and tourism
The emergence of VR tourism is the use of VR head-mounted displays to present the scenery in the form of 3D interactive videos and 360-degree panoramic views in front of users, as shown in the following application examples.
(7) VR and film industry
A VR movie is like the gamification of a movie. The audience can choose different perspectives to immerse and participate in the story as an "insider" to experience and perceive different stories, such as the following application examples.
(8) VR and media industry
In the media industry, live news and VR live broadcasts of sports events have already appeared [18], such as the following application examples.
3 Conclusion
This article introduces the basic concepts, characteristics and application examples of virtual reality technology. The application of virtual reality technology in real life has been very extensive. I believe that with the continuous development of virtual reality technology, it will continue to expand its application prospects. It is worth noting that while developing the technology, it is necessary to avoid the negative effects that may occur in the application in time to help the technology develop correctly, quickly and steadily.