Asian Sky Group Virtual Exhibition and Conference(ASGVEC)
The Asian Sky Group Virtual Exhibition and Conference (ASGVEC) is a virtual conference that will be held over three days, featuring exhibit halls, vendor booths, and a conference. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacting the aviation industry, several in-person trade shows based in Asia-Pacific have been canceled. As Jeffrey Lowe puts it, “we recognize there is a pent-up demand for people to get back together.” This is why Asian Sky Group has decided to take the plunge and partner with Mytaverse, a Miami-based startup, to put together the exhibition and conference.
According to Brian Kean who works at Mytaverse, the platform is “an ecosystem that cherry-picks the best-in-class technologies out there to most effectively create a seamless user experience.” Unlike most virtual reality (VR), which needs headgear, Mytaverse instead is based on a game engine called Unreal Engine. This makes the interface straightforward to use and does not have as much of a steep learning curve. Furthermore, anyone from anywhere can use the platform and immediately start interacting with clients and other exhibitors.
Whilst Zoom still has its place in a post-pandemic world, the main issue, explains Jeff, is that it is mainly static, so there is no ability to get together with people that would mirror the experience had you gone to an in-person trade show. He elaborates, “We needed something where you can walk the aisles of the trade show and if you bump into somebody you can have a conversation.” Brian also agrees, “the 2D effect of staring at a flat-screen, and not being able to immerse yourself into the discussion, to share visual and spatial commonalities weakens the overall applicability of applications like Zoom.” He further adds, “Zoom cannot serve the needs of aviation companies. Sure, you can show me a video of an airplane; you can share your screen to show a 3D model in a 2D format – but it isn’t passing the magic.” As such, capturing the realism and the detail of such digitally-visualized 3D assets, as well as recreating the spontaneous interaction of an in-person event is what Mytaverse ultimately aims to achieve.
Another way Mytaverse aims to do this is by employing Spatial Sound. Explained as an attempt to virtually recreate how normal sounds would sound like in a large room, the volume changes according to the distance from the speaker. Jeffrey states “When you and I talk, we can hear each other. However, someone 20 feet over cannot be heard by us. This is great because on a virtual platform you cannot have everyone at the same volume, or else there will be chaos.” He further expands on this, mentioning that there are also other areas on the platform that function as private spaces where only people that are connected can hear each other. “That private conversation remains a private conversation.”
ASGVEC plans to have a few different options on how exhibitors can display its products and showcase its brand. The cheapest option is a ‘small booth’, which functions as a single room. Featuring a reception desk in front and a video monitor at the back to display corporate videos, it is intended for only two people. Additionally, there is a space next to the reception desk for a salesperson, and you can also project holographic images of any business product. Outside the booth, the blue ‘electric fence’ keeps the area private and personal. Finally, a digital download icon allows any prospective clients to download any promotional brochures or spec sheets into their digital briefcase. Much like an actual briefcase, it stores additional information that can be viewed later.
Next comes the ‘standard booth’, which has two stories. The ground floor is meant for more informal conversations with other exhibitors, but the pièce de résistance remains the private area upstairs. The area helps to facilitate more detailed conversations, including options to screen share, as well as showing video and PowerPoint presentations.
However, the real showstopper is ASGVEC’s ‘customized world’. For instance, the event’s cornerstone OEM, Dassault Aviation, will feature a Falcon World, where they will import full-size three-dimensional photorealistic images and fully functioning renderings of its aircraft. “The big differentiator here also is that instead of just having customers go to the website and look at high-resolution images, you can arrange to meet them, virtually online,” Jeff says. “Using your avatars, the two of you can then go into a 6X, and a salesperson can give you a tour. When you are inside the aircraft, you can move through the cabin whilst the salesman points out the different features and functionalities, at the same time talking to each other face-to-face through your webcams.”
Jeff remains upbeat about the positives of virtual conventions; “Everything that Falcon would have liked to achieve in a person-to-person trade show, they can achieve virtually online. Of course, the difference is at a fraction of the cost.” Whereas before, planes would have to fly in from overseas, thereby racking up millions of dollars. Companies also had to consider the additional cost of setting up a physical booth, as well as insurance – making the return on investment (ROI) somewhat debatable.” As Jeff believes that a virtual showroom allows companies to achieve around 95% of the same thing, why should they go back to the old expensive way? “We lived in a virtual world for two years and still sold airplanes,” he rationalizes, “so this has to be an appealing argument.”
Aside from hosting trade shows, Mytaverse can be used as a training simulation to test and teach new hires that need to become more aware of the aviation product line. Another idea is to use the platform as a virtual business library that customers and salespeople can access anytime, anywhere. An example Jeff gives is if a salesman in Brazil needs a comparison document from Dassault's office in Paris, they can just retrieve it from the library instead. “So there’s a lot of things like that when you start sitting down and thinking about it, all kinds of versatility that having it virtually provides for you.”
However, as a first-time event, ASGVEC does face a few challenges. Part of the issue remains how many aviation businesses and OEMs are still having doubts about virtual events. After experiencing Zoom or other virtual platforms and finding them unsatisfactory, most people have decided to shun them. So ASGVEC is now focused on getting these people re-engaged with a virtual medium, by highlighting Mytaverse’s unique selling point of creating an immersive world.
Fortunately, registering for ASGVEC is a very simple process. One just needs to go to their website at www.asgvec.com and click on the registration button. With the recent change to complimentary admission, there is no cost to attend the show.
With regards to any future plans, Jeff remains optimistic. “It could become an annual event,” he mentions, “as the exhibition can provide a unique venue for the industry in the Asia-Pacific region.” Aside from branching out into the training field, “there’s probably lots of applications that we have not even thought of yet.” Moreover, Jeff is further looking to make this a global event, which has necessitated some logistical juggling regarding time zones. Overall, despite the uncertainty, Jeff has still decided to take the challenge and run the event – “to try to be leaders, not followers.”