Cheng Shenghui, the head of the Intelligent Visualization Laboratory of West Lake University: Imagine the Yuan universe, and you can go to the Antarctic North Pole of the North Pole.

"Yuan Universe: Concept, Technology and Ecology"

Cheng Shenghui

Machinery Industry Press

Biography

Cheng Shenghui, a scholar of West Lake University, is currently the head of the Smart visualization laboratory. The executive chairman of the Economic Team Advisor, the Big Data Summit Forum (organized by the China Visualization Specialization Committee), members of the International Episiguing Annual Conference, the Pacific Visualization Conference, and the China Visualization Conference. The main research directions are data visualization, visual analysis, and Yuan universe.

The Yuan universe became a fashionable concept in 2021. Different from the beginning of the Internet 60 years ago, the current "Yuan Universe" has been popular since the beginning. What exactly is the Yuan universe? Is it the next revolution in Internet technology? Is the Yuan universe "wind mouth", can it be profitable? This is the first reaction after everyone hear this concept.

The new work of Xishui's "Yuan Universe: Concept, Technology and Ecology" of West Lake Scholars of West Lake University tries to answer these questions. Last week, the Yangtze River Daily read+invites Cheng Shenghui to talk -is the technical direction of the Yuan universe in the future or just a temporary hotspot?

Volkswagen is curious about the "Yuan Universe", so I have to write this book specifically

Cheng Shenghui's doctoral research direction is visualization and visual analysis, which is closely related to the Yuan universe, so it has been exposed to the field of Yuan universe very early.

"When I was studying at Shixi, New York State University, the instructor was Professor Claus Mueller. He was the editor -in -chief of a authoritative journal in the field of visualization. Many authoritative experts have been cultivated in the direction of visualization. "In addition, he also conducted cooperative research with the National Laboratory of Brook Haiwen National Laboratory, Harvard Medical College, and World Bank.

After returning to China, he established an intelligent visualization laboratory at West Lake University to guide and lead the team. The autonomy can do a lot of cutting -edge research. The postdoctoral and full -time scientific research assistants in the team do research every day, and they are not tired. "The team is currently studying the basic framework of the Yuan universe and the technology required for" landing ".

In 2021, when Cheng Shenghui went to Beijing, he met the college classmate, and the other party and him mentioned the Yuan universe. Cheng Shenghui was deeply surprised. The classmates did not study this, but they already knew the Yuan universe. He then discovered that the original Yuan universe has begun to affect the public, and everyone has a lot of questions about the Yuan universe. Most of the problems are concentrated on the issue of the Yuan universe, the value is not worth investing, whether it is speculation. He revealed that it was found from the regional search heat map of the Yuan universe that "China is a country with a high amount of search for the Yuan universe."

"It is mainly because the concept and ultimate form of the Yuan universe have no conclusion. There are a lot of sayings. There are many information received by the public. The more I read, the more confused." After returning from Beijing, he began to lead the team to write the manuscript to the publisher in January this year.

The ultimate form of the Yuan universe is difficult to appear suddenly

"When everyone is watching and discussing whether the Yuan universe is the next investment in the air outlet, I want to explore what the Yuan universe is from a technical perspective." Cheng Shenghui saw that at present, the public heard that when he heard the "Yuan Universe", he was I think it is very science fiction, like novels, games, and even doubts about whether it can be realized.

In the book "Concept, Technology, and Ecology", the book describes the construction of various technologies needed to build the Yuan universe, covering the concept of technology, the current situation of technology development, and the problem that this technology can solve. "A complete Yuan universe world requires strong technical support, and it is not a single field technology, but a combination of many advanced technologies."

Cheng Shenghui said that when everyone understands these technologies, we can generally understand that we have a distance from the real Yuan universe. "I want to emphasize that the ultimate form of the Yuan universe is difficult to appear suddenly. It must be gradually developed step by step."

For example, there are "immersive interaction technology" in many technologies. Everyone often heard virtual reality VR, augmented reality AR, hybrid reality MR, and expanded reality XR. "Taking virtual reality as an example, the real virtual environment should be able to simulate human 'five consciousness', that is, taste, vision, smell, touch, and hearing. But in terms of the current technology, it can't be done."

According to Cheng Shenghui, after 200,000 years of evolution, the human brain has taken shape to the external response, so it is a very challenging thing to use virtual reality to deceive the eyes. "If we close our eyes close to the screen, through Yu Guang, we can also see the real world outside the screen, and if the eyes are too close to the screen, we cannot focus and cannot see the objects."

【Interview】

When the technology is not reached, all imaginations are like heaven and nightmare

Reading+: The novel "avalanche" in 1992 appeared.

Cheng Shenghui: The creation of literary works is based on imagination, and the realization of technology is often behind people's imagination. In 1995, Bill Gates mentioned things similar to VR glasses in "The Road to the Future", but the "glasses" he imagined at that time had no name. Bill Gates' idea was very creative, but at the time In terms of technology, this is simply a night. Experts also analyzed this idea of ​​Bill Gates, and believed that this device could be sold in the store like a video game console. But I didn't get much attention at the time. After entering the 21st century, the development of computer technology has driven the entire industry to grow rapidly. VR technology is constantly improving by computer technology. VR glasses have become reality, and then slowly enter the public's vision. The same is true of the Yuan universe. In literary works, the author imagines that there is such a virtual world, but it takes time to achieve it. The concept was successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and the market value of the day exceeded $ 40 billion, which aroused the attention of the financial circle. After that, it was reported by the media that it began to be watched by the public. Therefore, when most people discuss the Yuan universe, they are more discussing whether they are worth investing, whether they are the next air outlet, and fewer people pay attention to the huge technical cluster covered by the Yuan universe. Reading+: Many people have similar confusion: What kind of technology is the Yuan universe?

Cheng Shenghui: In fact, the technology of building the Yuan universe is not a single technology. It is essentially a collection of technologies in multiple fields. These technologies are different areas, and each field is overcome the technical difficulties in the field to break through the bottleneck. For example, why do these technologies need these technologies? In terms of big data processing technology, if the future digital society belongs to the Yuan universe, what do we need to support such a huge digital world? As long as there is operation, then data files will be generated. The more movements, the more the data will increase, which will form a big data network. To be sure, once the Yuan universe is developed and applied, there will be a large amount of data, and there will be huge data processing pressure. Since the Yuan universe can be immersed and can be instant and anywhere, it is necessary to put forward higher requirements for network transmission technology and VR technology, and the cloud computing power must be strong, and the data storage must be "massive". It is particularly high, so the overall requirements for technology are extremely high.

Reading+: What you can know at present is that the Yuan universe may not be achieved smoothly in the short term, so in these technologies, what kind of technology do you think is the most urgent to solve?

Cheng Shenghui: I think the biggest problem at present is how to truly gather these technologies and reduce costs so that most ordinary people can use these technologies, or enjoy the convenience brought by these technologies. Like a chip is very important, because the chip can greatly enhance computing power, which is the core of many technologies to further develop. For example, it is mentioned in this book that the amount of data in the Yuan universe will grow in the future. The current chip performance is far from enough. Like Facebook's models used to identify photos, and the complexity of models used by Google translated will increase every few months, which requires high -performance chips to allow these models to run quickly and efficiently. There are also the requirements for the standards and speeds of AI and machine learning like artificial intelligence, but at present, the development speed of chips cannot catch up with the development speed of artificial intelligence.

Type the Yuan universe with the game "too one -sided"

Reading+: Who is the establishment of the Yuan universe?

Cheng Shenghui: The Yuan universe is not dominated by someone or an institution, and it is difficult to dominate anyone. The Yuan universe is actually the result of continuous development of technology, but before the Yuan universe was completely formed, it was difficult for people to imagine its final form, and it was difficult to imagine how the Yuan universe merged with our real life. It is as if people in the 1960s and 1970s did not think that one day I could shop online, and I didn't think that I didn't need to bring a wallet with my wallet. Volkswagen's imagination of the future is often based on the current cognition. Before the appearance of the iPhone, everyone did not realize that mobile phones can be designed like this, nor did they realize that smartphones can develop into tools that are not missing in modern people's lives.

Reading+: The book says that when Spider -Man and Iron Man can coexist in the same scene, we can think that this is a Yuan universe. If it is not dominated by the government, it is pure commercial, not forced, everyone may think that it is like the world created by the game, and it is not possible to enter; in case everyone does not want to enter, is it a plan for the Yuan universe? Is it?

Cheng Shenghui: In fact, the Yuan universe is not a question of whether or not. If the Yuan universe becomes part of life, everyone will accept it naturally. It is as if since the epidemic, everyone has gradually become accustomed to opening online meetings, and gradually get used to online classes. Technology makes people's lives more convenient and enrich people's experience. Then the public will naturally accept and get used to this emerging technology. Build a virtual world. Indeed, many people currently think that the Yuan universe is equivalent to the game. This idea is too one -sided. The Yuan universe is by no means an isolated concept. As mentioned repeatedly before, it is a virtual world parallel to the real world. What can be achieved in the real world can be achieved in the Yuan universe, but at the current technical level, games are the easiest to build the Yuan universe ecosystem. Like the "Fortress Night" mentioned in this book, there is a feeling of the Yuan universe, but there is still a long way to go away from the ultimate form of the Yuan universe. At present, a $ 40 billion venture capital has entered the Yuan universe, and major head technology companies have regarded the Yuan universe as the company's strategic development direction in the next 5 to 10 years. Whether it is an investment perspective or a technological research and development perspective, the Yuan universe is one of the hottest areas at present. And not entering the Yuan universe is not like deciding to buy a certain product, relying on the choice of personal subjective will. When these technologies that build the Yuan universe gradually land, and slowly penetrate into people's lives At the time of, the Yuan universe will gradually integrate into our lives like computers and mobile phones. Reading+: If you have to enter the Yuan universe, what is the entrance?

Cheng Shenghui: This is a very big problem. There is no unified conclusion at present. From my opinion, when you wear equipment such as VR and AR and connect to the virtual world, you have already entered The Yuan universe, and from the perspective of software, like many companies are now building low code platforms, such platforms support creators to make web pages or APPs with a small amount of computer code or no code. People with a programming background can also use the Internet to create content. When you have a virtual identity and you can use such a platform to create content, you have entered the Yuan universe and even participated in the construction of the Yuan universe.

The Yuan universe will integrate into our real life

Reading+: The Yuan universe can bring us any reasonable reason, do you think it will cover our real life comprehensively?

Cheng Shenghui: I think the Yuan universe can integrate into our lives. What can do in the real world can be realized in the Yuan universe. It can also expand human activity boundaries and can get experiences that cannot be owned in the real world in the virtual world. We can imagine that there is a virtual self in the Yuan universe. From the Antarctic to the North Pole, it is likely to spend a week or even half a month, but there is no need to consider the distance factors in the Yuan universe.

Reading+: To what extent can it be achieved now?

Cheng Shenghui: There are two virtual concerts, one is Justin Bieber held a virtual concert. Fans can interact with Bieber online online, and the other is French electronic music artist Jean Michelle A virtual concert hosted by Yal in the Virtual Mother Paris. The data in the Yuan universe can also be used as a personal asset. For example, there is a foreign blockchain platform. The main function is to encourage users to share data on the platform. For example, sleep data can provide medical research institutions to study health problems such as insomnia. Users You can obtain tokens.

In the real world, the problem of people's time, labor and cost is the most likely to be replaced by artificial intelligence, such as broadcasters, artificial intelligence can pass emergency and important news for a long time, and facial expressions, muscle movements, sounds, etc. You can learn. Including artificial intelligence artists, let artificial intelligence understand the trend and style of the work, and then create.

Reading+: The book also mentioned the "rush of ground grabbing" of the Yuan universe, and there are many related news. This makes people think that this is a bit similar to the division of territory on the earth, and the virtual world divided by the ground and the actual political and economic pattern of the earth may not be consistent, and it makes people feel that the virtual world and the real world are two different things. In other words, logically feel that the Yuan universe is not reliable. What do you think?

Cheng Shenghui: The "Raise Raider" of the Yuan Universe does attract a lot of attention. It can be said that buying land in the Yuan universe is like buying the Fifth Avenue in the 19th century. "No boundary" is one of the characteristics of the Yuan universe. The boundaries not only refer to the virtual world and the real world can be seamlessly connected, but also refers to the endless space of the Yuan universe. It means that the "land" of the so -called virtual world is endless. However, this does not mean that the value of "land" is the same.

The virtual world and the real world are definitely different in nature, but this does not say that the Yuan universe is logically outrageous. For example, many people now buy games to buy skin characters. These skin are also virtual. It sounds outrageous to buy virtual skin. But one fact is that the younger generation has the habit of buying virtual items and the habit of consumption in the virtual world. As a mapping of the real world, things that can be achieved in the real world can also be realized in the Yuan universe. Of course, it includes buying land in the virtual world, buying buildings, buying artworks, and even buying exclusive avatars and IDs. There is no problem in the purchase behavior in the universe. The economic system that can be traded is also the core of the construction of the Yuan universe. The question is whether the price is fired. Humans cannot live in the virtual world forever, and they are woken up by the hungry stomach after all

Reading+: In the Yuan universe, everyone is a virtual image, will it bring fraud?

Cheng Shenghui: The issue of security and institutional level is indeed critical, which is also related to whether the Yuan universe society can be in harmonious and civilized operation. "Tampering reality" is indeed a problem. Seeing Weishi has always been an important guidance for people's behavior, but virtual reality technology allows users to change themselves, remove face flaws, show them thinner to other users, and even say that they look like stars. Because the Yuan universe is a combination of many technologies, the security problems of these technologies themselves have become a bigger problem. The problem is not only much, but also very complicated. For example , Lack of cloud security architecture and strategies, access to identity vouchers and poor key management, account hijacking, and so on. The blockchain may have problems such as exchanges, wallet security, smart contract vulnerabilities, network congestion and so on. But in fact, not only the problems brought by technology, there will be many other problems.

Read+: Please talk about it.

Cheng Shenghui: After the emergence of the Internet, we see that humans have worked many efforts in legal theory and judicial practice. After the appearance of Alpha Dog, intelligent technology has impacted the law. So after the appearance of the Yuan universe, is the law prepared?

Moreover, will the Yuan universe face addiction, discrimination, harassment, and violence? Will it become a "digital poison"? Will people's behavior disconnect from the real world? Will it affect marriage, fertility, interpersonal, psychological, production and consumption? These issues will definitely be highlighted with the development of the Yuan universe. To be sure, humans cannot live forever in a virtual world that cannot be manufactured and meets the needs of basic material, and everyone will eventually be awakened by a hungry belly.

We will definitely think, in the virtual world, how do you know whether the person in front of you is specified? For example, when you pay for virtual venues or concert tickets, how can you determine that the payee is the real receiver? When you face a lot of identity data, how do you distinguish which is correct and which is wrong?

With the development of the Yuan universe, all walks of life and even medicine will be involved. You can communicate with doctors in the Yuan universe. You do n’t have to run the hospital again and again. The dream of dreaming sounds incredible. However, how long it takes to achieve the true Yuan universe that Zuckerberg and others say are actually to be discussed. In the final analysis, before entering the real future digital world, there are many technical and ethical issues that need to be resolved.

Links >>>

How does the "Yuan Universe" fire

In 1992, a British science fiction novel named "avalanche" was published, and it was first mentioned "Yuan Universe". Author Neil Stephenonon describes a metapolar world. This world is parallel to the real world and is a virtual sharing space. The Yuan universe is not ordinary. The Yuan universe world in the author's pen is based on a virtual urban environment. A 100 -meter -wide highway runs through a perfect spherical planet with a perimeter of 65536 kilometers.

There are two methods for users to enter this "Yuan Universe", one is a high -quality personal terminal, and the other is a low -quality public terminal. If users want to continue to "online" in the Yuan universe, they must always wear portable terminal glasses and other somatosensory equipment.

Note that the "Yuan Universe" during the avalanche period is just a concept that exists in literary works. About 30 years later, the "Yuan Universe" became a business goal. On March 10, 2021, Roblow, the US sandbox game platform, wrote the Yuan universe to the prospectus for the first time and successfully listed on the NYSE. The market value exceeded $ 40 billion on the day. After reporting from major media, the incident quickly fermented, causing attention from all walks of life, and formed a "Yuan cosmic phenomenon".

In 2021, Facebook announced the renamed Meta. He wanted to make the entire company a Yuan universe company. He also held a grand event in a digital Beijing Forbidden City. Global virtual participants discussed the topic of science and technology online. Subsequently, the core figures in the Internet field of various countries began to look forward to the Yuan universe, and various Internet giants also began to adjust the development path. (Changjiang Daily reporter Qin Mengting)

Related reading >>

At least a "Yuan Earth"

I introduce the introduction of the digital world, the virtual world that interacts with the real world, "digital living space with a new social system, which is essentially the virtualization and digitalization of the real world." It is based on expansion reality technology and provides the so -called immersive experience; based on digital twin technology to generate image images of real world. Therefore, the so -called Yuan universe is a digitalization based on the human life of the earth. It is not to explore any "the original form of the universe" or to build an interpretation model about the real universe. For the mysteries of the origin of our universe, seeing the "Yuan Universe" enthusiasts wanton people's nerves, it will be a bit disappointed. If it is linked to "Yuan", in fact, it may be more accurate to call it "Yuan Earth" and "Yuan Society".

The term Yuan Universe comes from the science fiction novel "avalanche". The novel depicts a huge virtual real world. There are numeric incarnation to control and compete with each other to improve their position. Why do people call such a world "the universe"? Is it because the term of the universe is larger, the famous is more loud, and it is easier to spread, or is this digital world based on the earth, human beings, and future, is really closer to the "truth of the universe"?

To be honest, I can't answer these questions for the time being, and look at related technology, theory and literary imagination, how to continue evolution. (Liu Gonghu)

【Edit: Shang Pei】

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