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#TECH: i-City theme park will soon feature metaverse experience

SHAH ALAM: i-City announced a RM10 million digital transformation plan to enhance its theme park with metaverse experience.

To be carried out in collaboration with China Mobile International (CMIM), the upgrade will entwine i-City's City of Digital Lights with an immersive 3D metaverse experience.

According to i-City's head of leisure, Tang Soke Cheng, CMIM is currently building the technology platform for the infusion of metaverse in i-City theme park and the new experience will be unveiled in 2023.

"Adopting new technologies such as the Metaverse technology has always been part of i-City's strongest DNA. In 2009, when LED technology was in its infancy, we introduced LED technology into the theme park's digital landscape. As a result, we were acclaimed by CNN Travel as the 21st brightest and most colourful place in the world, two notches above New York Times Square in the United States of America.

"With the metaverse being the latest buzzword in the edutainment and gaming world, we would like to be the first to adopt such new technology in Malaysia," said Tang.

She explained that when i-city first started in 1995, when space exploration has yet to catch-up amongst Malaysians, the developer spent RM10mil to create an Aerospace Adventure to generate interest in space science as well as to enable Malaysians to learn and experience aerospace adventure and technology.

"We brought in actual life-size space exhibits that have been launched to the moon which attracted 10 million visitors to the showcase.

"Then it was the adoption of digital lightscapes. In keeping up to our reputation as Malaysia number one Technology City, we would be extending the metaverse experience to SnoWalk which is currently a snowfall and snow play attraction in Malaysia. We are also exploring extending a new interactive digital attraction showcasing the Aurora in SnoWalk," she said, adding that i-City plans to spend RM10mil for this expansion and aims to attract 10 million visitors with the implementation of metaverse.

On making metaverse a reality at i-City theme park, CMIM's director of enterprise, Jackie Chen Jiang Long said that the implementation of 5G this year is timely for the project.

"Metaverse requires 3D modalities to be transmitted digitally. This can be in the form of avatars and structures among others. The more live-like the 3D model is, the more details it will require and the more data it will consume. As such, the implementation of 5G together with hyperscale cloud computing infrastructure which i-City is currently building will be

instrumental to the success of this project, said Chen.

He also added that with China Mobile's focus on cloud-to-digital conversion in creating high quality cloud virtual reality and augmented reality content, visitors to the park will be assured of an immersive metaverse experience like never before.

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