We have previously reported on Acer’s annual global spring new product launch conference at 9 pm on May 18, 2022. At this conference, we saw Acer’s expansion in the future environmentally friendly product line; we also saw that SpatialLabs, which is based on creation, has advanced naked-eye 3D technology from creative applications to other deep application fields; and of course, there is the Predator The gaming series and the extraordinary ultra-thin and light series have also been innovated and transformed based on the original products.
gave us a profound feeling at that time, which was Acer's insistence on innovation and dreams. Through such a press conference, Acer also demonstrated the spirit of a responsible company and its uncompromising spirit of hard work. One day after this conference, that is, May 19, "Microcomputer" was specially invited to conduct an online interview with Mr. Gao Shuguo, Co-Chief Operating Officer of Acer Global Headquarters, and his team on some product and technical issues that consumers are more concerned about. face-to-face video interview. We hope that through this exclusive interview, we can dig out the deep stories hidden behind the products, as well as Acer’s estimation and analysis of the current market conditions. Of course, more importantly, we want to have an in-depth discussion about SpatialLabs naked eye through such an exclusive interview. 3D technology and the true meaning behind Vero series of environmentally friendly products.
Introduction to the interviewed team
This exclusive interview was led by Mr. Gao Shuguo, Co-Chief Operating Officer of Acer Global Headquarters.
Gao Shuguo, Co-Chief Operating Officer of Acer Global Headquarters
Mr. Gao Shuguo took up the post of Co-Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Information Products Business of Acer in November 2018. He has nearly 25 years of rich experience in the computer industry and has served as the co-chief executive since March 2016. General manager of the information products business, responsible for notebook computers, desktop computers, monitors, peripheral accessories, virtual/augmented reality, and design and development.
Mr. Gao Shuguo joined Acer in 1995 and has served in different units and experienced experience in different fields such as business management and IT product development. Gao Shuguo is also familiar with the market environment, and his expertise ranges from product research and development, sales and marketing.
In addition, members of Acer's product technology management team who were also interviewed by "Microcomputer" include:
Mr. Lin Gongzheng, Director of Notebook Products Division of Acer Information Products Division
Ms. Xu Dezhen, Director of Business Development of Acer's Spatial Computing Products Division
SpatialLabs, from design creation to comprehensive layout, development and future
"Microcomputer": We want to know whether the cost of applying SpatialLabs naked-eye 3D technology to laptops is high? Is it possible to use it on mainstream price products in the future?
Gao Shuguo: First of all, Acer created a dream, hoping for free interaction between people and computer equipment without technological restrictions. We hope that all technologies can be used by people. But new technology must have its cost. Because it is difficult to make and the supply is scarce, the cost is still relatively high. In addition to the special screens required for naked-eye 3D, the computing performance requirements are different depending on the rendering scene. This places high demands on the GPU and CPU, and directly results in the overall cost not being too low. However, in the foreseeable future, especially the screen part, the cost may decrease as the volume increases.
The second is that the application of SpatialLabs naked-eye 3D technology on notebook computers is still in its early stages, and we are still unable to make it reach a very competitive price. Our idea is to familiarize everyone with what this technology can bring us, and then attract more consumers and suppliers. Only when manufacturers, raw material suppliers and consumers work together to expand the market, will costs be reduced, and only then will it be possible to produce cost-effective and attractive products. This is the direction of our current efforts.
Xu Dezhen: In fact, the naked-eye 3D products we provide now are of high standards. The screen is transforming from 4K video to 3D, and many current 3A game masterpieces have very high demands on CPU and GPU.So the goal at this stage is to make the experience the best and make everyone think that SpatialLabs is a good technology.
is looking forward to the maturity of the naked-eye 3D world, and is deeply committed to self-research and united efforts.
"Microcomputer": As a naked-eye 3D technology that is rarely seen on the market, how does Acer see the status of the 3D creation industry in the next few years? What goals or plans does Acer have for the market in the next few years?
Xu Dezhen: We believe that the applications of naked-eye 3D, including future development, can be roughly divided into two categories. The first is to assist in design development and commercial presentation to make the experience more realistic. For example, the cooperation between Acer and Geely Automobile will allow you to see the car you want in naked-eye 3D in the future. You can feel it before placing an order. In the future, there may be more cooperation opportunities with the entire industry chain. And SpatialLabs is not just about 3D vision, but also about touch. For example, you can use your hands to interact with the screen in interesting ways. You can experience this technology at the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Therefore, we will continue to strengthen cooperation with the industry and slowly introduce some very interesting technologies.
For consumers, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the gaming field. The experience SpatialLabs has in the game is so good, just like the creator and producer of "Forza Horizon 5", he was very happy after seeing it. Because the game world they built can finally be seen by players. Every game company spends a lot of effort to create the game world. Every object and character is 3D modeled with a lot of effort, and can be truly displayed to game players in naked-eye 3D, which will make them So excited. Of course, this is just the beginning of what we are doing at this stage. In the next 2 to 3 years, we will continue to advance these two main application directions.
"Microcomputer": Which parts of SpatialLabs naked-eye 3D technology were independently developed by Acer? What is the vision for the future?
Gao Shuguo: should be said that we jointly developed it with a group of cooperative manufacturers. But Acer has mastered the most critical technologies and needs, and we develop most of the software ourselves. In fact, we have accumulated 37 patents on SpatialLabs, and these things were all developed by Acer itself.
Xu Dezhen: We hope to find an entry point on the most advanced technology that can bring real value to users. 3D has been around for more than ten years, why launch SpatialLabs now? Because today's displays have higher resolutions, coupled with AI technology for eye tracking and real-time rendering technology, the combination allows us to get a more perfect naked-eye 3D experience. We feel it's valuable to launch this technology at this point in time, so we are launching it at this time. In the future, we hope to see these technologies continue to shine and ultimately bring higher value and better experience to users.
Challenges and Opportunities, Doing Special Things and Accomplishing Unspecial Things
"Microcomputer": SpatialLabs naked-eye 3D technology enters the gaming field. What work and efforts has Acer done? What advantages does this technology have in the game industry?
Xu Dezhen: Last year we let everyone try out the naked-eye 3D demo of "Rise of the Tomb Raider". This year we officially released the TrueGame game platform. There are essential differences between the two. "Rise of the Tomb Raider" natively supports 3D stereoscopic display, and we showed it on a naked-eye 3D screen last year. We are now ready to launch more than 50 games that support naked-eye 3D, and these games themselves do not support 3D stereoscopic imaging display, so we use the existing depth of field and 3D data in the game, take it out and repackage it. Able to present a three-dimensional effect. This is indeed a complex model, and the data of each game is different, and the designed depth of field of each game is also different. For each game, we have to create a unique model for re-rendering naked-eye 3D imaging. , the workload is also huge.
Of course, there are many kinds of stereoscopic 3D imaging technologies. If you wear glasses, the comfort will be very poor. With SpatialLabs' eye tracking technology, glasses are no longer required for the 3D stereoscopic imaging experience. In addition, SpatialLabs itself has made many different settings for image recognition, such as the protrusion or indentation of images, which can allow for more diversified creations and settings. Of course, the best thing is that you don’t need to wear 3D glasses, which is a big improvement.
Speaking of the development process, in fact, game manufacturers basically do not need to do anything. After Acer obtains the game data, it can convert it into the format required for naked-eye 3D display. To give a simple example, to render a frame of naked-eye 3D picture, the frame needs to be converted into left eye and right eye. This action is completely done by Acer itself. When we divide each game into left and right eyes, the two images we render for the left and right eyes will have different characteristics. Every game that supports SpatialLabs naked-eye 3D has to be re-rendered and output, so the current 50 games that support SpatialLabs naked-eye 3D technology are all made by us. You can understand that Acer has made a separate "rendering plug-in" for games that support SpatialLabs naked-eye 3D technology, and when players use it, they only need to call this plug-in to achieve true 3D stereoscopic display of the game.
"Microcomputer": In the development process of SpatialLabs naked-eye 3D technology implementation and application, what do Acer think are the most difficult aspects? How did Acer overcome these difficulties?
Gao Shuguo: It is not easy for to make a product that can be sold on the market. If it was just a concept phone for everyone to see, Acer would have made it three years ago. But for products that are put on the market, the product itself must meet sales standards. Applying a new technology to the consumer level requires an astonishing amount of work, because this is not an ordinary PC. And now Acer is basically the pioneer alone. The entire industry has not really developed yet and is still groping forward.
The second difficulty is that just having a screen is useless. You need a finished product that can be seen and felt intuitively. So we have two development directions: First, we hope that more hardware can be equipped with this function, including larger screens or smaller screens, which require more hardware support. The second is that we hope that more content can be displayed on different screens and that the content can be well seen by everyone. So what we are doing now is a non-special thing, but if we want to do this non-special thing, we have to do something special. This is what we have to do next.
Xu Dezhen: is the first in the industry. Of course, there are many difficulties. Whether it is innovation on the screen or various aspects of technology, there are many points to break through. From VR to naked-eye 3D, Acer has learned a lot in the process, including exploring how to get the best experience. It has indeed done a lot of research.
is written at the end and
is written at the end. What kind of product is it going to be? What kind of responsibility should we resist? Through this online video interview, the heads of Acer's product and technical departments led by Mr. Gao Shuguo told us many things hidden behind the appearance. As Mr. Gao Shuguo said, "it takes ten years to sharpen a sword." Whether it is environmentally friendly products or SpatialLabs naked-eye 3D technology, they are still on the road to growth and maturity. After seven or eight years of technological accumulation, Acer now wants to What he does is slowly polish the sword into shape.
Let’s end this interview by borrowing a sentence we said in Acer’s 2022 global spring new product launch report: environmental protection is everywhere, 3D is everywhere, gaming life is everywhere, every kind of work, To create the ultimate effect in the form of life and entertainment, perhaps this is Acer's goal! It is hoped that in the future, the integration of technology and humanities will become more harmonious, barriers will be broken, and the future of the entire society and life will inevitably be more exciting.
