KDDI to Start Business Trials Aimed at Creating Virtual Character & xR Services For the Coming 5G Era

―Collaborating with partner firms to create experiences that transcend time and space―

• KDDI CORPORATION

April 26,2018

KDDI CORPORATION (Headquarters: Chiyoda, Tokyo, President: Makoto Takahashi) plans to begin conducting business trials with various partner companies beginning in May 2018 as we work toward developing new business operations using virtual characters and other xR technologies with the aim of creating new business models for the coming era of widespread 5G use.

In anticipation of the changes that will be brought on by the widespread use of 5G telecommunications, KDDI is working to create experiences that use xR technology to transcend space and time. Through business trials with various partner firms and applications of this technology, we aim to create worlds in which people and virtual characters can communicate interactively.

Up to now, KDDI has worked with Crypton Future Media inc. (Headquarters: Sapporo, Hokkaido, President: Hiroyuki Ito) on development of the Miku☆Sampo AR app. Moving forward, we will be able to add to the AR presentation developed through Miku☆Sampo to enable users to communicate more naturally with the character. This will be accomplished through virtual character development capabilities unique to AI, which enable the character to recognize and understand objects and sounds, etc., in the surrounding environment.

In addition, this project will include highly sophisticated proprietary real-time image recognition engine technology provided by Couger Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Atsushi Ishii). Couger will also cooperate with virtual character AI-related technology.

Beginning in May 2018, plans call for still more business trials using virtual characters in collaboration with the following partners.[1]

Partner	Trial overview
Crypton Future Media Inc.	A virtual singer AR app using Hatsune Miku A location AR business using Miku☆Sampo
Fields Group	A business trial aiming to bring interactivity primarily to the photo-real domain
Pasona Tech inc. Pasona Tech Systems Inc.	A trial business providing dispatch of virtual character personnel
Iida city, Nagano prefecture	Joint production of urban design for more enjoyable living An xR trial aimed at integrating traditional culture and advanced technology to produce "coexistence of VR characters and the city"

As KDDI works to integrate telecommunications with life design, we will fulfill our role as a company that provides excitement, creating new kinds of communication through xR applications to generate new experiential value.

• [1]

  Period of implementation and trial content to be announced.

• Company and product names used throughout are the registered copyrighted property of their respective owners.

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