CRI听力:Virtual Reality Technology Expected to Take Off in 2016

This year's Consumer Electronics Show will run from January 6 to 9 in the Sin City.

More than 3,600 exhibitors will unveil their latest consumer tech products and services. Over 40 companies will be presenting their latest innovation related to virtual reality, or VR. While the number may not seem impressive, it is a 77% increase from last year's show.

At his London office, Henry Stuart, the co-founder of VR filmmaker Visualise, explains his company's mission.

"We as a company specialise in VR video, 360-degree video. And we capture that by using 360-degree cameras that are essentially balls of cameras, different kinds of cameras for different jobs, and these all capture video at once, we then synchronise the cameras, stitch and blend all the content and produce a sphere which you can then put into virtual reality in a virtual reality headset and immerse yourself in it and look around."

Founded in 2012, Visualize has demonstrated the varied and far-reaching applications of VR by working with sports stars, carmakers, musicians, and tourism organizations.

In 2014, the company created a VR experience for rock music fans. They set up a number of 360-degree camera rigs and binaural audio microphones at a concert by British rock band, Kasabian. Stuart says it gave fans a unique viewing perspective.

"It's a VIP position you get. You're on stage, you're in front of the crowd, they're behind you, the band's right there, you have to look up at certain points to see the different band members as they're above you."

Stuart suggests VR concerts could provide a profitably opportunity for the struggling music industry.

Visaulise also teamed up with Samsung and Lamborghini to offer a VR test drive of the new Huracan car along the Amalfi coastline.

In tourism, Visualise has worked with London's tallest skyscraper The Shard's viewing platform. The team captured 36 hours of time-lapse footage at the building's 308-meter peak. The footage was made into a 2-minute VR video to give viewers the experience of hanging from top of the building.

According to research projections, 2016 will see the sales of 1.2 million units of VR headsets, a 500% increase from 2015. Total revenues are projected to reach 540 million dollars, a 440 percent yearly increase.