KuCoin AMA Series - Sensorium - Full Transcript
(UTC+8) 19:00 April 29, 2020, KuCoin hosted an AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) session with Sensorium in the KuCoin Official AMA Group.
Guest: Mr.Alex Blagirev, Chief Digital & Investor Relations Officer
The AMA session was composed of 2 sections: 1. Q&A from KuCoin 2. Q&A from audiences. During the last section, we randomly selected 400 participants to enjoy a share of SENSO incentives equivalent to 2000 USD.
Introduction to SENSO:
Sensorium Galaxy is the world’s first global Social VR media platform that unites entertainment media, educational and experiential content – all in a single community space.
The guiding principle behind Sensorium Galaxy is the disruption of digital isolation of modern social networks and content platforms. Social VR is the synthesis of the most advanced computing technologies: natural interactivity, breathtaking graphics, and worldwide connectivity.
With Social VR at its core, Sensorium Galaxy is set to remove the constraints of social networks and allow people from all over the world to take part in shared immersive experiences in the multitude of virtual planets.
The virtual planets of Sensorium are being created in collaboration with acclaimed artists, visionaries, and major entertainment partners. The unprecedented diversity of collaborators, representing different industries and themes, make Sensorium Galaxy the one-stop destination for multi-user immersion into entertainment experiences, learning, and self-discovery through its experiential worlds. It is an evolution of our digital lives.
Official Website: https://sensoriumxr.com
Whitepaper: Click to view
Q&A from KuCoin
1. Please introduce yourself.
I am a former director of innovations at Otkritie Financial Corporation, which was priorly been the largest private-owned bank in Russia.
Received award as the most innovative bank in Central and Eastern Europe according to the Global Finance Magazine, 2017.
I managed the development of R3 in the CIS region, including the initial launch of R3 presence and later launch on several projects on Corda.
I collaborated and formed with partners the FinTech Association (over 20 major banks participants, including Central Bank as a co-founder) and designed the Masterchain – the first financial infrastructure for banking operations on blockchain in Russia, including the first banking transaction for digital identity on the blockchain between 5 Russian banks.
I had several roles on the edge of Innovations, Data and finance functions for other large financial institutions such as Alfa-Bank, Rosbank Societe Generale Group, VneshEconomBank (VEB) promoting the new age of accounting and user journey for investment transactions, corporate deals, and retail products.
I became one of the earliest Chief Data Officers in Russia and wrote the first Russian business book about BigData (hits Top#1 in analytics bookstore, bestseller for 12 weeks). Ambassador of GBBC (Global Blockchain Business Council).
Today I am Chief Digital & Investor Relations Officer at the Sensorium Corporation.
2. What is Sensorium Galaxy?
Sensorium Galaxy is a global Social VR media platform. We believe our product brings a new level of entertainment and forms the social environment of the future. Sensorium Galaxy is a triad of star systems, each representing a different dimension of human interest. The planets that orbit the stars act as relevant thematic hubs. The system we are currently focused on is Entertainment. Its planets include music, dancing, movies, gaming, and other themes. On the Music Planet, for instance, you can participate in a music festival with celebrities, go to a live performance by a world-famous DJ, witness a modern dance production, or relive the excitement of being at a classic rock show.
We showed off our project for the first time at the well-known gaming exhibition E3 in 2019.The visitors enjoyed our project:
https://vimeo.com/385496507
Here is a visual schematic introduction of the Sensorium Galaxy structure: https://vimeo.com/403248795
There are a few concepts of virtual spaces of Music Planet:
3. How did you come up with the idea of Sensorium Galaxy?
Simply put, Sensorium Galaxy was envisioned as a fairer alternative to our real world. We’ve set ourselves an ambitious goal of creating a virtual reality, where we could attempt to reimagine what it means to be human by removing our physical boundaries and conceptualize a new humanistic paradigm of existence – one based on principles of justice, equality and opportunities for all, together with total and ultimate refusal of violence. We hope to see Sensorium Galaxy become the next step in the evolution of communication and social interaction.
4. How do you use blockchain technology in your product? What is the function of SENSO?
We see the potential of blockchain technology to keep track of ownership over content that users will be able to create, sell or exchange in our world as part of a larger Creator Pass program that we plan to introduce for end-customers. Another side of it is our offering to businesses that are interested in having custom virtual locations, brand, and content integration. We aim to provide a certain level of autonomy for users and partners of Sensorium Galaxy, and blockchain is the proven foundation for such goals.
5. What’s the usage of the token on the platform today?
Token is a full-fledged in-game currency which can be used to purchase avatars, outfits and other in-game stuff from the shop available on our website: https://sensoriumgalaxy.com/shop
6. What is the difference between Sensorium Galaxy and other Social VR products?
Unlike other Social VR projects that have overly simplified graphics, Sensorium Galaxy is not built as an abstract virtual space. It is being developed using the latest advancement in computer graphics and real-time physics as an exceptionally interactive high-definition world. Sensorium Galaxy is built for the computers of tomorrow, while enabling access for mass audiences through 2D streaming of its events in variety of formats, including panoramic 360°. So anyone with a smartphone, smart tv or budget computer can become a spectator and even engage with the world and its avatars through chat and special interactive mechanics.
The Galaxy is also inhabited by computer-controlled characters. Their behaviors are driven by genetic algorithms, so they evolve and acquire skills and interests not unlike their real life counterparts. Each artificial character is an individual, with a set of traits, and personal relationships with real users. Content and platform developers don’t control the evolution of the characters and do not define their characteristics, they occur naturally over a period of time. They socially engage with users: talking to them, going to events together, introducing people to each other, matching interests and so on. And these characters will inhabit each planet further reflecting the different planetary themes.
7. What are your plans for the development of the project?
The Galaxy is rapidly expanding in many different directions. We are bringing up partners from all the different fields – leading names in entertainment, art, education, lifestyle, and wellbeing to conceptualize and create content for our planets and our whole virtual star systems. Even though our current production prioritizes entertainment as core experience of Sensorium – that is only our first step in the global roll-out of the Sensorium Galaxy.
We plan to diversify development through accelerators, co-development opportunities, and integration of third-party projects into Sensorium Galaxy by providing SDK to other Unreal Engine 4 VR developers.
8. What problems are solved by the Sensorium Galaxy project?
We see Sensorium Galaxy as the cure for digital solitude.
We are creating a universal space for safe and immersive communication, and instead of limiting user activities to strictly talking (like in video chats) or gaming (like in multiplayer games), we are opening a versatile virtual world to them. Users can travel from one experience to another: meet a friend and go to a concert by your famous musician on Music Planet, after the show you meet other like-minded people and one of them suggests to see a new exhibition on Art Planet. The activities are shared. No one should feel like they are missing out on something like our current-day social networks imply. Life with all its challenges doesn’t allow us to take part in so many activities within a day, and even when we do, we rarely get a chance to bring everyone we wanted with us. Sensorium Galaxy, while it’s not the substitute for the real-life activities, it can very well be the next best thing – condensing the various experiences and removing the distance between people.
9. The platform launch is planned for February 2021. What will be available for users at that point?
Public launch of Sensorium Galaxy begins with Motion Planet, the first of the virtual worlds being created in collaboration with some of the leading figures of the international choreography scene.
It would shortly be followed by Prism, a Music Planet location, envisioned as the most intricate and transformative concert stage ever to be built in real-time 3D. The list of its residents and guest performers already includes some of the top names in electronic music.
VR users would be able to pick their avatars, customize them, and explore the activities on those two planets, as well as on Sensorium Starship – starting lobby location that includes personal cabins and community spaces.
Those who don’t have access to VR hardware would be able to partake in concert and dance events by means of 2D streaming on a variety of hardware platforms, including smartphones and Smart TVs.
10. What is the audience of your platform?
First of all, the project will be interesting for VR users. But we want to engage a wider audience so Sensorium Galaxy will be available on 2D devices as well. To be more specific, Music planet, for example, will become a point of attraction for music fans of different genres. In the future every platform user will be able to find a thematic hub to hang out in.
We can engage now through our partners an audience of ....over 500 mln people !!
11. What bright partnerships do you already have?
We have a strategic partnership with Epic Games, experts in the game industry. Our music partners are well-known electronic music brands such as Hi Ibiza, Elrow, Appenkoi, ID&T etc. Lately we announced the partnership with Yann Pissenem, the creator of renowned Hi Ibiza and Ushuaia Ibiza nightclubs. The acclaimed IconicEngine is supporting us in developing features allowing streaming from virtual environments.
Last week we announced the partnership with the world-renowned ballet dancer Sergei Polunin. For the Motion Planet, Sergei Polunin’s photorealistic avatar has been created and his dance performances digitized for integration into the planet’s 3D virtual reality space. We revealed a video about that: https://vimeo.com/411094876
We are actively growing our partnerships that will support us in making our project greater.
Free Ask
Q: Sir alex, you are a legend. You handle many large banks, received an award, and you are also the author of a book, wow incredible.
Today, VR technology was developed in the field of games, lifestyle, social and others. SENSO has its own virtual planet, with that virtual planet, what is your target for the public to VR technology? What are its advantages compared to VR in general? Thank you
A: Here you go. First question. I liked this one :))) now will ask my team to call me always Sir Alex. I think we need to make a nice FAQ afterwards. So back to this questions - our target is quite simple - TO LET THIS HAPPEN . Advantages of Social VR is that you can share your emotions and knowledge with others. It means you can be Explorer and Creator and use virtual environment to help to build unique experience for different people all over the world.
Q: Why should people invest in SENSO?
A: I picked up a second question. Dude :) I like your name. So why should you buy SENSO - the Sensorium offers a special things for those who keep tokens, so called Creator's Pass - you can create content and use token to pay for this services to VR studios all over the world. We have access to more than 1500 studios. Thanks to our partners. SENSO holds utility functions so we can use it to pay for transaction of content developing. The more users and partners will be the more circulation will be, then more your own conclusion :)
Q：Why did Sensorium choose to list on Kucoin? What are the benefits of working with Kucoin? Does the team plan to list tokens on other exchanges?
A：So here goes the 3rd question. :) Steven I must be honest, and must to reveal of why we chose Kucoin. Its all because Johnny and Mike from Kucoin team made a great-ever dinner for us .. no seriously. That dinner was a best dinner in my life :) Now - honest answer again - Kucoin is great exchange, great team, high trust score, huge community, even software they developed by themself, comparing to others - that why it was an arm of first choice. And ofcorse because of dinner :) SENSO already featured with other markets and we will announce soon the new featuring. Till the end of the year we will get SENSO featured on 5 big cryptomarkets.
Q：Most use cases of Sensorium is currently affected negatively by the lockdown. How will you manage to survive and get users, even let's say this COVID-19 extends for a year?
A：Do you folks remember movie Forrest Gump? So once a day mr.Gump with his friend went to catch shrimps. There were no shrimps until storm appeared and crushed all boats around, but then they continued and they got a lot of shrimps. So we are, we started project year ago, before isolation was in place. and now we believe that Sensorium can disrupt social isolation and be a bridge for people all over the world. Sounds like a magic, but why It can't be true.
Q: Sensorium's ambitions are huge. Sensorium want to participate in many fields of the future. Is there any technology or solid basis for you to fulfill Sensorium's mission in so many fields?
A：Good point! We have a strategic partnership with RedPill VR. US-based company, they are developing platform SDK for us based on Unreal Engine 4.0 and that's why Epic Games is our partner of Unreal Engine developments.