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Hanging Out in Hangzhou

FXG’s Nikk Mitchell takes you on a 360-degree tour of his quarantined community

I’ve featured my friend Nikk Mitchell, founder & CEO of Hangzhou-based VR startup FXG, a couple of times previously on this blog: once in regard to China’s first VR table read, and again pertaining to Nikk’s presentation at the 2018 IVRPA conference in Tokyo.

Now - under less happy but no less interesting circumstances - Nikk takes us on a quarantine-restricted VR tour of his Hangzhou home ground, after folks were finally permitted to exit their residences in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Taking FXG’s new 16K “Seize” 360 camera to the streets, Nikk documents the eerie impact that COVID-19 has had on one of China’s most prominent culture, tech and tourist spots - transformed from a bustling hub of activity into an eerie ghost town.

Related, I’ve been periodically touching base with my podcast pal Brendan Davis on our own respective COVID-19 challenges as China-based ex-pats on the “Fretful Laowai” editions of his recurring series IF I KNEW YOU BETTER:

Kevin Geiger's picture

Kevin is the author of AWN's Reality Bites blog, his musings on the art, technology and business of immersive media (AR, VR, MR) and AI. You can find Kevin's website at www.kevingeiger.com and he can be reached at holler@kevingeiger.com.