New tech to bring benefits, pioneer says

Lu Fan, founder and chairman of Senscape, a company that focuses on reality-augmenting technology.  [Photo provided to China Daily]

These days it takes only a pair of smart glasses to transport someone to a world where reality and fantasy merge. Technically, the process of augmenting reality is achieved with software's help.

And it's not just for entertainment. Its potential is seemingly larger.

"This is only the start. It can be used in a lot of areas like tourism and education," says Lu Fan, founder and chairman of Senscape, a company that focuses on such technologies.

Lu's company was established in 2010, making him a pioneer in China in this field.

Senscape is now collaborating with Shangri La, in Southwest China's Yunnan province, to develop a technology that can help tourists get information on scenic spots in the county by using their smartphones.

Lu, who's in his early 50s, demonstrates through a video how users can scan a physical location with their cameras to know more about that place－from its history to what it offers and visitors' comments.

The technology can also be applied to "train" surveillance cameras to recognize human faces with specially designed algorithms, Lu says.

It can also be applied to drones and cars, helping them to detect and stay away from obstacles, he says.

Lu was picked to be part of the Thousand Talent Program, which China initiated in 2008. The program aims to bring in overseas experts to boost China's high-tech industries.