by Peter High, published on Forbes
3-14-2016
I am in Hannover, Germany at the CeBIT conference, the largest technology conference in the world. Among the most impressive things I have seen is the result of a joint venture between Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), German-based scanning and 3D printing company, DOOB, Hong Kong-based Quantum Matrix’s Quantum Human product, and South Korea-based digital clothing developer, Physan. These companies have worked together to develop a sophisticated avatar-based experience. I test drove it myself, stepping into a room the size of a closet and holding a pose for a few second while 64 cameras simultaneously took my picture. Within a few minutes, a lifelike avatar of mine was dancing in a field with the avatars of other conference goers. My avatar was also used in two different video games that I controlled, as well as a workout scenario. These represent a few different real world applications that HPE foresees for this technology. (Had I realized my avatar would be doing so much working out, I might have skipped the tie.)
HPE sees the biggest market opportunity in the near-term in global online clothing and footwear retail, a category that it reckons will yield $300 billion by 2018. Today, 30 percent of all clothing that is purchased online is returned, driving up costs to retailers. Most of the returns are due to issues of size and color. If the return rate can be reduced to 10 percent, that equates to a savings of $36 billion. Contrast that to the in-store experience, where 80 percent of garments are tried on in the storeand where most people like to shop with friends and family members. HPE is rethinking customer experience by bringing the in-store experience to the online world. Here is how it works:
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