GFDS: “XR technologies Will Play an Important Role in the Fields of Training and Simulation in the Near Future”
Defence Turkey: Can you briefly introduce Global Future Designs & Solutions Inc. (GFDS), one of the Turkish startups offering solutions in Augmented, Virtual and Extended Reality technologies and working in the Metaverse field?
Our company was established in 2013 with the aim of being one of the main global actors in XR technologies and developing the three-dimensional solutions of the future. In the first year of our establishment, we took part in the US Silicon Channel as a success story with our strong HPC (High Performance Computing) structure. Our company, which has fulfilled more than 200 XR projects up until now, has become an Independent Software Developer (ISV) on Facebook's VR platform and NVIDIA's Omniverse project developer. We were a team of 5 in 2013, in the first year of our establishment. During this time, our team has grown to 45 people. We are growing gradually with our passionate team and ambitious goals. Continuous learning and improvement, innovation and dynamism are embedded in our DNA.
Defence Turkey: Established in Ankara in 2013, which projects has GFDS accomplished in Augmented, Virtual and Extended Reality so far? What can you tell us about your company’s technological infrastructure and know-how, as well as the businesses and institutions that you deliver services to in the defense industry?
We have 117 Extended Reality (XR) projects which we have completed and have been constantly updating since day one. 75 of these projects were realized using virtual reality and 42 with augmented reality technologies. Currently, we are working on 2 metaverse projects. Looking at the projects by sector, we have developed projects primarily for the defense sector and for the industry, education, health, retail, and entertainment sectors. As it is known, military technologies have always provided stimulus to technological developments throughout history. Accordingly, the projects we have developed upon requests from the defense industry institutions we work with are the pillar in our company’s development. We knew that we needed to have a solid technological infrastructure and knowhow to undertake and fulfill such complex projects. Therefore, we reinforced the technical infrastructure at the outset, and after proving that we had the necessary competence, we developed solutions for the requirements of the defense industry and realized projects with the leading companies of the sector. In this process, we enhanced our knowhow and capabilities and companies in other industries, witnessing the gains of defense companies, preferred to work with us.
In 9 years, we have provided high-tech solutions such as augmented reality, virtual reality, training simulations and mobile applications to the leading defense industry companies such as TUSAŞ, Havelsan, Aselsan, STM, Roketsan, Otokar, Nurol Makina, FNSS, Vestel, as well as a wide range of industrial companies such as KordSA, Asaş Packaging, IBA Chemical, Vestel White Goods, Gemak and Çolakoğlu, reaching the large masses with their brands. Today, we are NVIDIA's Omniverse Holodeck project developer and Facebook's -new corporate name Meta- ISV partner.
Defence Turkey: Can we start our conversation with a quick introduction to the metaverse? What is the metaverse, what is its history, what does it promise to the user and how will it work?
No official definition yet exists for the metaverse, it is only based on the meaning of the term; it has no clear definition, nor does it have an owner. Generally speaking, we can think of the metaverse as technology that combines the features of augmented reality, virtual reality, online gaming, NFT, blockchain and cryptocurrencies under a single roof. It is already known that the concept was first used in Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash, published in 1992. But developments in this area, although not so popular, have already existed for about 10 years. Even if the metaverse came to the fore with Facebook's "Meta" move, several giants like Epic Games, Microsoft, Roblox and some other companies had already started their initiatives in the metaverse area. It is possible to say that the metaverse is a concept allowing users to easily perform their daily activities and interact in a virtual environment. We can see the most obvious examples of what it promises to users in the sci-fi movie Ready Player One. If we talk about how it will work, the most important factor at this point will be the network infrastructure of the countries and our country as well. Another critical point is the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) glasses that are the key to the metaverse. I think glasses technology needs to become more minimal to further improve usability.
Defence Turkey: The concept of the Digital Twin is a key concept which emerged as a result of technology applications developed by NASA and it entered our lives for the first time with a book published in 2002. It is also considered an outcome of Industry 4.0 and Internet of Things (IoT) technology. In the metaverse, the user can create a customed Avatar, which is a kind of digital twin of themselves, and “live” in this virtual world. What hardware and technology does a user need to step into the metaverse?
First, it is necessary noting that a digital twin is the transfer of a physical entity in the real world to the virtual world with all its related data. Another universe where the digital twin is the subject of today is the Omniverse environment, announced by NVIDIA, where real-time physical simulations are built, which we will start to hear about more soon. In the metaverse, a user can appear with an avatar fully representing himself in the physical world, but that doesn't mean it’s his digital twin. Currently, there is no new universe created as the metaverse; certain studies are available in certain areas. In other words, there is no structure where we can perform all our activities, as we do in the world that we currently live in. But it is certain that a universe will emerge when all such studies are combined. As I mentioned previously, a user currently needs a solid network infrastructure and virtual reality glasses to have a metaverse-like experience.
Defence Turkey: What is the maturity level of technologies used in the Metaverse such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Extended Reality (XR), and under which these three are covered and taken a step ahead? What is the level of our country in terms of these technologies?
Extended Reality (XR) technologies, putting aside the recent acceleration initiatives, are in the very early stage but have high potential. There are attractive projects developed with virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality technologies, which are subsets of XR technologies. The widespread use of these three technologies, their impact on the market and their market share are increasing every year. While the global market share of augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality was US$ 30.7 billion in 2021, it is expected to gradually increase to US$ 58.7 billion in 2022 and to US$ 296 billion in the next two years. Our country has the workforce and businesses that can compete with those abroad regarding these technology fields, but one of the most challenging issues here is the cost of transferring the technologies we need to make what we do better. Another critical point that we need to mention in this regard is that we hope the domestic companies wishing to use these technologies in their digital transformation can prefer domestic companies working in these technology fields. We develop and produce better work than many businesses abroad, please believe and trust us.
Defence Turkey: What is the importance of a high-speed 5G communication infrastructure (expected to provide a data transfer speed of approximately 10 gigabits per second) for the metaverse? What kind of advantages will the domestic achievement of this technology with ULAK 5G offer users?
With the domestic and national 5G project, the products needed will become commercialized and contribute to the establishment of a critical ecosystem for Turkey. It will also make significant contributions to the country’s economy with the import substitution effect and export revenues. If we look at the metaverse, I think that the 5G infrastructure will be sufficient until it becomes as widespread as the use of smartphones. However, if smart glasses would be extensively used and replace smart phones and computers, I think the proper solution would be 6G, which would provide a data transfer speed up to 95 Gb per second. 6G technology would be the best fit for the metaverse.
Defence Turkey: The first metaverse experience in Turkey at 5G speed took place at an event attended by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil KARAİSMAİLOĞLU, President of Defense Industries Prof. İsmail DEMİR, President of Digital Transformation Office Dr. Ali Taha KOÇ and Information Technologies Authority Chairman Ömer Abdullah KARAGÖZOĞLU, which was held in cooperation with ULAK Communications and GFDS. What do you want to tell us about this trial?
We fulfilled this trial with the NVIDIA Holodeck application, and we clearly saw the importance of infrastructure with our colleagues during the trial. It was conducted by one of our team members at ULAK Communications, President of Digital Transformation Office Dr. Ali Taha KOÇ and a colleague at our GFDS office. We had conducted some tests previously, and we easily achieved a speed much higher than we did with 4.5G earlier. We’d like to thank ULAK Communications again for collaborating with us for the related trial. In addition, I’d like to inform you that our collaboration with ULAK Communications will continue in the forthcoming period.
Defence Turkey: What can you tell us about the projects you have developed regarding the digital factory, in other words creating the digital twin of an existing facility? Can you inform us about the process of creating a digital twin of a facility and the benefits offered by the digital factory to the customer?
Digital twin technology is one of the rapidly developing concepts of Industry 4.0. Simply, a digital twin is a virtual representation of a real-world object or system run in a simulation environment to test its performance and effectiveness. According to Gartner, 13% of organizations implementing IoT projects currently use digital twins, while 62% are in the process of establishing or planning to use a digital twin. According to the latest report from Markets and Markets, the digital twin market is forecasted to grow from $3.8 billion in 2019 to $35.8 billion by 2025. If we talk about the benefits offered by the digital twin, with the help of a digital twin, companies can test and validate a product before it even exists in the real world. The digital twin creates a replica of the planned manufacturing process, allowing engineers to identify any process failures before the product goes into production. It is often very challenging or even impossible to get a real-time, in-depth view of a large physical system. However, a digital twin can be accessed anywhere, allowing users to remotely monitor and control system performance. The process of creating a digital twin of a facility varies depending on the product detail that the facility is manufacturing, and the internal manufacturing stages related to it. This process, which was complicated in the past, now provides much faster and more effective solutions in the Omniverse. Most recently, BMW implemented its digital twin with NVIDIA’s Omniverse platform across its 34 factories. We have also developed two different digital twin projects with augmented reality technology. In the upcoming period, we aim to create a digital twin of the real world we live in in the metaverse.
Defence Turkey: GFDS was selected as the "Oculus ISV Partner" by Facebook, which changed its corporate name to "Meta" last year and announced that it would make new investments in the metaverse. Can you evaluate the key competencies behind this selection, the importance of being selected as an “Oculus ISV Partner” and the opportunities it offers to the company? Can you also briefly discuss the projects you are working on in this regard?
Software solution providers that design, develop and deploy commercial VR solutions can participate in this program. A limited number of enterprise solution providers who have implemented at least one Global Fortune 2000 customer pilot or deployment and can provide VR training, simulations, data visualization, or remote collaboration can participate in this program. At this point, our key competency is that we have completed 117 XR projects and 2 metaverse projects, as I mentioned earlier. Our team, consisting of team members with expertise in software and design, is one of the main motives why we were selected for this partnership. The Oculus ISV Program is no longer accepting applications, and this indicates how important it is to be selected here. Thanks to the program, we can easily access resources designed to help accelerate customer adoption of our VR solutions, use the tools we need to scale our VR practice, communicate with the Oculus technical expert, learn more about the Oculus product and provide on-going feedback to Oculus. With the last benefit provided, you can become one of the Oculus developer companies. We are working on a project related to our own metaverse that we want to announce soon. Our main objective is to provide services that will make a difference with the metaverses we will create and to be one of the key actors not only in Turkey but also in the global market.
Defence Turkey: Developing projects in the field of metaverse, what kind of services and technologies does GFDS offer its customers today regarding the metaverse?
As GFDS, we are in fact a part of the metaverse technology with close to 10 years of experience. Virtual reality, augmented reality, and extended reality technologies that we have developed and worked on for 10 years are gathered under the roof of the metaverse today. During this process, we are in close cooperation with many companies that we currently work with and have worked with also in the metaverse. Soon, you will hear good news about the gathering of stakeholders from different sectors.
Defence Turkey: Can you evaluate the benefits and capabilities that Augmented, Virtual and Extended Reality technologies offer the user in the military field?
It is considered that XR technologies will play an important role in the military field, especially in training and simulation systems, as well as in combat operations and decision support systems. The most technologically advanced countries have started to use such technologies. For example, the former U.S. Army Chief of Staff told congressmen in May 2019 that “This is a cutting-edge technology” for XR technologies and mentioned that it would change the way soldiers train and work. Currently, XR technology is used by the U.S. army for training, situational awareness, logistical support, combat readiness, and even medical training and procedures. The U.S. army agreed with Microsoft to order 120,000 HoloLens devices as part of an initial phase. In 2021, the Pentagon asked for bids from Amazon, Google, and Microsoft for Cloud technology. The conclusion we can draw from such initiatives is that the U.S. has taken this technology very seriously.
Defence Turkey: Thanks to the special clothes and equipment used across the field of virtual reality technology, the user can experience the feeling of touch and sensation - hot and cold, rough, and smooth. In this context, what could be the potential practices of XR technologies both for the Turkish Defense Industry and the Turkish Armed Forces? How are these technologies utilized in major defense and aerospace projects such as MMU/TF-X, HURJET, ATAK-II, ALTAY AMT, TF-2000 and MILDEN, and how can they be utilized in the future?
XR technologies will play an important role in the fields of training and simulation in the near future. Accordingly, various companies are conducting sophisticated work on wearable technologies that will be compatible with XR glasses. Though the related work is not mature enough yet, I think some of the products that I have examined during technology fairs such as CES will become mature to be used in this type of training soon, and with the expected sensitivity pressure sensors, I think that the person who receives the training will create serious awareness in transforming muscle memory and training into behavior.
Defence Turkey: At the Simulator Training Centers, which have high-level architecture (HLA) and the ability to communicate over the Turkish Armed Forces Computer Network (TAF-Net), more than twenty pilots located at various locations can simultaneously perform the same task in a virtual environment. Will the military staff in different units throughout Turkey or TAF personnel and a military unit abroad also be able to perform virtual training/exercises simultaneously with the metaverse and XR technologies? In this type of application, will the determinant in the number of participants be the number of special clothes/equipment (like VR glasses) like a Tesla Suit on the personnel or the communication infrastructure?
The metaverse is a platform where more than one person can meet in real time in the same digital universe and perform joint activities, even if they are at different locations. Therefore, soldiers from different cities and countries can remotely connect to the 3D simulation centers to be designed in the metaverse and receive joint training with their avatars. At this point, as wearable technologies develop, this type of training will become even more lifelike. However, it is obvious that the communication infrastructure is one of the most important issues at this stage.
Defence Turkey: How will information security be achieved in defense industry and military applications in the metaverse? For example, can a secure zone be created in the metaverse particularly for military users? Can a crypto be developed domestically for this universe?
To begin with the last question, integration of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology already existing in the metaverse with the domestic and national cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure will be provided. As Turkish companies, we are competent to produce this technology. Today, we face a problem that is also experienced around the word, which is unfortunately the lack of professionals working in this field. I believe the related infrastructure training should be provided for the systems of the future to be able to train people who will work in this field. In addition, I think starting off, the metaverse could be utilized in training in the defense industry. When a metaverse suitable for the defense industry is created, security will certainly be the quite critical issue. There are two layers here to be taken into consideration. One is the adaptation of all cyber security systems applied in servers and internet systems to the servers used for this virtual world for data protection. The other is to take relevant precautions for visual security problems that may occur. As this is a cloud-based system, it may be necessary to take measures in this regard. For example, it will be necessary to take certain precautions to prevent access to areas in the metaverse, such as a cyber-spy by creating a character with a visual avatar in this layer. Additionally, I think 6G technology should be used in the defense industry metaverse. I believe when all these conditions are covered, metaverse technology will be suitable for use in the defense industry. We continue our efforts in the field of metaverse for the defense industry with our team.
Defence Turkey: Can you evaluate GFDS’s competitive power in the domestic and global markets today?
We started to develop XR technologies simultaneously with the world since our establishment in 2013. We have developed numerous virtual reality projects and 3D solutions for several industries. Today, we know the platforms of all virtual reality glasses and tablets perfectly well and have considerable know-how in providing realistic images and stable solutions. This gives us an advantage to compete with leading global companies. We believe we are now ready to demonstrate our sophisticated solutions to the world and we are making our plans for the near future accordingly.
Defence Turkey: Can you inform us about GFDS's export activities, targets, and potential export markets?
We plan to expand into the European and U.S. markets by the end of 2022. We are currently prepping for a new structure in the Netherlands with our spin-off game company formed with a foreign business partner. We plan to proceed in the global market with new structures where the design and production processes take place in Turkey and the marketing and sales network is located abroad.
Defence Turkey: To conclude, is there anything else you would like to add for our readers?
As the technology world is rapidly changing and evolving, I think we shouldn’t lag behind as a country, especially in the military sector. Turkey is one of the world’s most adaptable countries. If we use all the advantages of digital transformation together with the advantages offered by the military, industrial, digital and financial fields, we will progress rapidly and gain advantages. Otherwise, we would fall behind in this new era and wouldn’t be a part of the development and growth. A quite different world awaits us and our children in the future. We must take our place in shaping this world; we must be a part of it by developing and producing. We have treasured young people in our country that are more skilled than many developers in the world. With this understanding, let's just give them the opportunity they need to thrive
