Abstract:

Virtual spaces, such as 360-degree environments, can be used as effective channels for showcasing and marketing different types of products and services. There are several advantages related to virtual spaces compared to traditional marketing tools. First, virtual spaces can provide an interactive platform for meeting customers in a virtual life eliminating the need to travel to face-to-face sales and marketing meetings. Second, virtual spaces can act as an interface to cyber-physical systems by using digital twins, digital representations of real-world entities or systems. This enables us to describe and explain complicated concepts to customers and users smoother. Third, virtual spaces can engage a visitor to perform tasks virtually, for example, initiate interactions by using VR controllers. The research problem in this study is how to establish virtual showcasing environment for sports technology laboratory in Vuokatti, Finland. A case study method was used to capture details of designing and constructing the virtual environment. The business objective related to our virtual sports technology space is to attract more international sports teams and athletes to visit Vuokatti ski area. The virtual space consists of five subspaces: skiing lab, physiology lab, biomechanics and shooting lab, Vuokatti ski tunnel and ski equipment testing container.

Keywords:

Virtual space, cyber-physical system, 360-degree environment, sports technology.