Samsung Electronics to Build ‘VR Studio’ to Make Winter Olympics More Enjoyable

Samsung Electronics will build “Virtual Reality (VR) Studio” in major regions such as Gangneung, Pyeongchang and Seoul to allow people to enjoy and experience the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province in a more realistic way. The Korean IT giant has begun a full-scale discussion with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Broadcasting Service (OBS), the main broadcasting company.

"We intend to actively use VR in conjunction with the Olympics," said Cha Young-tae, a manager of the Wireless Business Division at Samsung Electronics in a Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 meeting presided over by second vice minister of science, ICT and future planning Choi Jae-yoo at the Gwacheon Government Office.

"We just started a negotiation with the IOC," Cha said. "We have not made a concrete plan yet, but it will be a studio-type PR center where tourists and citizens can have a wide array of fun through VR."

"The MWC event had been an event centered on mobile devices and mobile communication, and this year's exhibition has evolved into an event that covers entire ICT ecosystems," vice minister Choi said. “In particular, I believe that 5G mobile communication will not only raise the speed of telecommunications but be a huge platform to lead the intelligent information society and the fifth industrial revolution as 5G mobile communication has been commercialized." SK Telecom, KT and other domestic mobile operators announced that they will commercialize the world's fastest 5G service in 2019, so he discovered a possibility of Korea’s taking the lead in the next industrial revolution, Choi explained.

However, apart from the commercialization of 5G, some people voiced that convergence services such as VR, artificial intelligence (AI), and connected cars still have a long way to go to actually change people’s lives. "Future services that are based on this kind of connection will take a long time," said Jeon Yang-jeong, director of the Information and Communications Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. "It will become possible soon to commercialize a level where people experience a 5G speed with current smartphones. But it will take long time to realize future convergence services based on 5G such as connected cars. Although many services and business models are presented, but a few of them can be commercialized and change people’s lives and generate profits."