Shifting Focus from VR to AR

Samsung Electronics is stepping up efforts to develop new augmented reality (AR) products.

Samsung Electronics is speeding up the development of new augmented reality (AR) products.

The company applied for a patent related to light penetration of a head mounted display (HMD) in September, according to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Oct. 18. Light does not pass through an HMD 100 percent so things may look darker than they actually are. The nub of the company’s new patent is to control supply power and light penetration through illumination and applications.

Samsung Electronics also applied for patents on HMD design at the end of 2019.

The AR/Virtual Reality (VR) sector is considered one of the promising growth areas in the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication era as the technology can be applied to a wide array of products and services.

In April, Samsung Electronics made additional investments in DigiLens, a Silicon Valley company specializing in AR and XR technologies. DigiLens is a leader among AR-based hologram display companies in the United States.

On the other hand, Samsung Electronics has virtually withdrawn from the VR business. In 2014, the company released the "Gear VR," a mobile-based VR headset, but completely suspended support for "Samsung XR," a VR content service, in late September.

Apple has recently acquired an AR startup and added AR functions to the new iPad Pro loaded with a LiDAR sensor, placing more importance on AR than VR.

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