Samsung's C-Lab To Showcase Augmented Reality And Virtual Reality Projects At MWC 2017 [Video]
BySamsung is deep in preparation to highlight four exhibitions for the coming Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 next week in Barcelona, Spain. Its Creative Lab or C-Lab department, reportedly, have innovative ways using Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).
Use of VR and AR, for the most part, is still centered on gaming and entertainment. Samsung's C-Lab aims to diversify its use further by going beyond gaming and entertainment and use the technology to have an impact and practical difference in people's lives.
C-Lab will debut its projects at 4 Years From Now, according to Digital Trends. The platform is an aid to connect with startups, investors and corporations to co-develop new ventures.
The quartet of projects Samsung and C-Lab proposes seems more practical and has feasible use in the immediate future, a deviation from past events where some wacky products were showcased.
Absent smartphones during MWC 2017, Samsung puts focus on these four concepts, which aim to push the envelope as far as more practical uses of VR and AR is concerned. Additionally, the center of these C-Lab projects, except one, is Samsung's Gear VR.
Relúmĭno employs Gear VR, is touted to be a visual aid for visually impaired individuals. The app reportedly can correct images and text for people who have difficulty due to distorted vision or metamorphosia. It can also compensate for blind spots and aid user in watching television without the need for expensive visual aids that are currently on the market.
VuildUs is an interior design app that helps users see home furnishings in their homes before they buy it. The app works by scanning the user's space using a 360-degree depth camera to create a 3D map of the room or rooms. They can then insert furniture to see how it would fit and look in their space. If they like it, they can purchase it directly and pay through Samsung Pay.
Using traVRer, users can be virtual tourists and visit their choice locales in VR, similar to Google's Google Street View and Matterport. Users can reportedly experience virtual travel before and after a real trip at the same time being provided with UI that gives additional information. The difference it has over Street View is that it also captures noises, events, and moods rather than just showing a static locale, according to Slash Gear.
Lastly is Monitorless, the only one in the quartet that utilizes a pair of "sunglasses," which Slash Gear describes as Google Glass meets Microsoft HoloLens. Its glasses are composed of electro chromic display that can switch from transparent to opaque and employs WiFi Direct for streaming from any compatible device for entertainment or gaming. Undoubtedly, the most ambitious project of the four, the glasses can be used as both an AR and VR device.
Time will tell if one or two if not all the projects cited above make it commercially.