A new patent application has revealed that Samsung might be thinking way ahead of Apple in the AR (augmented reality) field. The company has thought of a method to create shared AR experiences in the same space. This is something Apple Vision Pro users would absolutely love to have but sadly do not.
As mighty as the Vision Pro headset from Apple might seem, it doesn't come without shortcomings. A big miss is that every Vision Pro user is, for the most part, locked into a solo, unsharable augmented reality experience.
What this means is each Vision Pro user exists in their own virtual environment, even if there are two or more Vision Pro users in the same room. One user cannot share his or her space with other Vision Pro wearers in their vicinity.
If you are a Vision Pro user, your augmented world is yours and nobody else's, even if they have their own headsets and are sitting right next to you. This is one of the key features the Vision Pro disappointingly lacks, but Samsung might do better.
Samsung was thinking of ways to fix this years ago
A USPTO patent application published last week (via MySmartPrice) reveals that Samsung has been thinking about shared AR experiences since at least August 2021. That is when the patent was originally filed.
In this patent, Samsung describes “A method of a user terminal for grouping a plurality of augmented reality glasses in a wireless communication system […].”
It further states that “A first user terminal is wirelessly connected to first AR glasses, and the first user terminal executes an application for connection to second AR glasses; the first user terminal recognizes that the second AR glasses are located within a preconfigured distance and angle range […].”
The story continues after the video
It seems like, in Samsung's vision, one pair of AR glasses would be able to host an augmented reality session that other AR users in a predetermined area (and even angle from the original AR headset) would be able to join.
This kind of shared AR experience sounds amazing, but whether this will become a real technology for Samsung fans is unknown.
Samsung is indeed developing an XR (mixed reality) headset, which should go on sale within the next few months, but this patent doesn't confirm whether or not this technology will be available for the upcoming device. It is, however, something Samsung has been thinking about for years, and that's promising, at least.
Image Credit: Samsung
