It was reported back in March by The Verge that while Samsung and Oculus hadn't yet pushed the Gear VR all too hard thus far — that was about to dramatically change later this year. Oculus chief technology officer John Carmack officially noted that the formal strategy for his company is to put all of Samsung's considerable marketing muscle around Gear VR later this year, during Samsung's next big release cycle in September. Yet before that unfolds, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have made public the original Gear VR patent which provides us with a basic roadmap of some of the features that could be coming to Gear VR over time. The patent reveals such things as integrating mobile TV and introducing a health related application that will be used in connection with new health sensors not yet present. Obviously Samsung has a lot more in store for their Gear VR than just games.
Samsung's Head Mounted Display (HMD) apparatus invention includes an exemplary embodiment that could move the display so as to reflect, for example, a user's eyesight which may improve the user's wearability and screen commitment level.
According to various exemplary embodiments, the HMD apparatus is provided with a device configured to correct image-blurring on the display which may be caused due to a difference in eyesight between users, which is seen in FIG. 15 below as part #1512. This part is clearly seen in the photo as well.
Samsung's Gear VR (HMD) apparatus is configured to be used generally without providing a specific head mount structure for each user. Further, according to an exemplary embodiment, the display may be moved horizontally with reference to, for example, a lens. Thus, the user may less feel dizziness while adjusting a focus according to the user's eyesight.
Some of the Patent's More Notable Highlights
Some of the following highlights and/or points may or may not be in the first iteration of Samsung's Gear VR but may be present in future versions. You should take a look at Samsung's current specs here prior to seeing what may be destined down the road, below. This way you'll be able to clearly identify that which is being envisioned for the future.
According to Samsung, the display module may include, for example, a panel, a hologram, or a projector. For example, the panel may be, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or an Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (AM-OLED). Moreover, the panel may be implemented to be flexible, transparent or wearable. The panel may be configured as a single module with the touch panel.
The hologram may show a stereo-image using interference of light in the air.
The projector may project light to a screen to display an image. For example, the screen may be positioned inside or outside the HMD apparatus. According to an exemplary embodiment, the display module may further include a control circuit configured to control the panel, the hologram or the projector.
The sensor module may measure a physical amount or sense the operating state of the HMD apparatus and converts the measured or sensed information into an electric signal. For example, the sensor module may include at least one of a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an air pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor (e.g., an RGB (red, green, blue) sensor), a bio-sensor, a temperature/moisture sensor, an illuminance sensor, and an ultraviolet (UV) sensor, just to name some non-limiting examples.
Other future sensors may include an E-nose sensor, an electromyography (EMG) sensor, an electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor, an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, an iris sensor, a fingerprint sensor, or the like. The sensor module 153 may further include a control circuit configured to control one or more sensors included therein.
The camera module may photograph a still image and/or a moving image (a video image). According to an exemplary embodiment, the camera module 154 may include one or more image sensors (e.g., a front sensor or a rear sensor), a lens, an image signal processor (ISP), or a flash (e.g., an LED or a xenon lamp).
The memory which may comprise a non-transitory memory may include an embedded memory or an external memory. For example, the embedded memory may include at least one of a volatile memory (e.g., a DRAM (Dynamic RAM), an SRAM (Static RAM), or an SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM)), and a non-volatile memory (e.g., an OTPROM (One Time Programmable ROM), a PROM (Programmable ROM), an EPROM (Erasable and Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM), a mask ROM, a flash ROM, a NAND flash memory, or a NOR flash memory).
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the embedded memory may be a Solid State Drive (SSD). The external memory may further include a flash drive, for example, a CF (compact flash), an SD (secure digital), a Micro-SD (micro secure digital), a Mini-SD (mini secure digital), an xD (extreme digital) or a memory stick. The external memory may be functionally connected with the HMD apparatus through various interfaces. According to an exemplary embodiment, the HMD apparatus 100 may further include a storage device (storage medium) such as a hard drive.
The applications associated with the API may include, for example, an SMS/MMS application, an e-mail application, a calendar application, an alarm application, a health care application (e.g., an application configured to measure an exercise amount or a blood sugar level), or an environmental information application (e.g., an application configured to provide atmospheric pressure, moisture or temperature information). Another application may relate to music and an MP3 player.
The interface may include an HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface), a USB (universal serial bus), an optical communication terminal, or a D-sub (D-subminiature), just to name a few non-limiting possibilities. In addition to or in place of the foregoing, the interface 156 may include an MHL (mobile high-definition link), an SD (secure digital)/MMC (multi-media card), or an IrDA (infrared data association).
Communications: in this segment Samsung notesthat the device's processor may perform authentication of an electronic device within a communication network using a subscriber identification module (e.g., an SIM card). In addition, the processor which executes operations may provide a service, such as voice communication, video communication, text message, or packet data), to the user.
Television Headset: The HMD apparatus may include a processing device configured to support a mobile TV (e.g., a GPU). For example, the processing device configured to support a mobile TV may process multimedia data according to a standard, such as DMB (digital multimedia broadcasting), DVB (digital video broadcasting) or a media flow.
The HMD (Gear VR) will be able to communicate with a variety of devices such as a smartphone, watch, games console, electric tattoo, computers, e-books, future wearables, a tablet and beyond.
Samsung filed their U.S. patent application back in Q4 2014. Considering that this is a patent application, the timing of such a product to market is unknown at this time.
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