April 20, 2024

• 

[THE INVESTOR] BARCELONA -- It looks like a tiny ride at an amusement park: a rider wearing three-dimensional goggles is shaken upside down, left and right, while bound to a chair.

What may appear amusing and even a little funny to bystanders is actually an incredible journey for the user who is experiencing a simulated world of space, made real by virtual reality.

 

Visitors experience Samsung Electronics’ VR ride Astro Ship at the MWC 2017. The Korea Herald/Shin Ji-hye

The ride named Astro Ship by Samsung Electronics is one of the most sought-after rides at the Mobile World Congress held this week in Barcelona, Spain, as it offers the experience of a virtual world in a seat that rotates 360 degrees.

Samsung Electronics, which launched its new Gear VR controller Feb. 26, also presented diverse VR gear connected to smartphones at the company’s VR 4D experience zone. By using gear developed with the company’s prototype 3-D 360 camera, a visitor can feel as if they are in the middle of a waterfall.

“Although I can’t say the content quality (of the Samsung VR gear) is super good, but it seems OK overall considering it is connected to smartphones (instead of computers). The devices will get better with more improved stitching technology,” said David Robustelli, a German digital director working for VR content company Capitola after testing Samsung’s VR gear.

Stitching, a key technology for VR, refers to taking all the footage from all the cameras in the rig, and arranging them in a single image. Perfect stitching makes a video without distortion.

South Korea’s mobile carrier SK Telecom also showcased its 360 Live VR technology, allowing users to enjoy a sports game in 360-degree real time. This can be done as six cameras take shots of a game, stitch them together and transmit it to viewers to enjoy the game in real time without having to go a stadium.

“For 360 Live VR, the most important thing is low-delay so that people can enjoy the game truly real-time,” said Lee Jong-min, a manager at SK Telecom’s corporate R&D center, adding the company has reduced the delay time to less than three seconds. This means a user can enjoy a sports game in a virtual world almost in real time as a game is broadcast live.

He said VR can be utilized in various areas in the future including education by allowing children to experience historic sites, museums and concerts without having to visit these sites.

American chipmaker Qualcomm also presented a VR demonstration powered by its Snapdragon 835 flagship processor.

With a Power Rangers-themed headset, visitors can walk around inside a virtual cave -- from the science-fiction film “Power Rangers” -- for roughly five minutes.

Qualcomm’s engineer Mark Feldman said the most outstanding feature of the technology is its inside-out tracking capabilities, which incorporates natural hand movements into VR without requiring any handheld controllers.

“Although this is only for showcase now, we are in talks with our clients to supply the technology within the next quarter,” Feldman said without disclosing the name of the client.

Other tech firms, including Spanish telecom operator Telefonica and IBM, also utilized VR technologies to showcase their services and products.

“We have no aim to sell our VR technologies like Samsung or Oculus. We developed VR technology to simply utilize it for showcasing our services and products at events like this,” said Telefonica’s engineer Carlos Miranda De Larra.

By Shin Ji-hye/Korea Herald correspondent (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)