Samsung patents smart glasses with built-in vision correction and customizable display
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Samsung has recently filed a patent for a smart pair of glasses with a built in customizable display that also features vision correction. This could be a game-changer for people who wear prescription glasses because it would eliminate the need to wear bulky uncomfortable headsets or external attachments.
What's more, the patent mentions support for prescription lenses, which means that the smart glasses can be helpful for those who use corrective eyewear.
While such a product carries a lot of benefits with it, there are several challenges that Samsung faces in bringing these smart glasses to market.
The glasses’ display system is based on gears or actuators that enable them to make some dynamic alterations. This could mean that the user can control the position of the display so that it is better aligned with the their natural field of view. This could possibly solve problems such as motion sickness or headaches that are due to the display being too close or too far from the wearer’s eyes.
It's no secret that Samsung's interest in XR (short for Extended Reality) has been growing throughout the last few years. The company already showcased its Samsung XR headset, which somewhat resembles the Apple’s Vision Pro. The difference is that it is much smaller and therefore looks more comfortable to use and carry around.
But whether or not Samsung will actually build the smart glasses shown in the patent is currently unknown, as there is no official word from the company on them. Still, the patent is a clear sign that Samsung is looking to exploit the possibilities of the concept.
What would the advantages of these glasses be?
There are several advantages of Samsung’s smart glasses described in this patent:
- It would be comfortable and easy to use for people who require glasses.
- Fewer motion sickness and headaches.
- Better than VR/AR headsets in portability.
- They can be used for the whole day.
Potential risks and downsides
For starters, the company would have to make them comfortable and good-looking enough for people to want to wear them all day. The best way to do this could be to make them somewhat customizable. Also, the images shown in this patent portray a design with thick temples, which can be a bit off putting to some buyers that want a more low-key look.
Something else that Samsung needs to pay attention to is creating a display system that not only produces a sharp image, but is also power-efficient, and that's especially true if the glasses are intended for all-day use.
Of course, there's also the issue of figuring out how to incorporate vision correction technology into the glasses.
What is the future of XR?
It is pretty challenging to predict what will happen with XR in the future. Nevertheless, the fact that companies like Samsung still file for such patents at least tells us that manufacturers continue to see a future for this type of technology.
An easy way to improve XR tech would be to implement AI into it, just like every major manufacturer is doing so with their latest phones. This is an upgrade that sounds more realistic for the near future of XR than something like the built-in display & vision correction described in Samsung's patent.
But I think the best way to make XR glasses mainstream is by focusing on how they feel and look. If Samsung—or any other company for that matter—manages to make XR smart glasses mainstream, it would be their design that likely contributes the most to that success rather than any special feature.
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