Skip to main content

Samsung's C-Lab readies breakthrough VR apps for debut at MWC

samsung creative lab vr projects mwc 2017 c vuildus
Samsung Newsroom
Samsung has announced it is preparing four exhibitions for next week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, from its Creative Lab, or C-Lab, department, all specializing in new and inventive uses for virtual and augmented reality. The projects will debut at 4 Years From Now, a platform that connects startups, investors, and corporations to co-develop new ventures.

Samsung’s proposals range from an application that can help the visually impaired enjoy television, movies, and books in VR, to software that can help users visualize new furniture in a three-dimensional model of their home, to a travel app that records 360-degree video and sound for future viewing, and on to a pair of glasses that can wirelessly stream VR and AR content from another device.

Samsung Newsroom
Samsung Newsroom

The first project, Relúmĭno, is perhaps the Creative Lab’s greatest breakthrough. The app can correct images and text for people who suffer from distorted vision, and compensate for blind spots as well. Samsung says Relúmĭno can help these users watch television in a manner that obviates the need for the much more expensive visual aids on the market currently.

VuildUs

VuildUs is Samsung’s interior design app that works by constructing a model of the user’s home with the help of a 360-degree depth-recording camera. Through VR, the user can then drag and drop different items of furniture into that model, and purchase them on the spot if they so choose. The app would scale room and object dimensions proportionately, eliminating the need to physically measure out space.

With traVRer, tourists can visit their favorite locales in VR, record 360-degree video and audio, and post their discoveries so others can take in the sights. The interface is outfitted with a map, so users can trace the path of the tour as they watch, and it allows seamless switching between videos, enabling users to instantly observe a single location at multiple times of the day.

Monitorless

Finally, there’s Monitorless, C-Lab’s solution to unlocking the entire gamut of VR experiences on mobile and PC with a single pair of glasses. The glasses feature an electrochromic display that uses WiFi Direct to stream content from a compatible device. Because no actual monitors are involved, the glasses can be used as a VR device, for a theater-like viewing experience, or as an AR device, with adjustable transparency so users can still see what’s in front of them.

Samsung calls C-Lab an “internal incubation program” that cultivates experimental ideas from employees. While there’s no guarantee these projects will actually surface in public-ready form in four years’ time, they do provide a sense of what Samsung hopes to accomplish in the future with the emerging medium.

Editors' Recommendations

Adam Ismail
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Adam’s obsession with tech began at a young age, with a Sega Dreamcast – and he’s been hooked ever since. Previously…
Does the OnePlus 12 have a headphone jack?
OnePlus 12 in green and white.

OnePlus has been a popular choice for people seeking high-quality, affordable smartphones. With the launch of its latest offering, the OnePlus 12, it's time for OnePlus fans to pay close attention. While the device has only been launched in China so far, fans across the globe are eagerly waiting for its release in their respective countries.

For those who rely on wired headphones or earbuds, the presence of a headphone jack is a crucial factor in their decision to purchase a new device. While some manufacturers have done away with the jack, others have opted for alternative solutions like USB-C or wireless options.

Read more
2023 was the best year for Google Pixel devices yet
A person holding the Google Pixel 8.

Almost all of Google’s Pixel device releases in 2023 have been winners, making this the best year for Pixel yet.

Don’t believe me? It's true! Here’s what Google has done with its mobile hardware and software over the past months that allows me to make such a bold claim.
This isn't about the Pixel 7 series

Read more
Want to make a movie on your iPhone? Experts told me their secrets
Someone using the camera app on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

“The phone in your pocket is a time machine. Take it out, point the camera, and shoot important moments in your life. It’s your very own film,” says Victoria Mapplebeck, a Department of Media Arts professor at the Royal Holloway University of London. She knows a thing (or two) about making films with a smartphone.

Victoria won the BAFTA honors in the Short Form Programme category in 2019 for her film Missed Call. It was shot on an iPhone X, one of the first films to showcase the might of smartphone filmmaking.

Read more