Category: lg electronics

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LG Shakes Up XR Division, Reportedly Putting Meta Headset Partnership on Ice

Korean media last month alleged that the Meta/LG partnership to create a high-end XR headset wasn’t going so well, suggesting either outright cancellation or a delay pushing release of a prospective Apple Vision Pro competitor to 2027. While this hasn’t been substantiated by either company, it’s clear there’s something big going on under the surface, as LG is now shuffling employees from its XR division to other parts of the company.

As confirmed by Korean outlet ETNews (Korean), LG is reassigning employees in charge of the XR division to research and development and other business divisions within the company.

Here’s the official statement from LG obtained by ETNews, machine translated from Korean to English:

“We have recently confirmed the relocation policy for personnel in charge of the XR business. Taking into account the department and work location desired by the personnel and the demand for additional personnel in other departments, the relocation will take place for about a month.”

ETNews reports that the nature of the shakeup is “unusual” in LG, as such cases of forming a product division after research and development comes as a rare occurrence.

The report further stipulates LG has delayed its own XR tech indefinitely, and terminated its joint commercialization of a product with Meta. The report however maintains the two companies will continue in research and development of XR technologies.

When LG announced its collaboration with Meta in May, it was said the partnership would be focused on strengthening “the fusion of Meta’s diverse core technological elements with LG’s cutting-edge product and quality capabilities [promising] significant synergies in next-gen XR device development.”

While not explicitly stated by either LG or Meta, it was rumored the two has been working to create a competitor to Apple Vision Pro for launch in 2025.

One possible reason for the XR shakeup could be Meta is getting ready to release its XR operating system to third-party OEMs for the first time, which will include new Quest-style headsets coming from ASUS, Lenovo, and Xbox. Growing the number of competing devices that will use Meta’s HorizonOS (ex-QuestOS) and Horizon Store (ex-Quest Store) so rapidly may have spoiled the deal for LG—although without confirmation from either company, that remains conjecture at this time.

The post LG Shakes Up XR Division, Reportedly Putting Meta Headset Partnership on Ice appeared first on Road to VR.

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Meta is Reportedly Partnering with LG to Create Apple Vision Pro Competitor

Meta is reportedly teaming up with South Korean tech giant LG Electronics to offer up competition to the Apple’s forthcoming Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which is slated to arrive sometime in 2024.

South Korea’s Maekyung (Korean) is reporting on two new Meta headsets: a low-cost Quest model that will be priced at “less than $200” coming in 2024, and a high-priced model in a joint venture with LG in 2025, which is supposedly set to take on Apple Vision Pro.

The report maintains the name of the Meta/LG headset will be ‘Meta Quest 4 Pro’.

Mass production of the so-called Quest 4 Pro is allegedly being handled by LG Electronics, and LG Display, with LG Innotek and LG Energy Solution supplying parts.

Provided the report is true, it seems some very distinct battle lines are being drawn. Samsung announced earlier this year that it was working with Qualcomm and Google to develop an Android-powered XR device, which may also be positioned to compete against Apple and Meta.

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South Korea to get Virtual Shopping Mall

The creation of the internet changed the way that commerce worked forever. Some companies rode the wave to make millions, such as Amazon, others failed to adapt to the changing times and feel by the wayside. Several companies in Korea has recently agreed to participate in the creation of a virtual reality (VR) shopping mall in an attempt to be at the forefront of the rise of VR in commerce.

The VR Shopping Mall will open to consumers for the first time during the Korea Sales Festa at the end of September, 2017. Companies that have agreed to participate in the VR Shopping Mall include well-known Korean names such as Hyundai Department Store, E-Mart, LG Electronics and Lotte Department Store.

The South Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy announced that the ministry held a business agreement ceremony for the creation of the virtual shopping mall on the 24th Jul, 2017. The companies involved in the project have agrees to offer discounts to customers of the VR shopping mall. It isn’t just big businesses that are involved with the VR shopping mall, however. Traditional markets such as the Dongdaemun and Jagalchi Markets are also getting involves, allowing shoppers to experience a more diverse product range.

The creators of the VR Shopping Mall are claiming that there has never before been such a project involving such a diverse range of industry participations. Korea’s businesses are hoping that this milestone will pave the way for further developments for South Korean industry as a whole.

The VR Shopping Mall will officially open during Korea Sail Fest, which lasts from 28th September to 31st October, 2017.

VRFocus will continue to report on new regarding VR Shopping Mall and other industry VR projects.

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Augmented Pixels und LG kündigen Inside-Out-Tracking-Modul an

Effizient, schnell und günstig soll das neue Inside-Out-Tracking-Modul sein, das Augmented Pixels in Zusammenarbeit mit dem koreanischen Hersteller LG Electronics entwickelt hat und jetzt offiziell vorstellt. Als Beispiel dient ein Reinigungsroboter von LG. Aber der Sensor soll nicht nur die selbständige Navigation von autonomen Staubsaugern verbessern, sondern könnte auch für preiswerte Dronen, VR, AR und andere Heimroboter interessant sein.

Augmented Pixels und LG entwickeln 3D-Kameramodul

Augmented Pixels mit Sitz in Palo Alto, Kalifornien, hat zusammen mit LG Electronics ein 3D-Kamera-Modul entwickelt, das die Umgebung exakt erfassen und auswerten soll. Die seit 2014 in Entwicklung befindliche Lösung erkennt dabei in einer älteren Ausführung Objekte bis auf ein oder zwei Zentimeter genau und könnte somit beispielsweise preiswerte Dronen zur exakten autonomen Navigation verhelfen. Praktisch kann das vor allem in Innenräumen sein, um Zusammenstöße mit der Wohnungseinrichtung zu verhindern.

Den ersten kommerziellen Einsatz erlebt der Sensor wohl aber nicht in Dronen, sondern in einem Staubsaugerroboter von LG. Die Zusammenarbeit mit dem koreanischen Unternehmen habe eine sehr effiziente Lösungen für Heimroboter und AR-Brillen ermöglicht, erklärt der CEO von Augmented Pixels.

Inside-Out-Tracking erkennt 6DOF

Die Technik zur Erkennung der Umgebung nennt Augmented Pixels SLAM (Simultaneous Location And Mapping). Der Hersteller verspricht, das bisher schnellste SLAM zu ermöglichen. Das Modul kombiniert ein oder zwei Kameras, um die Objekte im Raum zu erkennen. Die Lösung im Staubsaugerroboter hat LG auf dieser Basis entwickelt und will sie auch anderen Herstellern zur Verfügung stellen. Das All-in-One-Modul enthält eine leistungsfähige Recheneinheit, zwei Kameras und einen Infrarot-Sensor.

Der Entwickler Yun Sup Shin von LG Electronics preist die Vorzüge der gemeinsamen Lösung: sie sei sehr effizient, preiswert und flexibel einsetzbar. Beispielsweise kann das Inside-Out-Tracking 6DOF erkennen und erfüllt damit die Anforderungen nicht nur für den Einsatz in Robotern, sondern auch in AR- und VR-Systemen. Ob andere Hersteller auf das Modul anspringen, muss sich aber erst zeigen. Inside-Out-Tracking gilt aber als Hoffnungsträger der VR-Branche, da es die Umsetzung von Room Scale gerade im privaten Bereich wesentlich vereinfacht.

(Quellen: VentureBeat, Augmented Pixels)

Der Beitrag Augmented Pixels und LG kündigen Inside-Out-Tracking-Modul an zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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VRTV Hits The Show Floor For A GDC Recap

Last month on VRFocus we re-launched our VRTV series for a second season a year after its first, but its a series that has gone through something of a change. They’re now more regular, weekly in fact, with a new look and feel and a new host in Nina Salomons. Nina will also be putting out a weekly video review of a game, the first of which was released yesterday and saw her take on SVRVIVE: The Deus Helix.

For now of course Nina is at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), San Francisco straight off of being at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain where she’s already filmed a number of videos. Including the announcement of the new Gear VR, and interviews with the likes of HTC as well as tech firms Giraffic, wireless solution company DisplayLink, and the VR latency measuring system of Basemark and Optofidelity.

There’s already plenty to see; so for our next scheduled episode of VRTV Season 2 Nina has hit you up with a quick recap from the show floor on some of the stories you may have missed during an already hectic GDC.

VRTV will be back next week, but stay tuned to VRFocus for more news info and videos from GDC and beyond.

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HTC Representative Comments On LG VR Headset Announcement

VRFocus spoke to Vice President HTC Vive, Europe, Peter Frølund regarding the LG virtual reality (VR) headset and LG’s entry into the VR industry.

Mr. Graylin had the following to say; “We will continue to work with Valve, our relationship won’t change. We welcome new companies to the VR landscape. We want to be a thought leader. What you’ve seen today and at CES demonstrates that – and there’s more coming – but VR needs more companies in the market.”

HTC Vive mixed imageThis of course follows the announcement that LG are demonstrating their own new head mounted display (HMD) unit in collaboration with Valve which is being displayed at the Valve booth at GDC this week.

There had already been some speculation as to if this meant HTC departure from it’s partnership with Valve or at least the end of HTC’s exclusivity.

VRFocus will continue to bring you further information on this topic as we get it.

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What LG’s VR Headset Could Mean for the HTC Vive

 

It’s no secret that the core technology residing in the HTC Vive was developed by Valve, a company widely respected for their videogame titles and distribution platform Steam, but without any hardware manufacturing experience. It was perhaps due to this reason that the Half-Life creator looked to partner with a company already familiar with product development and distribution for the launch of its first virtual reality (VR) device, but it was no secret that any exclusivity arrangement would be limited. Now it appears as though that close relationship is coming to an end.

LG Logo

While Valve hasn’t gone so far as to directly announce a new partnership with LG, the press communications team today issued a statement concerning the upcoming reveal of a prototype head-mounted display (HMD) that will be revealed at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) this week. Moreover, the Seattle-based company will be hosting demos of LG’s new product in their own booth.

“During the show, LG will be meeting with developers, collect feedback and impressions as part of its efforts to define the first commercial units,” reads the minimalist press release. “Pricing, launch dates, and territories will be announced at a later date.”

This, as might be expected, is a very similar road to that which HTC and Valve took following the original announcement of the HTC Vive back in 2015. The announcement was made by HTC at Mobile World Congress (MWC) with the first hands-on experiences subsequently offered at that year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC). Further software studios were then invited to apply for the development kits, with their own demos and titles shared at later events. Valve were right behind the studios, while HTC continued to push the hardware agenda up to launch in April 2016.

Nearly one year later and HTC hasn’t stopped. The HTC Vive is arguably the most popular high-end VR platform and new accessories, such as the Tracker puck and Deluxe Audio Strap, are seeing significant demand. But that doesn’t mean Valve aren’t entitled to look elsewhere to grow their VR audience.

“We are expanding the world of @SteamVR with our friends at LG.” Tweeted Chet Faliszek, noted Game Writer at Valve, shortly after today’s announcement.

So what does the announcement of a new partnership with LG mean for HTC, and the HTC Vive? Could this be the end of the platform? Could it be that Valve want to move away from HTC or the brand the two companies jointly created? In fairness, probably not. Ultimately, it’s unlikely that the agreement between HTC and Valve for the HTC Vive will be affected in any way, however it’s sure to raise a question in the core VR audience’s head until such details come to light.

Steam VR / SteamVR

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LG Preparing VR Headset, Valve Releases Statement

LG Electronics has unveiled it’s first virtual reality (VR) prototype headset at GDC in San Francisco. It is being shown at Valve’s GDC booth. The LG prototype is described as being ‘Designed to deliver a high fidelity, next generation VR experience’.

During the show, LG said they “will meet with developers to gather feedback on the device as part of its move towards the building of commercial units.” Pricing, launch dates and territories have not yet been announced, but LG said they will “be available at the later date”.

It is currently unconfirmed if this means that HTC’s exclusivity period for producing the Vive headsets is now over.  Valve did release a press release on the matter confirming that, amongst other things, we can expect the headset to be featured at GDC 2017:

“LG Electronics will unveil its first VR HMD prototype at this year’s GDC in San Francisco, CA. Being shown in Valve’s GDC booth, the LG HMD prototype is designed to deliver a high fidelity, next generation VR experience.

During the show, LG will be meeting with developers to collect feedback and impressions as part of its effort to define the first commercial units. Pricing, launch dates, and territories will be announced at a later date.”

It was also noted on Twitter by Valve VR developer Chet Faliszek that “We are expanding the world of @SteamVR with our friends at LG.”

VRFocus will give you further information on this once Valve, HTC or LG release a statement.

LG Electronics USA. (PRNewsFoto/LG Electronics USA, Inc.)

LG Electronics USA. (PRNewsFoto/LG Electronics USA, Inc.)

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LG to Reveal VR Headset Prototype Based on SteamVR Tracking This Week

Valve has confirmed that LG is developing a VR headset that will utilize SteamVR Tracking and, ostensibly, the OpenVR platform.

When Valve set out to build their OpenVR platform, they hoped to design it in such a way that the door was left open for hardware makers other than HTC (who makes the Vive) to make their own products that could tap into the system and work with all the same software. Valve’s vision appears to be paying off, as the company has confirmed that major computer electronics manufacturer LG is developing a new VR headset that will be built upon Valve’s platform.

That includes using SteamVR Tracking—Valve’s royalty-free and increasingly open VR tracking technology—Valve has confirmed to Road to VR. 

Details on the LG VR headset are slim, but Valve says the is “designed to deliver a high fidelity, next generation VR experience,” and that a prototype will be shown off at GDC 2017 this week, where LG hopes to get feedback from developers on the headset.

Pricing, launch dates, and territories will be announced at a later date, says Valve.

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Valve to Sell Base Stations Directly, Lower Barrier to SteamVR Tracking Development

Some will recall LG’s first foray into VR last year with the mobile-focused ‘360 VR’ headset. While compact and potentially quite, the device was not well received, giving off the feeling of a premature step into the VR space. Now more than a year later, and this time focused on desktop VR, LG’s alignment with (and likely advisement by) Valve will hopefully mean a mature product is in the works.

This story is breaking, we’ll add more details as they come.

The post LG to Reveal VR Headset Prototype Based on SteamVR Tracking This Week appeared first on Road to VR.