Samsung Electronics is to compete with Microsoft, Apple and Google in a race to develop HoloLens, a new display technology based on interactive augmented reality (AR) software.
The company said HoloLens has great potential as it can be widely applied to the military, aerospace, education and entertainment sectors.
Samsung added that it is well-positioned to develop HoloLens technology and make related products, given its manufacturing capability.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see others enter the market place especially if Microsoft validates the technology. I could potentially see offerings from Samsung. Time will tell," said Dr. Mark L. Moerdler of Bernstein Research in a report titled "Augmented Reality ― the Future Has Arrived."
Moerdler said Google and Apple are on track with their HoloLens technology. "AR has the potential to not only allow one to interact at a much deeper level with their software but also for the software to interact with and enhance a user's world."
AR is viewing computer-generated, video, graphics, or GPS data ― with sound ― overlaid on a physical real world view. It can be customized for video games and training simulations.
Microsoft, which defined HoloLens as a "mixed reality" device that incorporates features of AR and Virtual Reality (VR), is the frontrunner in the business.
For general users, HoloLens van overlay objects within real time space. Built into a HoloLens unit will be computing, rendering, displaying technologies, three-dimensional (3D) cameras, and speakers running on a mobile platform.
Samsung is a global leader in memory chips and displays ― the critical components for use in HoloLens; and so could reach out to both Microsoft and Google as HoloLens can run on Android and Windows software.
The company has already agreed to share patents with the global technology giants.
Samsung has been slowly reducing its reliance on the volatile business-to-consumer (B2C) market and shifting its focus to the less-volatile business-to-business (B2B) sector.
In line with the initiatives, "holoportation" is technology that Samsung is paying attention.
Holoportation will help users interact in chatting apps using HoloLens, producing not simply a vague shape but a 3D representation of other people. The report said this will take teleconferencing to a "whole new level."
More importantly, as Samsung Electronics has been investing in artificial intelligence (AI), chances are high that HoloLens could possibly be its vision for the next-generation mobile devices, given its partnership with the Facebook-acquired Oculus.
However, Moerdler cautioned that HoloLens is yet to see its primetime, though the timing is "almost."
"The HoloLens software is still in pre-release and has glitches. There is more work that needs to be done; however, we would expect everything to improve as it approaches general release. I believe it's important that any device works very smoothly for the consumer or the pushback could kill the opportunity," the analyst said.