By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong plans to emphasize the creation of independent virtual reality (VR) related system as the group's main growth engine.
Lee plans to make a relevant speech at this year's in-house technology fair, according to officials, Tuesday.
"Vice Chairman Lee missed the openings of this year's technology exhibition in Suwon. But Lee will visit sometime during the show period, which ends on Aug. 21," an official said.
The vice chairman, widely considered as becoming new head of Samsung Group, plans to focus on developing content and technology that fits with VR systems.
Samsung Electronics has identified the area as one of its next growth engines given the company's strengths in semiconductors, displays and hardware devices.
"Samsung is making heavy bet on VR from content and hardware as it clearly believes this will help sell a lot of its hardware. Competitive VR content will be backed up by proven sensor and display technology, which it leads over rivals in the industry," said another official.
Under the theme of "New Challenge, Restart," the Suwon Technology Exhibition, with the company approving access only to its employees, exhibited its smart home systems, home appliances, memory chip solutions, as well as Apple iPhones and products by Miele for reviews from employees compared to Samsung products.
Lee's attention to VR comes at a time when demand for three-dimensional (3D) projects to be used in various industries remains solid, something new for Samsung, which is hungry to find a new ecosystem by cutting its heavy reliance on conventional businesses.
CCS Insight, a market research firm, said the market for VR and Augmented Reality (AR), VR's improved version, will grow to $4 billion over the next three years. Over 24 million hardware devices supporting VR systems will be sold in 2018 from an estimated 2.5 million in 2016.
"VR and VR-improved technology is expandable to various industries. This technology can be used in hospitals for medical purposes, and in gaming and Internet shopping. That means Samsung, as a global manufacturing company, can get a bigger share and contribute more for the creation of new frameworks thanks to the company's enhancements in core components for VR," said another Samsung official.
Samsung is collaborating with Facebook-acquired Oculus for joint projects in VR content and related hardware. Also, the Korean consumer electronics company hopes to boost its partnership with its long-time U.S. ally Microsoft as officials were impressed with its hololens technology.
"Samsung is trying to find out new business territories by maximizing its manufacturing prowess. In line with that, it has no questions about the potential of the VR market and that's the reason why Lee plans to encourage employees to develop this kind of technology," said the official.
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Lee Jae-yong |
Lee plans to make a relevant speech at this year's in-house technology fair, according to officials, Tuesday.
"Vice Chairman Lee missed the openings of this year's technology exhibition in Suwon. But Lee will visit sometime during the show period, which ends on Aug. 21," an official said.
The vice chairman, widely considered as becoming new head of Samsung Group, plans to focus on developing content and technology that fits with VR systems.
Samsung Electronics has identified the area as one of its next growth engines given the company's strengths in semiconductors, displays and hardware devices.
"Samsung is making heavy bet on VR from content and hardware as it clearly believes this will help sell a lot of its hardware. Competitive VR content will be backed up by proven sensor and display technology, which it leads over rivals in the industry," said another official.
Under the theme of "New Challenge, Restart," the Suwon Technology Exhibition, with the company approving access only to its employees, exhibited its smart home systems, home appliances, memory chip solutions, as well as Apple iPhones and products by Miele for reviews from employees compared to Samsung products.
Lee's attention to VR comes at a time when demand for three-dimensional (3D) projects to be used in various industries remains solid, something new for Samsung, which is hungry to find a new ecosystem by cutting its heavy reliance on conventional businesses.
CCS Insight, a market research firm, said the market for VR and Augmented Reality (AR), VR's improved version, will grow to $4 billion over the next three years. Over 24 million hardware devices supporting VR systems will be sold in 2018 from an estimated 2.5 million in 2016.
"VR and VR-improved technology is expandable to various industries. This technology can be used in hospitals for medical purposes, and in gaming and Internet shopping. That means Samsung, as a global manufacturing company, can get a bigger share and contribute more for the creation of new frameworks thanks to the company's enhancements in core components for VR," said another Samsung official.
Samsung is collaborating with Facebook-acquired Oculus for joint projects in VR content and related hardware. Also, the Korean consumer electronics company hopes to boost its partnership with its long-time U.S. ally Microsoft as officials were impressed with its hololens technology.
"Samsung is trying to find out new business territories by maximizing its manufacturing prowess. In line with that, it has no questions about the potential of the VR market and that's the reason why Lee plans to encourage employees to develop this kind of technology," said the official.
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