Q: Please briefly introduce yourself, the Smart Device Team at Samsung Research, and the kind of work that goes on there. What projects are you working on?

I am Kyusub Kwak, and I lead the development of augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) display and optics. Since joining Samsung in 2000, I have worked in various fields, such as optical communication, system in package, wearable devices, and so on. These various experiences, from components development to system level integration in Samsung, have become nutrients for me. I have been working in the smart device team for the last seven years.

The Smart Device Team’s vision is new life care devices and services for better accessibility. To realize this vision, our team continues to find new and innovative solutions and technologies, such as smart energy for innovative products, multimodal sensors for elderly/air/beauty care, and immersive hardware (HW) and software (SW) for AR/VR devices.

My Lab, which focuses on AR, is now investigating core technologies, AR/VR display and optics, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), object recognition, multimodal interaction, gaze tracking, etc. My role is to test the possibility of various technologies and find the most suitable solution for the AR/VR display system architecture. The AR/VR display consists of the display engine generating virtual images using micro display panels and optical systems that deliver generated images to the eyes. Its miniaturization and low power consumption are crucial goals because of the nature of the mobile device for wearable and visual comfort.
Recently, I have been very pleased and excited to work with our new, competent Lab leader, Vice President Garam Young.

Q: Please tell me about the importance of your research field or technology.

The interest in AR/VR devices has been rapidly increasing as next-generation computing devices after smartphones. For devices, after releasing AR devices on the market, and, for applications, after launching the one-hit wonder Pokémon Go, expectations for future products have increased by a lot. However, there are still no useful tech glasses for everyday use because of technical hurdles. To satisfy both the immersive experience and ease of wearing at the same time, AR/VR devices should provide a wide field of view, high resolution, and appropriate brightness with a small and light form factor like general glasses. Although various products, from early reflective optical-based products to diffractive optical based products, have been released, each piece of technology has some limitations. Reflective optics cannot enlarge the field of view because the thickness of the lens is increased, and diffractive optics have very low optical efficiency even though they are much thinner than reflective optics. In addition, the AR/VR device is based on almost the exact same system as existing smartphones; it increases the burden of making the small and light AR/VR display. The display that appears in front of the eyes confuses users with its focus and convergence, unlike a normal vision system. In terms of human visual perception, these limitations of near-eye display systems cause visual discomfort because of low brightness, low resolution, vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC), etc.
My Lab is developing technologies to overcome these limitations and, through this, is striving to develop AR/VR devices for immersion and daily use.

Q: What is your vision for the future, and what goal would you want to achieve?

The AR glass device that ordinary users imagine is a device that can display images and retrieve information from anywhere they want in the form of regular glasses. Although there are still many technical challenges to be solved for this, I believe that our Lab’s efforts will reduce the gap and match the level of AR glasses devices with the eye level of general users. I dream that someday, taking out their AR glasses will be a part of people’s daily routines, as if they were taking their smartphones when they are about to leave home in the morning.

As an expert in AR/VR display and optics, I think the era of the AR/VR headset is approaching, slowly, but surely, and steadily. There are still many technical limitations to overcome, and questions about different user's experiences and killer applications and services remain, but I think its future is not too far off.