Samsung just beat Apple to the punch. Maybe by a couple of years.
At CES 2020, Samsung showed off its first pair of augmented reality glasses. They don't have a name, price or release date, and that's because they were shown as part of a concept demo on how AR could be used to improve your fitness.
The demo was designed to show how Samsung's GEMS system — which stands for Gait Enhancing and Muscle Strengthening — could be used in tandem with an AR trainer.
Once the person on stage during Samsung's demo donned the glasses, the AR avatar appeared right in front of the wearer in virtual workout gear. She then proceeded to coach the Samsung rep in a lunge exercise. The demo reminded me of what Microsoft has shown with its Hololens 2, but Samsung's glasses were more compact than Microsoft's headset.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Samsung is teasing its AR glasses at CES and is hoping to "succeed where Google Glass failed" while also "working to minimize dizziness."
In addition to aiding in fitness, the Samsung AR glasses "will also allow teleportation-like video experiences while also augmenting real-world games," according to Bloomberg.
Back to the demo here at CES, the AR avatar could respond to questions, demonstrate proper techiniques and offer tips and even encouragement. The workout results are then aggregated and analyzed which you could view on your phone and presumably through the AR glasses themselves.
The overall pitch seemed to be that the AR glasses and GEMS system could turn any room into a fitness studio. But it's clear that Samsung is developing AR glasses for multiple applications.
Stay tuned as we learn more details.
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