Wearing AR Glasses for Avatar Remote Meetings... LGU+ Launches RealGlass

AR Glasses Used with Smartphones
Up to 3 Apps Can Run... Maximum 100 Inches
Remote Meeting Service Like Kingsman to Be Introduced This Year
Released on the 21st... Price 699,000 KRW

LG Uplus held a press conference on the 11th to announce the launch of the augmented reality (AR) glasses 'U+ Real Glass,' where promotional models are demonstrating the AR glasses. (Photo by LG Uplus)

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] When wearing glasses, virtual characters appear on the meeting table. Although the real people are far apart, virtual avatars act as their stand-ins. They mimic speech and behavior exactly, making it feel as if everyone is meeting in the same room.

A scene from the movie Kingsman will soon become reality. The star is LG Uplus’s AR glasses, 'U+ Real Glass.' Currently, it can only follow videos on YouTube, but soon remote meetings in virtual conference rooms like in Kingsman will be possible.

On the 11th, LG Uplus held a press conference at its Yongsan headquarters in Seoul and announced the launch of 'U+ Real Glass' on the 21st. This is the world’s first sale of AR glasses to general consumers. LG Uplus, which has operated experience zones since June, partnered with AR specialist company Enreal to release the AR glasses.

Song Daewon, Executive Director of Future Devices at LG Uplus, said, "After 15 years of markets spanning phones, tablets, and watches, we have taken the first step toward the next smart device with AR glasses," adding, "Future generations will lift their heads from 5-inch smartphones to look at 100-inch AR screens."

Assembling Furniture While Watching YouTube... Up to 3 Apps Can Run Simultaneously

U+ Real Glass projects the app screens running on a smartphone onto the space in front of the eyes. You can watch a professional baseball broadcast while opening a portal search window to look up player names, assemble furniture by watching YouTube videos instead of paper manuals, and cook by following recipe videos. The screen can be enlarged up to 100 inches to watch movies or concerts.

LG Uplus plans to launch a remote meeting system later this year in collaboration with Spatial, a U.S.-based AR/VR collaboration platform developer. The meeting scenes from the movie Kingsman will become reality. Up to 10 people can connect from different locations and participate in meetings with their own avatars. It is also possible to open video files and watch them together.

The AR glasses have a camera that recognizes space on the lenses, volume control buttons and speakers on the temple arms. They must be connected to a smartphone via USB cable, with the smartphone acting as the controller. When the smartphone emits a virtual laser pointer, it moves like a mouse to launch desired apps.

Enreal is developing a service that recognizes hand gestures beyond the current smartphone-controlled screen method. They have distributed an SDK (software development kit) including this, and a hand gesture recognition app service is expected to launch in the first half of next year.

U+ Real Glass is compatible with the Galaxy Note20 and will also support the LG Velvet. However, it is only available to 5G subscribers. It can run all Android apps. LG Uplus plans to release U+AR and U+VR apps as dedicated apps for AR glasses and provide AR glasses-specific features in U+Pro Baseball and U+Idol apps.

The retail price of the AR glasses is 699,000 KRW. Customers who subscribe to the 5G Premier Plus plan (105,000 KRW per month) or higher and select the 'Smart Device Pack' can purchase it at a 50% discount. Frames that can attach prescription lenses, lens covers, and nose pads are provided.

Executive Director Song said, "We aimed to significantly lower the hurdle for the AR glasses market with a realistic price and a lightweight weight of 88g," adding, "While 5G services have been entertainment-centered so far, U+ Real Glass will provide various experiences that change everyday life."

Rapidly Growing AR Glasses Market... Weight and Price Are Competitive Advantages

LG Uplus will launch the AR glasses 'U+ Real Glass' on the 21st. Manufactured by AR specialist company Enreal, it can be connected to a smartphone via a wired connection for use.

The AR glasses market is growing rapidly. According to market research firm IDC, shipments of AR glasses, which were 200,000 units in 2019, are expected to reach 41.1 million units by 2024. The average annual growth rate is about 191.1%. Compared to VR glasses, which completely separate the visual environment, AR glasses project AR screens onto real spaces, so there is no worry about bumping into objects or walls or experiencing motion sickness.

Currently, besides Enreal, several AR glasses such as Magic Leap One ($2,295) and Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 ($3,500) have been released, but these two products are expensive, heavy, and require connection to a main device or separate device. Not only Microsoft but also Apple is developing AR glasses and is expected to reveal a prototype next year. AR glasses are expected to rapidly grow as the next-generation hardware succeeding smartphones.

Chi Shu, CEO and founder of Enreal, said, "This service launch is a historic moment shaking the foundation of the mobile internet industry," adding, "Through the partnership with LG Uplus, we will support Korean customers to have diverse experiences."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.