Samsung develops artificial muscle actuators for immersive VR, AR

Seoul: Samsung Electronics has revealed an ambitious augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) project that leverages compact artificial muscle actuators to enable fast image focus in AR/VR and tactile feedback for VR controllers, media reports say.

According to SamMobile, two of the tallest barriers to VR/AR immersion are the lack of variable focus and tactile feedback.

An image rendered inside a VR headset does not change focus between objects according to the user’s line of sight. Similarly, VR and AR controllers lack the tactile feedback depth and versatility to trick users into thinking that virtual objects they might happen to interact with have weight to them.