KDDI has formed a strategic partnership with Osterhout Design Group (ODG) to create new forms of communication in the coming era of 5G, including joint planning and development in Japan of smartglasses using xR technology - which include virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality.
San Francisco-based ODG is the leader in extended reality smartglasses, delivering AR, MR & VR solutions & experiences to customers in enterprise and industry.
Via the partnership, KDDI will help optimize the potential of smartglasses for the Japanese domestic market through practical testing. The effort includes customization for products that are easy for Japanese consumers to wear.
The R-9 smartglasses to be used in future verification tests are equipped with the Snapdragon (TM) 835 chipset made by Qualcomm (Headquarters: San Diego, California, U.S.A., CEO: Steve Mollenkopf), compatible with an AR/VR app that enables stand-alone position tracking for users. A wide 50° viewing angle makes it possible to replay Hollywood big-screen movies with the glasses. They are the first smartglasses to meet THX display standards ensuring quality, giving them the functionality to display high-resolution video.
In addition, both partner companies plan to work with Qualcomm toward equipping future models with a modem function to bring cellular communications capability to smartglasses in addition to existing Wi-Fi functionality.
Yasuhisa Yamada, KDDI Deputy GM for Product and Customer Service Sector
Moving forward, we will conduct verification tests using xR technology in every possible field together with our partner firms as we pursue the creation of new business models for the age of 5G.
Pete Jameson, COO, ODG
It is a great honor for us to be involved in making next-generation mobile computing happen in this field together with KDDI, one of the world's largest telecommunications companies.
