Patent reveals Samsung is working on eye and face tracking for Gear VR
A new patent application filed by Samsung in May but published just recently shows that the Korean company may be working on a new Gear VR headset that includes eye and face tracking. The documentation surrounding the patent seems to showcase a headset that can track its position as well as the eyes and facial expressions of the person using the device.
Samsung’s current Gear VR set is at a disadvantage when compared to other more robust headsets since it doesn’t include positional tracking. It’s no surprise that Samsung is working on fixing this with a new release. The patent in question isn’t specifically about positional tracking for Gear VR, but rather the sensors that will model the user’s face to enable said tracking.
The images you see above appear to show a Gear VR headset with several sensors embedded, including an electrooculographic and infrared sensors for tracking eye and facial expressions.
Despite the patent application being published recently, we still have no idea when Samsung plans to debut this new and improved Gear VR headset. However, if this new headset does come to light it will begin to narrow the gap between mobile VR and more traditional VR headsets like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.