Samsung Electronics Singapore and Refract Technologies will collaborate to create new immersive experiences for consumers in gaming, virtual sports and other activities in market.
Refract Technologies is a game and technology company with expertise in extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI) for interactive entertainment and enterprise applications.
The partnership will expand the use cases of XR with the AXIS system for consumers and enterprises. Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones will serve as the official main hub for Refract’s AXIS, the proprietary wireless and occlusion-proof inside-out full-body tracking system designed for gamers and content creators to use their bodies as controllers. This has started with the shipment of Samsung Galaxy A53 5G, which was included with each set of AXIS to Kickstarter backers starting in 2022. Announced in March 2022, the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G balances robust processing capabilities at an optimal price point, making it the ideal hub for AXIS.
In addition, both the companies will establish go-to-market efforts to drive broader adoption of immersive experiences powered by XR, AI and Samsung’s hardware solutions.
“Besides relying on the quality and processing capabilities of Samsung Galaxy phones, we look forward to jointly exploring further opportunities in designing cutting-edge XR experiences around both our products,” said Refract Technologies CEO Michael Chng.
“Partnering with Refract will support our goals of creating technology that can touch the lives of our users and more, and we are very excited to see advanced technologies such as extended reality come to life with the help of our Galaxy 5G devices. We are also looking forward to collaborating closely with Refract to explore more opportunities where we can bring XR experiences across more of our products, making next-generation immersive experiences a reality for more,” said Samsung Electronics Singapore president Dennis Jang.
This collaboration will debut in the form of virtual Taekwondo competitions and exhibitions, starting with a showcase at the inaugural Olympic Esports Week in Singapore from 22 to 25 June, and other World Taekwondo Championships and Grand Prix events in 2023. Their goal is to make Virtual Taekwondo one of the first medal virtual sports at the Olympic Games.