Samsung recently filed patents with China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) office that shows off a few new designs in what appears to be two fairly similar PC VR headsets.

There’s little to go on besides the photos of both design patents, which were first uncovered by 91Mobiles, although we can hypothesize a bit from what we see below.

Unlike Samsung’s previous HMD Odyssey and Odyssey+ headsets, which sports two outward-facing camera sensors, it isn’t clear exactly what tracking standard the proposed headset(s) may use.

As seen in the renders and diagrams, a translucent cover houses a cage-like piece that has four prominent divots on the front; with such little information, these could be any number of things, including SteamVR sensors, outward-facing camera sensors, or simply attach points for the cover itself.

Otherwise, the render shows off a very similar design and strap system to the Samsung HMD Odyssey, which also features integrated audio. A cable trailing off on the left side of the headset betrays it as a tethered PC VR headset.

The second patent uncovered by 91Mobiles is a little less mysterious regarding its positional tracking standard. As if VR headsets didn’t look strange enough, this one shows off a prominent faceplate that seems to be drawing inspiration from the insect world. We weren’t unable to locate the above patent, but the insectioid design can be found officially listed on the CNIPA website.

Image courtesy CNIPA

Underneath the translucent faceplate appears to be four optical sensors, which appear to cover the front, and left and right flanks. The Odyssey line of Windows Mixed Reality headsets only has two forward-facing sensors, but in more or less the same locations as the front-facing ones seen below in the diagrams.

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Note: both headset designs sport the same logo on the top of the headset and integrated into the strap system on the back, which could denote a line apart from the Odyssey Mixed Reality headset line  (see update).

Samsung has yet to give any indication as to whether it intends to actually produce the headset, be in one form or the other. As it is, all products have patents, but not all patents become products, so only time will tell.

The above patent was published recently, however it was filed on January 3rd, 2019, so there’s no telling when/if the design will find its way to other main patent offices soon as the process may differ from country to country.

Update (1:20 PM ET): the logo seen in the design patents above incorporate the Odyssey logo, which is used on the company’s laptop line, but not their previous VR headset line as such. Thanks goes to ‘dk’ for pointing it out.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • dk

    the logo is from their Odyssey laptops…. I don’t remember if they had other products using the Odyssey logo

    • Thanks for pointing that out, dk! Just updated with the info.

      • dk

        ;)

  • mfx

    It’s really meant to make you look like a dragonfly.
    I hope it will feature NOT crap pentile screens.

    • Charles

      Maybe the design is a reference to that one scene in the 90’s movie about VR, “Lawnmower Man” where they turn into a dragonfly.

    • Klone

      Samsung is married to Pentile OLED, so it’s a virtual certainty it will.

  • Kyokushin

    What about resolution?

  • Cragheart

    VR headset which makes you look like an alien?

    • Mei Ling

      No I think it’s more like Ultraman.

  • brandon9271

    I personally like the bug-eyed design! I hope they stick with it. You’re going to look silly in VR no matter what. Why not do it with some style? ;)

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  • impurekind

    That insect design actually looks rather cool imo.

    • Dan Lokemoen

      Yeah, it makes me want to put bug eyes on my VR hat.

  • Andrew Jakobs

    They should at least add one wideangle camera on the back, so it can better track controllers behind.. Better still would be to have the insideout tracking in the controllers themselves..

    • Klone

      Yes to the inside-out in the controllers. Badly needed tech advance.

  • NooYawker

    Samsung makes the best screens for smartphones. They could create some really great VR hardware if they wanted to.

  • How often are these patent designs red herrings? I think the bug-eyed one is fake. Companies doing consumer items work pretty hard to make their products seem familiar and desirable. They don’t work to make them look silly.

    Then again, it wouldn’t be the first time some completely ridiculous thing was patented for the sake of patenting.

    • Sofian

      Nothing silly if the look follow the function, we don”t know what’s going on inside.

  • Fabian

    I don’t care about the design. If is has an OLED screen with more FOV and a higher resolution then the O+ then shut up and take my money.

    • Lance Obe

      OLED for sure, LCD’s colors and blacks look washed out

  • Matt

    Looks like a mosquito

  • ShaneMcGrath

    Increase FOV to 130, More resolution, Support for untethered use with battery pack and it’s a day one purchase for me.

  • Keith X

    If it is a WMR headset with 4 cameras, it does imply there is a WMR 2.0 on they way because the current version of WMR only supports 2 cameras.

  • Nothing to see here

    OK but if you wear that, you will get swatted.

  • MW

    I’m sorry but this headset looks like… bottom:) On your face. I hope fnal product will be covered by some front panel. Otherwise-beware of the power of memes:)

    • dk

      if it’s good enough and the right price I would be a proud owner of buttface :P

  • Great job in spotting they are two patents and not only one! Anyway, I like this fly-inspired design, even if someone said that it looks like a b*tt

  • Lance Obe
  • Emad Khan

    The Bug eye design will make it more difficult to use in a more professional environment. They should make it a replaceable/removable feature. Larger FOV + Resolution is a must , + longer cord would be nice too with Display port. A wireless add one would help also.

  • DrPunchman ☃

    Take my money, Black Manta!