Controller and HMD position recognition using light without cameras or lasers
The data size is small, so it can be transmitted via Bluetooth.

At both the Smart Device Show and the VR Summit, the Samsung Gear was the only domestic VR device. While many said, "It is already too late for hardware; let's focus on content," it was disappointing. Around that time, I discovered Polariant , a domestic startup that manufactures VR controllers.

Judging from the photo, the controller is different from the existing controller. There is a round ball at the very top that looks flashy like a mirror ball, and a button below it.

Looking at the demo video, the controller has evolved (?) into a shape resembling a table tennis racket. The researchers wore mobile VR devices and moved their heads and hands back and forth and side to side. However, there are no wires on the controller.

Polariant CEO Jang Hyuk stated that it is because they use light.

It tracks location using a polarization sensor, so cameras and lasers are not needed. Therefore, installation is simple. We do not yet have plans for B2C sales, but it is expected to be priced at around $50. Polariant's controller, Pol, measures light using a polarization sensor and calculates data values. The data is small, measuring only a few bytes, so it can be transmitted via Bluetooth.

Pol can be used with both PC-based and mobile-based VR HMD devices by attaching LEDs that transmit and receive signals. This is why major VR manufacturers are also interested in Polariant's technology and seeking ways to collaborate.
Previously, Polariant focused on the mobile VR device market. Their judgment was that by adding Pol's performance to mobile VR devices—which were relatively inexpensive but limited to video viewing due to difficulties in properly tracking controller positioning—it would be possible to play active games, thereby enabling rapid popularization.

While VR HMDs are evolving into standalone devices, mobile VR controllers still lack positioning capabilities. Pol can fill the gaps in mobile VR devices with a technological level equivalent to PC VR controllers.

Polarient was founded in May 2015. The following year, it received the CEO Award in Samsung Electronics' VR & AR Challenge and secured investment from Naver, BluePoint Partners, Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon, and others in recognition of its technological capabilities.

This year, we were selected as a representative company for a project jointly promoted by Facebook, the Korea Innovation Center (KIC), and the Information and Communication Technology Promotion Center (IITP), laying the groundwork for entry into Silicon Valley.