Patents can provide insights regarding the state of the art of augmented reality (AR) technology innovation, and thus, a strategic move of a company for the AR innovation leadership. To compare the technology innovation strategy of the three leading companies in the AR business, Magic Leap, Microsoft and Samsung, patent information is exploited for the cross-competitor analysis.

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Magic Leap v. Microsoft v. Samsung Augmented Reality Strategy Insights from
Patents
Patents can provide insights regarding the state of the art of augmented reality (AR) technology innovation, and
thus, a strategic move of a company for the AR innovation leadership. To compare the technology innovation
strategy of the three leading companies in the AR business, Magic Leap, Microsoft and Samsung, patent
information is exploited for the cross-competitoranalysis.
According to Dr. Benjamin Gilad with the Academy of Competitive Intelligence, the goal of the cross-competitor
analysis is to enable one to simplify predictions of competitors’ moves and countermoves when multiple
competitors are involved. Through the cross-competitoranalysis, one can understand that: Competitors’ behavior
when there are several significant competitors; Paradigm shifts in industries undergoing rapid change or transition;
Entry of new competitors into the competitive landscape; Future directions in strategic move among industry
contenders. The strategic map is a toolused in the cross-competitoranalysis for visualizing the competitive
landscape: A chart for a strategic parameter No.1 (e.g. product/serviceportfolio, distribution channel etc.) vs. a
strategic parameter No.2 (e.g. product/serviceprice, quality, brand etc.).

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To do the cross-competitor analysis for the AR, US patent published applications and issued patents of Magic Leap,
Microsoft and Samsung that are related to the AR are reviewed for identifying patents that cover the key AR
technology innovations: Electro-Optical System, Tracking & Rendering, Mapping & Localization, UI, UX, and
Application (e.g., LBS, retail, automotive, medical, robotics, gaming application). Total of 289 Magic Leap,
Microsoft and Samsung patents are selected for the AR cross-competitoranalysis. The key AR patens of Magic
Leap, Microsoft and Samsung account about 15% of total key AR patents in the US as of Feb. 11, 2016.
Following figure shows the Activity Index vs. technology innovations strategic map for Magic Leap, Microsoft and
Samsung. The size of the circle represents the total number of the patents for each technology innovation. Activity
Index is a measure of a company’s relative technology innovation activities in a specific technology innovation
field: Activity Index = share of a specific innovation sub-class in a company/share of a company’s patent in total
patents, where share of a specific innovation sub-class in a company = patents (innovation sub-class)/patents (a
company) and share of a company’s patent in total patents = patents (a company)/patents (total companies).

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The map clearly shows each company’s competitive advantage in the Key AR technology innovations. Magic
Leap’s AR technology innovation is heavily focused on the Electro-Optical System. To accommodatecomfortable
viewing with minimal hardware, a larger field of view can be created by aggregating the outputs/reflections of
various different reflective and/or diffractive surfaces. Magic Leap’s AR Electro-Optical System provides a frame-
sequential configuration in which the eye is presented with a sequence of frames at high frequency that provides
the perception of a single coherent scene using the waveguide combined with various optical element
configurations (for details, please see Magic Leap Augmented Reality Strategy Insights from Patents). Microsoft’s
AR technology innovation is focused on the user experiences. Samsung’s AR technology innovation is focused on
the AR applications using its smartphones and wearable devices.