Whether you are alone
or with loved ones,
watching TV is an enjoyable experience.
For this reason, we are always thinking
about and researching new
technologies
that make TVs more
accessible to everyone and create a
world
where everyone can watch TVs
together.
A survey revealed that 85.2%* of people with
low vision named watching TV as their most
favorite leisure activity.
However, despite the
important role TVs play in their lives, people
with low vision have limited accessibility with
the technology.
To improve their accessibility to TVs, we
invented Relumino, which means to “give
back light” in Latin.
Here’s our story:
The story of Relumino began at the Creative Lab (C-
Lab), an in-house venture program at Samsung
Electronics.
“The source of inspiration to start our research
began after results of a survey showed that 92% of
people with low vision list watching TV as their
number one leisure activity—and yet they have
difficulty accessing it. Our development team also
felt it was important to put ourselves in the shoes
of our real users, so we developed this technology
while wearing special goggles that allowed us to
closely simulate what it might be like to experience
limited vision like people with low vision.”
The evolution of Relumino technology began in 2017.
After initially developing Relumino Glass and
the app, Samsung Electronics’ development team
switched its attention to TV software.
This would allow users with low vision to benefit
from Relumino technology without having to
use the wearable device or app.
The team therefore worked on developing
a new Relumino Mode for TVs that can help users
recognize characters, landscapes,
and objects on the screen.
The team even bought goggles that blurred the
team members’ vision to test watch a film, which
helped them appreciate the difficulties faced by TV
users with low vision and develop more effective
technology.
Then, from April to November 2022, the team
conducted a two-step clinical trial with 67
participants with low vision in Korea.
In 2023, Samsung Electronics first introduced the
TV’s ‘Relumino Mode’ at CES 2023 held in Las Vegas,
Nevada, USA, and won the CES Innovation Awards.
Relumino Mode is a technology designed to
improve the TV viewing experience for people with
low vision and residual vision, which account for
approximately 90% of the visually impaired people.
This technology accentuates outlines on the screen
and adjusts contrast, color, sharpness, and more, so
that viewers can clearly distinguish objects and
recognize movements in TV footage.
The effectiveness and user safety of
Relumino technology has also been
validated
by clinical trials conducted in collaboration
with Samsung Medical
Center, a renowned
hospital based in Seoul, South Korea.
Our track record of safe and effective
collaboration is evident.
Improving Effectiveness
through Clinical Trials
at Samsung Medical Center
“The subjects’ responses indicated the Relumino Mode’s
subjective results while the contrast sensitivity testing showed
its objective results. Both of these factors, combined, allowed
us to find the optimal setting for a brilliant image on TV.”
Kyungah Park,
Assistant Professor at the Department of Ophthalmology,
Samsung Medical Center.
Improving Effectiveness through
Clinical Trials at Samsung
Medical Center
“The subjects’ responses indicated the Relumino
Mode’s subjective results while the contrast
sensitivity testing showed its objective results.
Both of these factors, combined, allowed us
to find the optimal setting for a brilliant image
on TV.”
Kyungah Park,
Assistant Professor at the Department of Ophthalmology,
Samsung Medical Center.
Clinical Trials Involving
67 Participants With Low Vision
Step 1
First, clinical trial participants entered a room
with specified amount of light.
Then, we set up four 55-inch Samsung QLED TVs
one meter apart from each other
to display eight still images and two videos.
Clinical Trials Involving
67 Participants With Low Vision
Step 2
At this step, one of the four TVs broadcasted
a control video with no enhancements.
The other three TVs were randomly configured
with high, medium, and low contrast effects,
and participants rated their impression,
or satisfaction level, of the four TVs
on a scale of 0 to 10.
* Additional contrast sensitivity checks were conducted to monitor
actual contrast sensitivity differences
Clinical Trials Involving
67 Participants With Low Vision
Step 3
The videos were then fine-tuned according to
viewer preference results from the first step before
being shown again on the four TVs and the trial
participants re-evaluated them for screen
satisfaction.
Clinical Trials Involving
67 Participants With Low Vision
Follow-up user evaluations confirmed that both
performance and usability had been improved.
Clinical Trials Involving
67 Participants With Low Vision
Step 1
First, clinical trial participants entered a room with specified
amount of light. Then, we set up four 55-inch Samsung QLED
TVs one meter apart from each other to display eight still
images and two videos.
Clinical Trials Involving
67 Participants With Low Vision
Step 2
At this step, one of the four TVs broadcasted a control video
with no enhancements. The other three TVs were randomly
configured with high, medium, and low contrast effects,
and participants rated their impression, or satisfaction level,
of the four TVs on a scale of 0 to 10.
*Additional contrast sensitivity checks were conducted to monitor
actual contrast sensitivity differences
Clinical Trials Involving
67 Participants With Low Vision
Step 3
The videos were then fine-tuned according to viewer
preference results from the first step before being shown
again on the four TVs and the trial participants re-evaluated
them for screen satisfaction.
Clinical Trials Involving
67 Participants With Low Vision
Follow-up user evaluations confirmed that both performance
and usability had been improved.
To make technology more inclusive,
it is important to listen to
the opinions of
various users.
Hence, Samsung Electronics also
collaborated with the
Royal National
Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in the UK
for
this “Relumino Mode” project.
The RNIB certifies products, websites,
application services,
and more for use by
people with low vision.
As a Samsung partner,
the RNIB has been working to improve
the accessibility of TVs for over a decade.
“What’s especially impressive about
Relumino Mode is
it doesn’t visually disturb
the picture to the point where non-visually
impaired people would dislike watching.
I can sit down with my family
and
for the first time actually enjoy
watching the TV together.”
Robin Spinks, Head of Inclusive Design at RNIB
The RNIB actively participated in the testing of Relumino Mode’s user accessibility
features and further engaged with the project by providing insights
and sharing challenges from the point of view of people with low vision.
As a result, RNIB also awarded Relumino Mode its “Tried and Tested” Certification,
which recognizes products that are suitable for people
who are blind or partially sighted.
“What’s especially impressive about
Relumino Mode is it doesn’t visually disturb
the picture to the point where non-visually
impaired people would dislike watching.
I can sit down with my family and
for the first time actually enjoy
watching the TV together.”
The RNIB actively participated in the testing
of Relumino Mode’s user accessibility
features and further engaged
with the project by providing insights
and sharing challenges from the point of
view of people with low vision.
As a result, RNIB also awarded Relumino
Mode its “Tried and Tested” Certification,
which recognizes products that are suitable
for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Relumino Mode is delicate.
By splitting the screen, Relumino Together
Mode shows the screen
with Relumino Mode
applied and the one without simultaneously.
Relumino Together Mode helps users of all
abilities share the joy of watching
TV
together, laughing, and talking.
In recognition of these efforts,
Relumino Mode earned
the ‘Low Vision Care’
certification from TÜV Rheinland.
Additionally, Which, a British non-profit
consumer organization, and the RNIB
ranked
Samsung Neo QLED (QE65QN85B) and OLED
(QE55S95B) TVs in first
and second places,
respectively, for image quality, sound quality,
and
accessibility, calling them “The best TVs
for people who are blind or partially
sighted.”
Robin Spinks, Head of Inclusive Design at RNIB
