The technology stalwart is among many brands keen on investing in Micro LED technology
Google is making progress in its augmented reality technology efforts by agreeing to a new deal for the purchase of Raxium, a startup company manufacturing light-emitting diodes or LEDs for displays. Google has invested with the main purpose of using the company’s diodes for manufacturing mixed reality and augmented reality devices.
Raxium is yet to achieve the release of any commercial offering, but much of its expertise is focused on Micro LEDs and the kind that can be useful for AR devices. Currently, the biggest supplier for LED technology is Samsung but it provides OLED. The buzz around Micro LEDs is growing fast and there is not a big player in this sector yet. Apple has also made investments in Micro LED technology and Facebook has also partnered with a company that works on this technology. Many more developments are expected for this technology in the near future.
Google is carrying out various development projects currently, including an augmented reality-based operating system and a headset. The company’s subsidiary North has also kept up with its efforts in the domain of augmented reality. The release date for the Project Iris augmented reality headset is expected to be 2024. Google’s interest in Raxium should not, therefore, be considered abrupt.
Google is also making considerable efforts in the virtual reality space aside from the augmented reality work. Both the VR and AR projects have been undertaken by the same team, led by Clay Bavor, the Google Labs VP. In the past decade, the company has made multiple acquisitions of immersive technology businesses and hired personnel for new positions. Google has also consulted with chip suppliers for ascertaining that features required by it would be present in phones of the future.
In recent years, virtual reality support has been created for Android devices that have shipped with support for the appropriate hardware. This is in addition to the VR OS which would come with the virtual launcher, a user interface, and Google’s version of the Play Store in virtual reality. Currently, there are two different applications of virtual reality, on YouTube, and the Tilt Brush painting app which uses VR.
However, the efforts of the company in the VR space have largely been unremarkable. This is because most of the products developed are not active anymore, and much of the hype has died. This includes Google Cardboard, the cardboard-build virtual reality headset from the company. Another of these failed ventures was the Daydream VR headsets that only lasted for a year before being discontinued. Android also stopped providing VR support back in 2020. Although these offerings were initially well-received, they have not achieved a considerable level of success.
One of Google’s projects, Project Tango, was initially a failure, but then it changed into the ARCore for Android. It exists currently and is used for various applications.
Stay tuned for more news regarding the Micro LED efforts of Google.
