Distance Technologies has emerged from stealth as a pioneering developer of glasses-free Extended Reality (XR) applications designed for the automotive, aerospace and defense markets.
The goal is to empower users with contextual AI. Already showing a small glimpse of its first commercial product, Distance Technologies’ prototype transforms almost any transparent surface into a window for augmented reality. The technology comes from the makers of the Varjo XR headphones.
Using a computer-generated 3D light field that blends seamlessly with the real world, Distance offers pixel-perfect depth that covers the entire field of view for maximum immersion – and is completely independent of anything being worn on the face or body of the user, the company said.
Building on Varjo’s pioneering promise of “human eye resolution” XR content, Helsinki, Finland-based Distance Technologies brings next-generation 3D visual fidelity and performance into the end-user world for the first time .
Lil Snack & GamesBeat
GamesBeat is excited to partner with Lil Snack to have custom games just for our audience! We know as gamers ourselves, this is an exciting way to engage through gameplay with the GamesBeat content you already love. Start playing games now!
This performance was previously limited mainly to headphones for the automotive design and military markets. With Distance, simply look through a window or any transparent surface in your car or on a plane – and experience the next generation of mixed reality.
Content looks completely and deeply natural, thanks to Distance’s innovative per-pixel optical depth capability. All this is achieved without a headset, a phone, a pin, a device or glasses – just through your eyes and all without eye strain.
“There are very few moments in your life where you have the opportunity to ‘charge the lightning.’ I had the privilege of doing it once as co-founder of Varjo with the first XR human eye resolution headset, and now I’m very excited to have the opportunity to do it again with the Distance platform – and perhaps in an even more transformative way.” said Urho Konttori, CEO and co-founder of Distance Technologies, in a statement. “I have every confidence that we are creating a tipping point where true mixed reality without headsets or glasses becomes ubiquitous and that visual AI has the potential to reach everyone on this planet.”
Designed to be integrated into automotive and advanced aeronautical systems, this technology demonstrator is currently under evaluation by several major automotive OEMs for potential use in both windshields and windows.
Meanwhile, defense contractors and aviation companies can explore the adoption of remote technology in commercial and military cockpits and vehicles, anticipating significant improvements. Future design generations are expected to open up additional market opportunities.
Long considered a “Holy Grail” moment for the XR industry, glasses-free XR means that any view inside a window, glass or cabin can now be enhanced with ANY content, data or alphanumeric information.
This XR content can include a wide range of situational analysis and information unique and specific to that location or geospatial coordinate – all looking completely natural and “in situ”.
Remote technology is designed to also interface with a wide range of AI language models and search engines as a means of producing true “contextual AI” and represents the next generation of XR experience available to a mainstream audience .
“This team is absolutely brilliant and their timing couldn’t be better as the automotive and mobility space is experiencing a real renaissance. Distance’s execution speed is already outstanding and we have 100% confidence in their ability to revolutionize the XR industry with their groundbreaking technology. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before and we’re excited to support their journey to new heights,” said Ilkka Kivimäki, founding partner at Maki.vc, in a statement.
Privately shown to a select group of analysts, journalists and influencers at Augmented World Expo (AWE) 2024, others can view demo videos at www.distance.tech.
“We are honored to lead this first investment in Distance Technologies. We have built a strong relationship with the team and want to support experienced founders as soon as possible. Distance’s vision aligns perfectly with our broader thesis for the next generation of computing, where the digital seamlessly blends with the physical world,” said Petri Rajahalme, founding partner at FOV Ventures, in a statement.
Distance has raised a total of $2.7 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round led by FOV Ventures and Maki.vc, with further investment from Business Finland and David Helgason’s Foobar.vc. More details on availability and customers for the Distance glasses-free XR solution will be released later in 2024.
#Distance #Technologies #raises #million #glassesfree #augmented #reality #apps
Image Source : venturebeat.com
