GV, Alphabet’s venture capital division, and other investors have contributed 10 million euros ($11.1 million) to Distance Technologies, a Finnish business that seeks to standardise mixed-reality technology on any vehicle windscreen or aircraft cockpit.
TakeAway Points:
- The venture capital division of Alphabet, GV, led a funding round that saw Distance Technologies, a mixed-reality business with headquarters in Helsinki, raise 10 million euros ($11.1 million).
- According to the company, any transparent surface can be transformed into an augmented reality display with its technology, allowing the user to see 3D digital items superimposed on top of the panel they are currently seeing.
- Whether operating an F-18 fighter jet or driving a car, Distance claims that their system can produce a life-size field of view in every situation thanks to its “unlimited” pixel depth capability.
Startup brings mixed reality to car windshield or plane cockpit
Distance raised the cash injection in a seed round led by Google Venture, with existing investors FOV Ventures and Maki.vc also stumping up more cash for the startup, the company said on Thursday.
Helsinki-headquartered Distance develops technology that it says can turn any transparent surface into an augmented-reality display, enabling the user to see 3D digital objects overlayed on top of the panel they’re viewing.
This avoids the need for any clunky hardware, like a mixed reality headset or augmented reality glasses, both of which require a user to pull an actual device over their eyes to immerse themselves in the experience.
“One of the great barriers for mixed reality is that, as long as you need to put something on your head, it will never be effortless or elegant as a solution,” Urho Konttori, CEO and co-founder of Distance, said in an interview earlier this week. Konttori was formerly chief technology officer of Varjo, another Helsinki-based mixed-reality firm.
Distance market focus
Distance is primarily focused on selling into the auto, aerospace, and defense markets.
The way Distance works is by using tracking technology to identify where you are looking and then compute the correct light field to match the exact positions of your eyes, according to Konttori.
Distance’s solution adds a set of optics layers on top of most liquid crystal displays (LCDs), which allow its tech to beam an image onto the places where your eyes are focusing.
Using this technique, Distance can separate the light fields into your left and right eyes while also creating an additional optical layer underneath that creates a high brightness.
Distance says its system is capable of “infinite” pixel depth, meaning it can create a life-size field of view in any setting — whether behind the wheel of a car or flying an F-18 fighter jet.
GV, which was formerly known as Google Ventures and counts the internet search giant’s holding company Alphabet as its sole limited partner, said that it was attracted to invest in Distance due to the “potential to build the next-generation of user interfaces.”
“We are particularly excited about how some of the nearer-term pathways to bring this to market in automotive and aerospace allow the potential for users to get their hands on this technology,” Roni Hiranand, principal at GV, said.
