Google buys MicroLED startup Raxium for its AR speaker screens

Today, the head of Google devices, Rick Osterloh Confirmed that the company has acquired Raxiuma five-year-old startup with MicroLED technology that could be instrumental in building a new generation of augmented, virtual, and mixed reality headsets.

This adds to the evidence that Google’s next big step for augmented reality is approaching: Previously acquired North Eyewear in 2020it is said Recruitment of engineers To build an augmented reality operating system. We learned in January that Google Labs is working on an augmented reality headset called “Project Iris”, under the same management Starline Project Demonstration of the HD video chat that was shown during last year’s I/O event.

Photo: Raxium

when the information Google first reported on the Raxium purchase last month, and indicated that MicroLED technology could be useful for building augmented reality displays that are more energy efficient than other solutions, but still look colorful. In addition, Raxium is working on a “monolithic integration” of MicroLEDs, which the information Reports could mean it’s made from the same type of silicon used in most processors, which could drop the price significantly. Other companies working on MicroLED AR devices included Oppo, appleAnd Fuzzix.

As for the competition, Microsoft has already introduced an augmented reality device with HoloLensWhile appleAnd deadAnd Explode, ExplodeOthers are said to be investing heavily to create their own devices that overlay information and images over the real world.

According to the Raxium websiteThe Super AMOLED screen on your phone has a pixel pitch (the distance between the center of one pixel, and the center of another pixel next to it) of about 50 microns, while its MicroLED can manage about 3.5 microns. It also boasts “unprecedented efficiency” that is five times better than any world record.

Osterloh noted scale and efficiency in his blog post about future display technologies that Raxium might build. He said the company will join Google’s hardware and services team, and that its “technical expertise in this area will play a key role as we continue to invest in our hardware efforts.”