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Google gets startup specializing in Tiny Displays for Augmented Reality

Google’s recent acquisition suggests we’re looking back at Google Glass with much more impressive display technology.

The search giant has reached a deal to acquire a five-year-old startup named Raxium, the report said. Raxium focuses on Micro LED technology to provide better augmented reality and mixed reality displays. The company’s website includes details of high-efficiency micro LEDs that measure approximately 3.5 microns per pixel and offer millions of nits of brightness

Micro LEDs offer many of the same advantages as OLEDs without some of the disadvantages, notably burn-in. Their small proportions make them well suited for closing displays needed for head-mounted displays as they can help reduce the “screen door effect” that occurs when a viewer can see the gaps between pixels.

Exactly how Google would implement Raxium’s micro LED technology is not entirely clear. Many AR devices do not place a traditional display in front of the user’s eyes, instead opting for projection and advanced optics to reflect a display on an otherwise transparent lens. This is how effective AR glasses like Oppo’s Air Glass and Focals by North (a company that Google also bought) work. A transparent micro LED display is however a possibility.

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Google has continued to show interest in AR with the upcoming Project Iris, and it is likely to face a lot of competition. Microsoft’s HoloLens are still on the market, and Meta has shown serious ambition in the space, even managing to retain dozens of Microsoft employees. Apple is also interested in this tech after buying a micro LED display manufacturer back in 2014. In the Apple case, however, we are more likely that its main devices will make the switch to micro LEDs than AR glasses that are announced.

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