Google Acquires A Tech Startup To Make Virtual Reality Better!

Creating an illusion and making us present somewhere we are not, isn’t a child’s play. Way back then, artists like Diego Rivera and David Siqueiros mastered the art of creating the illusion through murals. Now, it’s the virtual reality! In the event of bringing three-dimensional environment, Google takes a step forward by acquiring a tech startup to incorporate the eye-tracking technology for its virtual reality platform - Daydream.

And, the startup is none other than the Eyefluence!

Eyefluence was founded in 2013 by Jim Marggraff and David Stiehr to develop the eye-tracking technologies for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). The startup had raised $21.6 million in two rounds from investors like Intel Capital, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, NHN Investment and others.

The eye tracking interface startup made the official announcement on 24 October through its blog post.

Blog post - http://eyefluence.com/eyefluence-joins-google/

“Today, we are excited to announce that the Eyefluence team is joining Google!  With our forces combined, we will continue to advance eye-interaction technology to expand human potential and empathy on an even larger scale.  We look forward to the life-changing innovations we’ll create together!” - Jim Marggraff, CEO.

As Google has already created hype for its upcoming virtual reality platform - Daydream View VR, this acquisition took the world by storm and has gained attention for its next generation virtual reality headsets. Eyefluence developers had focused on the eye movement behavior, algorithm development, optics, and illumination system design to develop the eye tracking technology which allows the user to navigate the display based on their eye gestures. Users wearing the head-mounted virtual reality or augmented reality headsets can navigate the menu and select options with their eyes.

Another technical application was foveated rendering which enables the high-density displays to selectively change the display either to a higher or lower resolution based on where your focus is on the screen. Evidently, every virtual reality and augmented reality platform require the eye-tracking to offer an immersive experience for its users. Beyond any doubt, eye-tracking is the next big thing in the VR world!