
Apple buys startup focused on lenses for AR glasses - sahin-boydas
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-tech/apple-buys-startup-focused-on-lenses-for-ar-glasses-idUSKCN1LE2VS
======
doublerebel
It looks like the acquired startup, Akonia, uses waveguides like Hololens but
uses photopolymer in place of the diffraction grating.

[https://mspoweruser.com/akonia-plans-holographic-
waveguide-e...](https://mspoweruser.com/akonia-plans-holographic-waveguide-
eye-piece-60-degree-field-view-oems/)

[https://venturebeat.com/2016/12/26/akonia-uses-holography-
to...](https://venturebeat.com/2016/12/26/akonia-uses-holography-to-create-
transparent-augmented-reality-display/)

Whitepaper on the photopolymer:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25835673/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25835673/)

They were going to replace tape storage with holographic storage before they
figured out how to apply it to AR. Here's the holographic storage pitch deck:

[https://science.energy.gov/~/media/np/pdf/sbir%2520sttr/SBIR...](https://science.energy.gov/~/media/np/pdf/sbir%2520sttr/SBIR_STTR_2016/Day2/Anderson_Akonia_Presentation_For_Publication.pdf)

[http://www.pdsw.org/pdsw15/slides/AkoniaHolographicsKeynote....](http://www.pdsw.org/pdsw15/slides/AkoniaHolographicsKeynote.pdf)

~~~
threeseed
Akonia/Apple: 60° FOV (targeted)

Hololens: 35° FOV (currently)

Magic Leap: 40° FOV horizontal / 30° vertical (currently)

~~~
amelius
Humans: 210° FOV (for reference)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_view](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_of_view)

~~~
pen2l
Consider foveation as well — only a small part of that is truly in “focus”.

Some up and coming be glasses take this into account and expend lesser
resources on the part that’s outside the important part (they don’t render
that part in a high resolution, so it’s left blurry, which is actually how our
eyes work anyway)

~~~
Filligree
That only really works when combined with low-latency eye tracking. Yes,
whatever we don't look directly at is really blurry, but our eyes _move_.

On the other hand, eye tracking is just about ready already. I've heard Google
is working on a VR system using foveated rendering with tracking.

~~~
jobigoud
It's already implemented in the StarVR headset (which has 210° FOV) using
Tobii eye tracking tech. They had a working demo at Siggraph a couple weeks
ago.

~~~
pen2l
It’s crazy unbelievable how low-latency Tobii’s eye tracking is

Even their consumer grade 4c is extremely impressive. It has neat uses for
simple desktop usage. For the handicapped folks it’s an absolute boon

~~~
mncharity
> It’s crazy unbelievable how low-latency Tobii’s eye tracking is

Tobii uses cameras at 60 or 120 Hz, so >8 ms. It's the mature but old and
limited tech. MEMS-based tracking is faster. During a saccade, you've the
samples to predict where the eye is going to end up fixated, 20 ms before it
happens.[1]

GGP> but our eyes _move_.

Slowwwwwlllyyyy. ;)

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUAxVhZQs-o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUAxVhZQs-o)

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karmelapple
The primary information available on their website seems to be associated with
holographic data storage. They had a prototype working in 2010 [1].

Anyone familiar with this technology, and how it may compare to, say, SSDs? A
2012 article seems pretty down on them [2].

Akonia also simply acquired the assets after InPhase filed for bankruptcy in
2011 [3]. If so, being purchased by Apple has to be a big win for the Akonia
investors!

[1] [http://akoniaholographics.com/holographic-
data/index.html](http://akoniaholographics.com/holographic-data/index.html)
[2] [https://www.techradar.com/news/computing-
components/storage/...](https://www.techradar.com/news/computing-
components/storage/whatever-happened-to-holographic-storage-1099304) [3]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InPhase_Technologies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InPhase_Technologies)

------
outside1234
i can't wait for Apple to figure out AR

~~~
zamalek
I honestly don't think we are close enough to the tools. It is the culmination
of what is currently handwavium: neural interfaces, carbon nanotechnology, who
knows? As a VR user and enthusiast, FOV is a problem that lenses simply can't
solve - which is an even harder problem for AR.

I'm not a big fan of Apple, but I can hand them the "polish card" (at least
under Jobs). With our current level of technology, that level of polish is
impossible.

~~~
djrogers
> With our current level of technology, that level of polish is impossible.

Hence the anticipation and excitement. I can’t wait for jet packs,
hoverboards, and flying cars too - one can geek out over cool tech even if it
ain’t right around the corner.

~~~
TeMPOraL
> _jet packs, hoverboards, and flying cars too - one can geek out over cool
> tech even if it ain’t right around the corner_

Two of those three are entirely doable (and have been done) - the main
problems with them are 1) economy, and 2) that, while cool for individual,
they'd be absolutely disastrous if ubiquitous. You _don 't_ want everyone to
get themselves a jet pack or flying car, not unless 99.9% of flying is done by
a foolproof AI.

~~~
frockington
I never even thought about that. The amount of damage one drunk flyer could do
would be astounding

------
person_of_color
How come I never hear about a startup until the acquisition?

I want to join a company that will be acquired by FANG.

~~~
techstrategist
That's not so easy, but you can make some predictions. What areas are going to
be interesting to FANG in the coming years? What companies are doing something
useful in that space? Who has something unique that FANG companies would have
difficulty replicating in-house?

~~~
person_of_color
It would be great to come up with a service to crawl AngelList for predictions

------
debt
"The firm has a portfolio of more than 200 patents related to holographic
systems and materials."

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no1youknowz
PolyMatter did a nice video on why "Apple Glasses Are Coming."

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SrckSJvGc8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SrckSJvGc8)

~~~
skellera
While that’s a decent starting point, the larger reason is the App Store.
Apple sees the value in being the interface for your daily computer
interaction.

Imagine being the interface to your world. You are the gatekeeper to
everything a person sees. There is exponentially more value possible than the
App Store and the App Store made them the largest company in the world.

Everything that video says is why they can succeed but the driving force is
selling more software.

~~~
DonHopkins
The driving force is selling more everything, by not just tracking how many
eyeballs are looking, but also what they're looking at.

------
mgazzer
This news fits nicely with this theory.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SrckSJvGc8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SrckSJvGc8)

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loa-in-backup
And pays for articles that give them their beloved publicity on the net

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mickyvicky
AR glasses is going to be more than 30 billion dollar net worth till 2020.

Curious to know how audience is seeing it and experiencing it.

