Distance Technologies: Revolutionizing the XR Industry with Glasses-Free XR
Distance Technologies, a developer of glasses-free eXtended Reality (XR) apps, has emerged from stealth and aims to revolutionize the automotive, aerospace, and defense markets. The company, founded by the creators of Varjo XR headsets, is focused on empowering users with contextual AI and creating a seamless blend of virtual and real-world experiences.
The Distance Technologies prototype offers a sneak peek into its first commercial product, which transforms transparent surfaces into windows for extended reality. Unlike traditional XR experiences that rely on headsets or devices, Distance’s technology uses a computer-generated 3D light field that seamlessly mixes with the real world. This creates a flawless per-pixel depth covering the entire field of view, providing maximum immersion.
The breakthrough in visual fidelity and performance achieved by Distance Technologies brings “human-eye resolution” XR content to the end-user world for the first time. This level of detail and immersion was previously limited to headsets used in automotive design and military applications.
One of the key advantages of Distance’s glasses-free XR solution is its natural and intuitive user experience. Users can simply look through a window or any transparent surface in their car or on a plane to experience mixed reality. The content appears completely natural, thanks to the company’s per-pixel optical depth capability, without causing any eyestrain.
Urho Konttori, CEO and co-founder of Distance Technologies, expressed his excitement about the transformative potential of their technology. He believes that they are creating a future where true mixed reality without headsets or glasses becomes ubiquitous, reaching everyone on the planet.
The initial focus of Distance Technologies is on integrating their technology into automotive and advanced aeronautics systems. Leading automotive OEMs are currently evaluating the technology for potential use in windshields and windows. Additionally, defense contractors and aviation companies can explore adopting Distance’s technology into commercial and military cockpits and vehicles, leading to significant enhancements.
Glasses-free XR has long been considered a “Holy Grail” moment for the XR industry. With Distance’s technology, any view within a window, windshield, or cockpit can be enhanced with a wide range of content, data, or alphanumeric information. This includes situational analyses and location-specific information, all appearing completely natural and immersive.
Distance’s glasses-free XR solution also ties in with AI language models and search engines, enabling true “Contextual AI.” This represents the next generation of XR experience available to a mainstream audience.
The company has already generated significant interest and support. Distance Technologies has raised $2.7 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round led by FOV Ventures and Maki.vc, with additional investments from Business Finland and Foobar.vc. The team has showcased their technology privately to analysts, journalists, and influencers at Augmented World Expo (AWE) 2024, with demo videos available on their website.
The future looks promising for Distance Technologies as they continue to innovate and revolutionize the XR industry. More details on availability and customers for their glasses-free XR solution will be released later this year.