BOE sets foot in augmented reality technology
( Beijing Daily )
Do you want to live a high-tech life like Downey in Iron Man? Do you want to feel what it's like to grab floating information in the air and freely interact with virtual characters? Do you want to plant trees, build houses and create an ideal world within a couple of minutes? What used to appear in science fiction is now actually happening.
The leading enterprises in the field of semiconductor displays from BOE made an announcement last night that the company will invest around $5 million in the US-based wearable smart device company of Meta to set foot in augmented reality technology.
As one of the co-founders of Meta, Steven Feiner is a professor at Columbia University and one of the world's leading scholars in the field of augmented reality technology, having created many records in this area. He is honored as "father of augmented reality technology".
The other co-founder – Steve Mann, who established a wearable computing laboratory in MIT Media Lab 30 years ago, is known as the "father of wearable computing". With investment in the company, BOE will further develop its layout in wearable and augmented reality technology, and facilitate its development in the field of innovative cutting-edge technology based on TFT-LCD and AMOLED display technologies.
Augmented reality technology strengthens users' feelings in the real world by virtual information provided by a system, which overlays virtual objects, scenes and system information generated by the system into the real world, and achieves interactions between the real world and virtual world through 3D touch control. Meta has a valuation of $50 million.
BOE increased the capital of BOEOH by around $5 million with its own funds, and subscribed for around $5 million worth of preference shares of Meta through BOEOH at a subscription price of $16.4 per share. BOE is expected to have 304,900 preference shares.
Insiders pointed out that as a segment of virtual reality technology, augmented reality technology can be extensively used in entertainment, medical treatment, buildings, business and many other areas, which give it great market potential. According to the data released by the market research institute of Statista, the number of augmented reality technology products will significantly increase from 60 million in 2013 to 200 million in 2018 at a compound annual growth rate of 27 percent.