Meta demonstrated its new augmented reality headset at TED conference in Vncouver, Canada on Wednesday. The new Meta 2 showed its capability as a serious competitor for Microsoft HoloLens.
Meta, the augmented reality (AR) startup company was founded in 2012 by Meron Gribetz, Ben Sand, and Raymond Lo in New York. The trio has a mission to build natural machines that seamlessly unite the real world with the virtual world. In order to achieve that, the company build a bridge to enable virtual object and apps to be inserted in the real environment.
In January last year, the Portola Valley, California-based company received its Series A investment of $23 million. The company aimed to build the next generation of of personal computing through augmented reality which will replace any personal computing device, from desktop PC, laptop, tablets and smartphone. Its application is targeted to help the process in manufacturing, communication & media, medical, education, remote assistance and modeling.
In the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference, the company is demonstrating its new headset: Meta 2. When founder and CEO Meron Gribetz demonstrate the capabilities of Meta 2, Forbes reported that Microsoft's HoloLens and secretive startup Magic Leap have another rival to worry about.
Both companies are known at the forefront for pursuing the augmented reality technology along with Google with Google Glass. Meta is planning to launch its Met 2 AR glass later this year.
Prior to the presentation, Tech Crunch reported last week the company published a video featuring a handful of tech influencers lauding their "futuristic" experiences with demos of the yet-to-be-publicly-revealed device. The video showcased Reddit founder which also investor of Meta, Alexis Ohanian talking about his experience in trying Meta AR glass. He said, "This was the first time I've ever put something on and felt that I was living in that future that I had been promised for all these years."
On Wednesday, during the company's presentation in TED conference, the audience were able to see the device first hand. They were fascinated by its tethering capabilities and also real-looking holographic image, which can be turned and manipulated in midair. Meta develop its AR glass based on extensive research on neuroscience, and it worked closely with customers in the earlier version to gather their inputs.
In his talk, as quoted, by Business Wire, CEO Gribetz said, "As much as technology and computing devices have pushed humanity forward, the form factors haven't changed much in decades. The industry continues to force people to conform to the technology rather than the other way around. With the trend toward smaller screens and multiple devices, the problem has only gotten worse."
Meta was able to mesmerized audience in TED conference during introduction ot its new augmented reality device. The new device, Meta 2 has shown to be a serious rival for Microsoft Holo Lens.
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