Nuked Hello followers! As some of you may have heard, Meta has recently acquired Luxexcel, a Dutch company that specializes in 3D-printing prescription lenses for smart glasses. This is an exciting development for both companies, as it deepens their existing partnership and brings the Luxexcel team on board with Meta.
Luxexcel, which was founded in 2009, has made significant progress in integrating the elements needed for an augmented reality (AR) experience within a prescription lens, such as holographic film and projectors. In 2021, the company even partnered with WaveOptics, the company that provides the displays for Snap’s Spectacles, to create a lens equipped with waveguides, or transparent display technology that allows for the superimposition of virtual objects on a user’s real-life environment.
While Meta is certainly making progress towards its goal of creating AR glasses, it may still be some time before we see a finished product. Meta CTO and Reality Labs head, Andrew Bosworth, has stated that the company’s AR glasses will “require years of progress” as they work to make the device “slimmer, lighter, faster, and more powerful.” In fact, according to a report by The Verge’s Alex Heath, the first version of Meta’s AR glasses will only be available to developers, while two later pairs could potentially become available to consumers over the course of several years. However, Meta has made other strides in the AR space, such as adding color video passthrough to its Quest Pro headset and partnering with Ray-Ban to launch the Ray-Ban Stories, a pair of smart glasses equipped with cameras, speakers, and microphones.
Overall, the acquisition of Luxexcel is a promising move for Meta as it continues to invest in the metaverse and work towards its AR goals. Who knows, maybe this acquisition will even help Meta achieve the development of built-in displays for its smart glasses in the future.
