Facebook, one of the biggest companies in the world and one of the biggest players in the VR space, has acquired one of the best computer vision startups. Scape is a company that produces real-world overlays and augmented reality technology. The details are thin on the deal itself, but this technology now being in Facebook’s hands is a big step forward toward the inevitable AR glasses that are coming to consumers.
What we do know about the deal is that Facebook bought a large chunk. They own over 75% of all shares in the company, a purchase that is likely going to shake up the company from top to bottom. Certain filings discovered by Tech Crunch show that a large number of company directors and managers have stepped down too. They’ve likely been replaced by Facebook personal. This type of replacement isn’t uncommon when smaller companies are swallowed up by tech giants.
Scape was founded in 2016. This company set out to make a computer vision engine with positioning mapped to the real world. The system is called Vision Engine and the company says that it “can be used to precisely determine the location of any camera device, with more accuracy than GPS, and are automatically updated to reflect changes in the environment.”
Scape has worked hard to be in the position they are in. Its no accident that one of the most forward-thinking companies in the world wants their product. This isn’t the first taste of fame for Scape though, as they made it to the AT&T Stadium last year. In the demonstrations of 5G at the newest Cowboy stadium in Dallas, ScapeKit was used to show off what AR is capable of. SkapeKit is the companies multi-platform SDK that is available to millions across the world.
AR Glasses
Now when it comes to the AR glasses that Facebook is building, they aren’t going to be using any developer kits. The reason they would buy the majority of shares with a company like this is for the ability to own this software exclusively. Facebook seems to be angling to put this tech inside of their consumer-focused AR headsets/glasses.
When a Tech Crunch employee asked Facebook for a statement and an explanation about the latest news the company spokesmen said that they “acquire smaller tech companies from time to time. We don’t always discuss our plans.” Although this may be true, it isn’t usually the case. Facebook is very intent on being forthright with their tech plans. Anything that that might do, they talk about. They don’t have the sealed lips that Apple is so famously known for.
Even the announcement of AR glasses themself proves this. At the latest Oculus Connect Event, they had no hardware, software, or even CGI of glasses to show us. They simply said that they were working on them and they were excited to see where it took the future of wearable tech.
If you are expecting big things from the first version of the glasses, you might be disappointed. As we have mentioned a handful of times, the first attempt at true mass adoption for VR is going to be rocky. It won’t be perfect, but it will be enough to get people interested. It will be interesting to see if Facebook is using this tech in their hardware that is supposed to get people interested, and then hope to have their own software ready for the most consumer-ready glasses. We doubt Scape has any sort of operating system, so Facebook will need to continue to pull their weight. For more VR news and community updates, make sure to check back at VRGear.com.
