Google is Planning to Buy Lytro for $40M, Report Suggests
The imaging startup uses light field technology to achieve new levels of visual quality in mixed reality, cinematography and visualization.
Google has been making waves in the VR field with their latest activities. We saw how Google markets their VR approach as “VR for everyone,” and now there are reports that Google is preparing to buy Lytro – the company that came to limelight with their cameras that use light field technology. Now for those who are not acquainted with Lytro, they are a company specializing in advanced imaging technologies.
Lytro made their first headline in 2011 when they made cameras that use Light Field technology.
To cut it short, Light field cameras can take pictures that can be focused different depth fields even after the photo is taken. The camera from Lytro manages to accomplish this feat by recording the intensity of the light plus the direction of the light rays. Normal cameras can only record the intensity of light.
By using multiple lenses, Lytro’s camera can capture images that can be focused even after the image is taken. Rumors have been floating around that Google is acquiring Lytro to utilize their light-capturing technologies. The talk of the town is that Lytro will be acquired by Google for a price tag that sits in between $25 million and $50 million. Even though the Light Field cameras can capture images, the real use comes in VR. When Light Field cameras are used for VR rather than ordinary cameras, the depth of detail is profound. The light field cameras will allow the user to see around the corners of the objects when they move their head.
If the sales go through, Google will be getting Lytro assets including 59 patents that Lytro attained for Light field technology and their other imaging techs. It is believed that not all assets like personnel will see the same transition into Google. Many employees have left the firm on their own, and some were given severance packages.
The irresponsive stance taken by the two companies to emails regarding the subject adds more fuel to the fire. Lytro failed to create the impact they were hoping to create in the photography market due to their expensive cameras and their weak transition to VR.
But under Google, we can hope a better implementation of the technology with an application that spans over much more than just cameras. The future is VR and Google is making moves to be at the top of the game!
