There are only a handful of companies who can dominate markets with the flick of a wrist and Google just so happens to be one of them. Virtual reality could be the next domino to fall in the Google onslaught.

Jamie Davies

October 25, 2016

2 Min Read
Look out Google’s about

There are only a handful of companies who can dominate markets with the flick of a wrist and Google just so happens to be one of them. Virtual reality could be the next domino to fall in the Google onslaught.

Spotted originally by Mattermark, Eyefluence has been brought into the Google family to bolster capabilities ahead of the launch of the Daydream View virtual reality headset in November. Google has made its intentions clear of its desire to play in the VR world so this acquisition should not come as a huge surprise considering the Google exec team has a knack of spotting a good acquisition. It’s $500 million acquisition of Deepmind in 2014 is starting to look like a bit of a bargain as well.

“Today, we are excited to announce that the Eyefluence team is joining Google!” the company said on its blog. “With our forces combined, we will continue to advance eye-interaction technology to expand human potential and empathy on an even larger scale.  We look forward to the life-changing innovations we’ll create together!”

Google has yet to made a comment on the acquisition, though eye tracking capabilities are imperative should the team want to make a truly immersive experience. Only last week at VR & AR World commentators noted there is yet to be a blockbuster VR experience to kick-start the industry, though content is limited to date. Eyefluence could be the missing part to the Google puzzle to take the product to the next level.

Although there has been progress made in the VR world it is still early days. For most, the kit is still too expensive, and while this is still the case breaking into the mass market will almost be impossible. Google is trying its best to democratize VR with the introduction of Daydream View for $79 in November.

The team has also filed documents with the FCC to see whether it can test a wireless device on its employees and other partners. The document does not explicitly state VR is the target, though one of the main contacts is Mike Jazayeri, one of the senior product managers in the VR development team. Although Daydream View is a phone orientated headset, this new one (assuming it is a wireless headset for VR) could take Google into the more premium end of the market.

Google has a track record of throwing money around and dominating new markets, and if history is anything to go by, this could be another to add into the portfolio.

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