
Harman Intl, a subsidy of Samsung Electronics, announced on Thursday it had bought out Germany-based automotive tech firm Apostera to further develop the former’s product lineup of augmented and mixed reality (AR/VR) experiences.
According to Harman, Apostera’s MR technologies would combine augmented reality (AR) with computer vision, machine learning, and sensors to build innovative software platforms regardless of hardware.
Harman’s digital cockpit and telemetrics solutions would allow the expanded technologies to develop cutting-edge mixed reality tools, the company added.
Any city can instantly turn into a smart city with #HARMAN Savari MECWAVE, our industry-first edge compute platform. With V2X capabilities and ultra-low latency applications, commutes will be safer, more connected and more efficient: https://t.co/SCcngXrqXk #HARMANEXPLORE2022 pic.twitter.com/q8kUsOZIAa
— HARMAN (@Harman) February 10, 2022
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s biggest consumer and enterprise tech companies, acquired Harman in 2017.
Christian Sobottka, President of Harman’s Automotive Division, said his firm was “dedicated” to building in-car XR experiences “with the speed and flexibility of consumer technology [and] reliability and performance of [automotive-grade] solutions.”
He continued, explaining,
“By seamlessly blending AR with the physical environment, Apostera’s mixed reality solution furthers this goal, transforming any display in the car into a richly contextual experience”
Andrey Golubinskiy, Chief Executive of Apostera, added his company was “proud” to team up with Harman, stating Harman’s industry “scale and reach” would allow Apostera’s technologies to set industry benchmarks and “bring richer in-vehicle experiences to more drivers than ever before.
The announcement comes just a day after Finnish software firm Basemark partnered with the BMW Group to develop AR-powered video overlay apps for the German automaker’s newest vehicles.
The new solution will also combine computer vision and sensor data to visualise navigation prompts along with real-time video footage shown on the car’s Central Information Display.
Infineon Technologies, a US-German tech firm, has also launched its micro-electromechanical (MEMS) scanner solution to facilitate the design and rollout of vehicle heads-up displays (HUDs).
https://www.xrtoday.com/mixed-reality/harmon-buys-apostera-to-expand-automotive-xr/