It was not so long ago when the idea of adding augmented reality to car windshields emerged, and started a firestorm over “distracted driving” issues. Now, Google parent company Alphabet’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) venture operation is looking to bring this technology back with a bet on a start-up. Shares gained fractionally as a result in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
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Google stepped in to add to a funding round that put 10 million euros into Distance Technologies’ coffers, and with it, offered a means to add an augmented reality overlay to any clear glass display. This includes car and aircraft windshields. Since the display is capable of “infinite” pixel depth, that makes it usable in a wide range of applications.
This is not the first time we have heard about augmented reality in cars. Instead of having a separate display show you on a map where to turn, why not have that same indicator appear right in your field of vision? Why look down at a map telling you to turn left, when a “turn left” arrow can appear pointing right at the road in question? But past cries of “distracted driving” left many such applications largely unusable. Google seems to think that those days are gone, and thus, placing investment here is a good play.
Spotting Fake Reviews
Fake reviews, meanwhile, are increasingly a problem for anyone looking to buy a thing online or just find a place to eat. And Google Maps may be ready to help with that by flagging places that may have fake reviews in their operations.
That could be particularly useful in connection with the augmented reality systems; imagine driving by a place, wondering if it is any good, and then seeing that it has fake reviews connected with it. You will likely continue driving. Of course, since anyone might deposit a fake review, it could be weaponized against a business, but that is an issue that needs to be resolved before we get the augmented reality technology in windshields.
Is Alphabet Stock a Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on GOOG stock based on nine Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 25.07% rally in its share price over the past year, the average GOOG price target of $205.67 per share implies 25.46% upside potential.
