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Apple officially launched its Vision Pro headset in early February to usher in a new area of technology. The tech firm calls Vision Pro a “spatial computing” device instead of a VR headset, and the CEO likes to refer to it as the “most advanced consumer electronic device ever created.”
While Apple Vision Pro has just made it to the market, concerns about its potential privacy violations are rising. This is mainly due to the device’s ability to capture identifiable information. To address concerns, Apple reportedly plans to acquire an AI startup.
Apple wants to acquire Brighter AI to enhance Vision Pro privacy features
As 9to5mac reports, Apple is in talks with the German AI startup Brighter AI for a possible acquisition. The deal would help the iPhone maker to bolster the privacy features of the Vision Pro headset.
Brighter AI is a Berlin-based startup that has developed a technology for anonymizing faces and license plates without blurring. The technology is called Deep Natural Anonymization 2.0 and helps to protect identities while preserving the natural appearance of objects in the image.
“We provide image & video anonymization software based on generative AI. Our solutions, Precision Blur and Deep Natural Anonymization redact faces and license plates and help companies comply with data protection regulations such as the GDPR, CCPA, APPI, and PIPL.” The company says on its website.
Apple and Google blur faces and license plates in their map imagery due to privacy concerns and to protect the identity of people captured in those images. Apple’s blurring technology has undergone various improvements in the US and EU since 2015. However, it seems obsolete compared to Brighter AI technology.
Acquiring Brighter AI allows Apple to abandon its old-fashioned blurring technology and use an A-driven method instead. The main benefit of Brighter AI tech is that it anonymizes data without ruining the image’s appearance. This could be an essential step toward enhancing the privacy and user experience on Apple devices and apps.