Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg presented the โOrionโ AR glasses at the end of the Connect keynote. They are still just a prototype, so there is no reason for AR fans to get too excited too soon. The keynote centred on virtual and augmented reality, including the new Meta Quest 3S at an attractive price.
๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฅ ๐ด๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ?๐โจ
โMost advanced AR glasses in the world?โ According to Zuckerberg, yes! Meta has been working on holographic glasses for ten years, five of which were spent on Project Orion. Content such as websites or video calls appear as holograms in the glasses – no separate screen required.
๐ค๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐โ ๏ธ
The Orion glasses are equipped with cameras and sensors that detect the user’s position in the room and recognise objects. In combination with Meta’s Llama AI, food can be identified and suitable recipes created. The glasses are made of silicon carbide and weigh less than 100 grams. They are controlled via voice and eye movement tracking, while the computing power is outsourced to a handy, wireless โcompute puckโ.
At present, the other person only sees a grey screen in video calls. In future, an avatar is to be displayed that reflects the user’s facial expressions – a step towards the metaverse.
However, there are still software problems, such as when open browser windows shift during an incoming call and obscure the real person on the other end. Zuckerberg’s goal is to make video calls possible without a smartphone or computer.
๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑโ๏ธ
The content is controlled via a wristband that uses electromyography to detect the finest muscle movements. This allows users to scroll or click using finger movements, as Heise reports.
The Verge editor Alex Heath has already been able to test the technology and played Pong against Zuckerberg. However, a video also showed that there are still limitations.
๐ญ.๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ด๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๏ธย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Orion is currently only an intermediate stage in development and is not intended for the wider market. Around 1,000 devices have been produced so far and are only available to internal developers and selected partners to customise their applications.
It could be years before Meta brings out market-ready AR glasses. Until then, users will probably have to continue to use the Meta Quest or similar devices.
What do you think of Meta’s new AR glasses? Let us know in the comments.๐๐๏ธ
