Facebook and Ray-Ban Are Launching Smart Glasses in 2021
Part of a multiyear partnership with Facebook and Luxottica.
Facebook and the maker of Ray-Ban,
Zuckerberg also announced Project Aria, a research device the company will use to learn as it develops the consumer eyewear. Project Aria glasses will be worn by Facebook employees and contractors publicly beginning in September, according to the head of Facebook hardware Andrew “Boz” Bosworth. These particular glasses will not be for sale and will feature no augmented reality features. However, it will capture, audio, video, eye-tracking, and location data that Facebook will utilize to help develop its upcoming AR smartglasses.
“It’s a research device that will help us understand how to build the software and hardware necessary for real, working AR glasses,” Bosworth said.
Employees will be trained on when and where to use the reserch glasses, according to Bosworth. Restrooms will be off limited and before collected data can be used, it willbe scrubed of senstive details like faces and license plates. Additionally, these workers will have clothes that make them easily identifiable as Facebook employees.
In other tech news, the Oculus Quest 2 boasts 50% more pixels than its predecessor.