Mark Zuckerberg speaks at the 2017 F8 Developers Conference in San Jose.
Photographer: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg
Photographer: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg
Smart glasses planned by Facebook Inc. they will arrive “sooner rather than later” in 2021, but will not feature the type of digital overlay technology that is associated with augmented reality, according to hardware chief Andrew Bosworth.
The glasses, which are built in partnership with Ray-Ban and the parent Luxottica Group SpA will connect to a device – although users will not be able to overlap digital objects in their real-world vision, a fundamental element of RA.
“These are definitely connected glasses, they definitely offer a lot of functionality, [but] we are quite discouraged about the exact functionality we offer, ”said Bosworth. “We are pleased with this, but we do not want to exaggerate it. We don’t even call it augmented reality, we just call it “smart glasses,” he added.
Facebook first announced plans for AR glasses in 2017 and has since built a handful of camera features that allow people to project digital images into the physical world, such as face-distorting photo filters. The company has invested substantial resources in hardware development in recent years, acquiring the Oculus virtual reality startup and launching an internal video device called Portal. Facebook’s VR, AR and hardware teams represent more than 6,000 employees, according to a person familiar with his staff. This is a larger group than Facebook working on the applications of billions of Instagram and WhatsApp users.
Read more: Facebook, Ray-Ban joins to make smart glasses cool
Smart glasses are part of a long-term effort within the company to capture the next big smartphone computing platform. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is a big supporter of both AR and VR, although this first iteration of Facebook glasses will not offer the possible promise of augmented reality, which is the ability to mix the digital and physical worlds through a lens. Bosworth would not disclose the feature set for future glasses, but said it aligns with Facebook’s broader philosophy about AR, which is to make technology peripheral to human interactions to increase “presence.”
A common situation quoted by Bosworth is parents trying to record memories with their young children: “By the time you pick up the phone, not only did you miss it, but if you didn’t miss it, you’re probably watching the real event, but on your phone. “, he said. “If you have the right technology, it can get in the way.”
Facebook is the latest technology company trying to create a pair of smart glasses. Google from Alphabet Inc. reached the top of the category with Google Glass, which never caught on as a consumer device, but found a home as an assistant worker in warehouses and industrial settings. Snap Inc. has also launched several iterations of its smart glasses, called Spectacles, that allow people to record videos without hands and transfer them to their phone. Apple Inc. also builds a pair of smart glasses.