A natural step in the progression of technology, or deeply concerning? Tech giant Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and more, has unveiled the first pair of what it calls “true” augmented reality (AR) glasses.
Called Orion, Meta describes the product as “the most advanced pair of AR glasses ever made.” However, they are still a prototype at present.
One of the reasons they haven’t been released to the public is not a fear that people will become even more insular than they currently are, but rather that they would cost a prohibitive $10,000 (approximately £7,900 / AU$15,600) a pair.
Orion’s hardware consists of three individual parts: the actual glasses, a wireless mouse and a wristband for gesture control.
A “feat of miniaturization,” according to Meta, Orion has the largest field of view in the smallest AR glasses form to date. “From multitasking windows and big screen entertainment to life-size holograms of people – all digital content that can seamlessly blend with your view of the physical world.”
Embedded into the wristband are electromyography sensors that capture and process electric signals generated by physical movement, and the mouse’s dual processors carry part of the computing load, including some artificial intelligence (AI), graphics rendering and machine perception.
The glasses contain custom chips that consume less power and are optimized for its functions. They’re made from magnesium, a lightweight material that efficiently dissipates heat, and miniature cameras and sensors surrounding the frame rims help the eye in hand-tracking and identifying objects in the real world.
Additionally, microLED projectors beam holographic displays through the holographic lenses.
Apparently the glasses enable you to open your fridge and ask for a recipe based on what’s inside, or for some inexplicable reason “video call a friend while adjusting a digital family calendar as you wash the dishes.”
If that rather stressful-sounding scenario feels like something you’d be interested in, it’s probably best to mention how Orion looks.
Meta claims that “what makes Orion unique is that it is unmistakably a pair of glasses in both look and feel – complete with transparent lenses.”
As you can see, this is clearly not the case. They’re clunky, cartoonish, and resemble the ever-trendy 'Coke bottle' glasses style.
While just a prototype at the moment, Meta is hoping that its development team can “learn, iterate and build towards our consumer AR glasses product line, which we plan to begin shipping in the near future.”
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