Social media giant, Facebook, has partnered up with Ray-Ban’s parent company Luxottica to develop a pair of augmented reality glasses. It is hoped the partnership will produce a product ready for the consumer between 2023 and 2025, CNBC has reported.

According to sources close to the project, codenamed Orion, the smart glasses are designed to replace smartphones and will be controlled by voice commands.

The specs will come with a voice command virtual assistant that Facebook is also developing. The glasses will be able to take calls, show information to users in a small displace and live-stream their view-point to their social media.

Facebook is also reportedly experimenting with a ring device, codenamed Agios, that would allow the wearer to input information via a motion sensor.

Recommended

Although the company has hundreds of staff working on Orion at its Redmond office and has been developing the specs for a number of years, it has yet to successfully reduce the size of the device into a form that would appeal to consumers.

Facebook owner, Mark Zuckerberg, who has a keen interest in smart glasses, has reportedly made the project a top priority for hardware chief Andrew Bosworth.

Previously, Luxottica partnered with Google in 2014 to design and develop the tech company’s Google Glass, which despite being the first major augmented reality device to hit the market flopped.

Other major tech firms such as Microsoft and Snapchat share Facebook’s belief that augmented reality glasses are the next big thing. Microsoft makes the HoloLens 2 headset, while Snapchat’s parent company sells its Spectacles that are dedicated to recording video for the Snapchat service.

However, none of these offerings have proved overly popular with consumers. Apple is also reportedly working on smart glasses, which could be released as early as next year.

Like this: Like Loading...