Clues to some of it have surfaced in the recent past. There's already been talk of brain-scanning tech, and recent hires hint at some kind of drone (it's not clear that this is related to the existing internet drone project). Others, however, are relatively fresh. One would focus on augmented reality, according to the insiders, while another is headed up by a Stanford cardiologist with knowledge of "early-stage medical device development."

Building 8's leader, ex-Googler Regina Dugan, may have even given a clue as to the augmented reality project. Not long ago, she wrote two posts decrying the inability to truly connect with people who are far away, and was "optimistic" that "hardware advances" could help solve the problem. An augmented reality system that makes it feel like others are in the room, perhaps?

The company hasn't confirmed anything, so it's still a good idea to take this with a grain of salt even if it's accurate. Development teams can miss schedules or cancel projects entirely, after all. If there's any truth here, though, Facebook is about to take a big step toward becoming a multi-product hardware company that isn't just focused on VR.