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When Facebook gazes into the eyes of Italian eyewear company Luxottica, it sees its AR product pipeline staring back. The two have teamed up to develop AR Ray-Bans, CNBC reported yesterday.
The backstory
For years, Oculus and Facebook Reality Labs employees have been working on building AR/VR software and hardware. In Redmond, WA, hundreds of engineers have been working on the tech for "Orion," the codename for FB's skunkworks AR smart glasses project. After struggles to make a palatable form factor for Orion, FB realized it needed a partner in crime.
Now, FB has turned to Luxottica, the world's largest eyewear company, to get slimmed-down smart glasses ready to ship sometime between 2023 and 2025.
What's the wait?
The Orion glasses are meant to replace smartphones. They'd show information through a heads-up display, take calls, and support livestreaming with a camera. An intelligent FB voice assistant would serve as an interface.
Orion still has a long to-do list:
- Finish the voice assistant FB's developing. The company's AI chief has said he wants the intelligent helper to have common sense.
- Shrink the device and create a desirable product (enter Luxottica)
- Avoid a Google Glass redux
Orion has completed the crossover...
...from mythological huntsman to what might be FB's most ambitious hardware play yet. There's no guarantee Orion will see daylight, but CNBC reports Zuckerberg "has a strong interest in the glasses" and has tapped top lieutenant and hardware czar Andrew Bosworth to prioritize the project.
Bottom line: FB wants to bundle these software and hardware advancements into the next platform for social interaction. The company has teams working on AI, AR, VR, and even click-by-brain tech. Though most of this tech isn't ready for commercialization, FB seems confident enough with its progress that it's enlisted Luxottica to convert everything into Italian *chef's kiss* eyewear.
+ Speaking of FB hardware...today, the company launched Portal TV, a $149 video chat-enabled set-top box, and second-gen Portal devices. Also today, Bloomberg reported FB contractors have been listening to "Hey Portal" clips.