Facebook has announced Project Aria, a new research project into the future of wearable augmented reality (AR) technology.
Smart glasses have not previously been successful in consumer markets and even Facebook admitted that ‘to actually build glasses flexible enough to work for most face shapes and sizes, and create the software to support them, we still need several generations of breakthroughs, like systems to enhance audio and visual input, contextualised AI, and a lightweight frame to house it all.’
A multiyear collaboration with eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica has also been agreed by Facebook, with the companies planning to develop a new generation of smart glasses. Facebook’s apps and technology will be used alongside Essilor-Luxottica’s brand portfolio and lens expertise to develop a Ray-Ban-branded AR frame, set for release in 2021.
Facebook Reality Labs, the company’s AR research department, has said it imagined the potential of smart glasses in the future to add a useful 3D layer of information on top of the physical world that could help with everyday tasks such as navigating a new city.
The research team said: ‘We’re envisioning a time when we have all the benefits of connectivity (and more), without the need to keep our heads and our eyes down, looking at a device. Imagine calling a friend and chatting with their lifelike avatar across the table. Imagine a digital assistant smart enough to detect road hazards, offer up stats during a business meeting, or even help you hear better in a noisy environment.’
Research project
Project Aria is not the release of a commercial product, said the social media giant, but a ‘research device that will help us to understand how to build the software and hardware necessary for AR glasses’.
Project Aria’s frames represent a step towards designing a product with advanced capabilities, but will not display information on the inside of the lens or allow research participants to view or listen to the captured data. The devices will use sensors to capture video and audio from the wearer’s point of view alongside eye movement and location data, providing engineers and programmers at Facebook to develop AR systems that work in practice.
Around 100 Facebook employees and contractors in the San Francisco Bay Area will wear the devices as they go about their day. ‘In the future, people will wear AR glasses all day – at home with their families, at work with their colleagues or at dinner with their friends. This is why Project Aria will need to capture a diverse set of data,’ explained Facebook Reality Labs’ announcement.
Inclusivity is a concern for Facebook, both in designing the hardware’s physical properties and making sure the accompanying software is useful for as wide a market as possible. The company explained: ‘Because this initial dataset has to be relevant for as many people as possible, we’ll be asking people of diverse genders, heights, body types, ethnicities and abilities to participate in the research programme.’
Privacy concerns
Project Aria’s participants wearing devices that capture audio and video could prompt complaints around breaches of privacy, especially as the frames are more conspicuous than many recording devices. Facebook has pre-empted these complaints by setting out a series of limits on when and where data gathering will take place, recording transparently and data privacy.
Facebook has claimed that every participant of Project Aria will be provided with training on when and where they should record. This training emphasises that recording is never permitted in sensitive areas such as bathrooms or prayer rooms and is only allowed in private homes and businesses with written consent.
When wearing the Project Aria frames in public, research participants are required to wear a lanyard and clothing that identifies them as researchers and provides a website where people can learn more about the project. Facebook has also emphasised that the frames do not make use of facial recognition technology and will not use collected data to inform ads that people see across Facebook products.
The measures implemented by Facebook highlight the fine line any company looking to bring smart eyewear to market will have to tread.