This is a revelation that will not surprise many people: Google will develop its own augmented reality device. Dubbed “Project Iris,” this product is more or less planned for 2024. Current prototypes will look like ski goggles, and will work without having to be connected to an external battery, according to the edge.
In the device’s engine there will be a homemade chip (such as the Pixel 6 sensor), while the operating system is Android. But this may change, Google may decide to develop a custom operating system. An interesting detail: part of the heavy computation needed for augmented reality experiences will be performed by the search engine’s servers. So the headset will need to be connected to the internet to perform its tasks.
So we are far from Google Glass, these glasses that display information on the glass. A product that failed to establish itself with the general public but which Google hopes to perpetuate in the business world. The Iris project is clearly more ambitious, with a dedicated team of 300 people and hundreds of appointments planned.
The development of this project is overseen by Clay Bavour, and he was the one who directed the design of the Starline project, This amazing mirror for ultra realistic video calls. The latter could also be launched commercially in 2024, simultaneously with the AR headset.
Google has been a pioneer in virtual reality and augmented reality technologies. There was Glass, of course, but also a cardboard VR Cardboard headset (definitely discontinued at the beginning of 2021) and a Daydream VR platform, which was short-lived.
Despite these disappointments, Google continued to pay attention to the sector, especially augmented reality: in June 2020, the group offered North Services, which specializes in augmented reality glasses, while job offers doubled to design a specialized AR OS system …
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