Meta unveils Orion AR glasses
September 26, 2024
Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, has unveiled Orion, its new AR glasses, which it says “bridges the physical and virtual worlds, putting people at the centere so they can be more present, connected and empowered in the world”.
Showcased by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the company’s annual Connect conference, the Orion glasses enable digital experiences that are “unconstrained by the limits of a smartphone screen”. With large holographic displays, wearers can use the physical world as their canvas, placing 2D and 3D content and experiences anywhere they want. They seamlessly integrate contextual AI that can sense and understand the world around the user in order to anticipate and proactively address their needs.
“Of course, as with any piece of hardware, Orion is only as good as the things you can do with it. And while it’s still early days, the experiences afforded by Orion are an exciting glimpse of what’s to come,” explained a Meta blog post. “We’ve got our smart assistant, Meta AI, running on Orion. It understands what you’re looking at in the physical world and can help you with useful visualisations. So you can open up your refrigerator and ask for a recipe based on what’s inside. Or video call a friend while adjusting a digital family calendar as you wash the dishes. You can take a hands-free video call to catch up with friends and family in real time, and you can stay connected on WhatsApp and Messenger to view and send messages. No need to pull out your phone, unlock it, find the right app and let your friend know you’re running late for dinner – you can do it all through your glasses.”
“Our teams continue to iterate on the experiences available through Orion today to build new immersive social experiences, and we can’t wait to share what’s next,” the blog added.
Meta has also announced that a range of celebrities including Dame Judi Dench and John Cena will become voice options for its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. Users will also be able to get information from AI versions of Awkwafina, Keegan Michael Key or Kristen Bell.
Other new offerings for the ChatGPT-like chatbot include it being able to recognise things users photograph and giving them information about them. An image editing feature will enable users to alter photos just by instructing Meta AI about the changes they want. The firm said that over 400 million people were now using Meta AI monthly, with 185 million of them returning to it every week.
Zuckerberg said: “I think that voice is going to be a way more natural way of interacting with AI than text.”