For futurists, this is the next technology that will replace our smartphones. Connected glasses projects are jostling this year. Facebook, Xiaomi, Huawei or even Google are already in the running, while Apple is banking on its advances in augmented reality.
The bitter failure of the famous Google Glass launched in 2012 and officially abandoned in 2014 had at the time spilled much ink, between fascination with avant-garde technology and the risks inherent in privacy and the exploitation of data. Nevertheless, the Google project was one step ahead with its prototypes which probably arrived too early in a market that was barely getting used to smartphones (the iPhone having launched “fashion” in 2007).
Since then, connected glasses have returned to R&D labs, but are preparing to make a resounding comeback. If Snap Inc. (Snapchat’s parent company) had released models with microcameras hidden in a branch in recent years to take photos, the object was more of a gadget.
Towards democratization from 2023?
In 2021 and 2022, connected glasses should move up a gear. Facebook has partnered with eyewear Ray-Ban to design models that not only take photos and record videos, but also answer calls and listen to music. Called Ray-Ban Stories, they foreshadow new interactions without having to take your smartphone out of your pocket. By still launched in France, they will first be found in North America and the United Kingdom, for an estimated price of around 300 dollars (around 260 euros, editor’s note).
© Facebook / Ray-Ban
For its part, Xiaomi sees further with models projecting information in augmented reality, which foreshadows more of what awaits us. And unlike the infamous Google Glass which relied on a small remote screen, Xiaomi relies on a glass that integrates the screen to superimpose the augmented information with the gaze. The idea here is to obtain several services such as information to find your way around a city in GPS mode, read information on the buildings you are looking at, read a message, be notified of a call, get the translation. simultaneous of a foreign language text … And as shown in the video shared by Xiaomi below, the uses can be multiple.
Especially since the variety of information that can be found in such a device is already present in smartphones. You just have to open Google Maps and activate the augmented reality experiences to get a concrete overview.
Apple’s plans took several years
At the same time, augmented reality has become one of Apple’s workhorses for more than six years. With the ARkit, the apple firm quickly established itself as one of the champions of VR experiences. And the addition of LIDAR sensors, capable of carrying out a 3D mapping of the environment, within its iPhone 12 Pro and the iPad Pro, is only a first step towards the use of a such technology within glasses of this type.
Already called Apple Glass or iGlass by some journalists and tech specialists, these glasses could be marketed in 2022 or 2023, before being improved over the years as is the case for smartphones. Apple has especially taken the time to mature a number of technologies likely to integrate such products and offer a controlled experience. A future that the Microsoft Hololens 2 headset already allows to approach by allowing for example to visit museums in augmented reality or to allow engineers to work together but remotely on a product digitized in 3D, while a surgeon could obtain important patient information while keeping your eyes on the operating table.
Opticians already in the line
And the connected glasses sector should not be deserted by optical brands and optical store networks. For example, the Atol brand has just marketed a model designed for seniors. Called Atol Zen (photo below), these glasses incorporate a fall detector. “Falls are the leading cause of death for people over 65 and 70% of falls are linked to poor vision,” Atol explains in a press release.
There is no doubt that the expertise of players in the optical market will be used in the development of connected glasses.
All the more so as in the long term, these should integrate technologies and computing power that will make it possible to abandon our old smartphones, or even to combine their power, to offer immersive experiences and even support solutions to decision making through AI that could deliver additional information at the blink of an eye.