The futuristic AR glasses are finally here. Facebook Inc. just launched its first smart glasses that enable you “to capture and share experiences from your point of view.”
In partnership with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica, Facebook Inc. created these smart glasses that allow wearers to listen to music, take calls or capture photos and short videos and share them across Facebook’s services using a companion app.
Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “We wanted to build something that would easily enable you to capture and share experiences from your point of view. We thought if we’re going to build best-in-class glasses, a great place to start is with the iconic Ray-Ban frames that people already love.”
The American media magnate and internet entrepreneur is literally deeply invested in virtual and augmented reality. Aside from the AR glasses, they are developing the Oculus VR headsets and working on wristband technologies that support the AR glasses.
According to Facebook’s Chief Scientist, the company is five to 10 years away from being able to bring to the market “true” AR glasses, which would superimpose virtual objects onto the wearer’s view of the real world.
In 2013, Google received heavy criticism when it introduced the Google Glass. The public called the product “Glassholes” which violates personal privacy. Said product was abandoned sometime in 2015. To avoid a similar fate like Google, Facebook has teamed up with Ray-Ban to make its model look “less geeky.” They also plan to address privacy measures by putting an LED that lights when the glasses are recording.
Criticism over privacy and user data is not something new to Facebook. Although the company said they would not access the media from the user’s smart glasses without their consent. Most importantly, the $299 glasses would be an “ads-free experience.”