Earlier this year—Meta pops up with their Aria Gen 2 glasses. Honestly, when they announced it, details were, like, super vague. Maybe that’s their thing—keep us guessing, right? Anyway, they’re planning to let third-party folks play with them next year. It’s like, are we seeing the future unfold before our eyes?
So Meta drops this blog post recently, and boom, more info. Aria Gen 2’s got a bunch of bits and bobs: audio, cameras, sensors. No display though, so don’t get too excited about full AR. But it seems like, maybe, this is a stepping stone? Who knows.
Computer Vision — Like, Really?
If we’re talking AR glasses—something folks wear all day—good computer vision is a must. You know, like, recognizing your living room, your dog, maybe even your coffee cup? Meta says this Gen 2 has double the cameras—four now. A 120 dB HDR shutter, or so they say, which makes things sound fancy. More field of view and some stereo overlap. Does this mean more depth perception? Probably.
Oh, and they showed it off doing SLAM, which sounds more like a wrestling move than tech, but it’s actually about mapping spaces.
Sensors & Tech Stuff
Upgrades everywhere—ambient light sensors, microphones in the nosepad (of all places), and even a heart rate sensor. PPG, if we’re being technical. Compute power? Oh, it’s getting a boost too. Meta’s custom coprocessor is at the heart of it, apparently. All that real-time processing sounds wild, but it’s there. Visual-Inertial Odometry (whatever that means), eye tracking, 3D hand tracking. There’s even this weird radio tech for syncing devices.
Light as a Feather—Or Not
Well, Aria Gen 2 is like, what, 74 to 76 grams? Depends on the version, I guess. Lighter than your standard glasses or not—they fold up and everything. They say there’s a USB-C port. Charging? Battery pack? Your guess is as good as mine.
Human Meets Machine Vision
These things are tracking your gaze, your heart rate—how’s that for personal space? They’re mapping where you are, what you’re looking at, all from cameras and sensors. It’s like a sci-fi novel. Honestly, the amount of data that could be gathered is kinda mind-blowing. Good for research, though. Imagine what AR glasses might pull off one day.
What’s Next for AR Glasses?
Meta claims these glasses are paving the way for whatever AR is supposed to become. Replacing smartphones? Maybe one day. But not tomorrow, that’s for sure. Other players like XREAL got their glasses out too. Displays, processors, batteries—there’s a ton to figure out.
Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth—said something about an AR device this decade. And hey, Nashville—CVPR 2025—is where they’ll show off these glasses with fancy demos. June 11th to 15th, mark your calendar. Wonder what else we’ll hear from there.
