The new smart glasses from Facebook and famous eyewear company Ray-Ban are the latest push in a challenging, narrow market that the social media giant views as a step toward its future. The Sunglasses for Ray-Ban Stories may capture pictures and movies on voice commands and link to the Facebook network wirelessly through an app.
Facebook is entering a market that has previously seen Google Glass, released in 2013 and generated a privacy outcry due to built-in cameras, prompting the tech giant to shift its emphasis away from the general public.
Snapchat, a messaging service, has also produced camera-equipped Spectacles, but they’re expensive and haven’t caught on with many techies. The Ray-Ban Stories will be available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and Australia for $299 (approximately Rs. 22,000).
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The Ray-Ban Stories glasses, for example, would lack augmented reality (AR) capabilities, which combine internet computing with visual signals like mapping or facial recognition. Instead, according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the sunglasses represent the first step toward building future eyewear that augments real-world views with data or images from the Internet.
In July, the firm said it would bring together experts from its hardware, gaming, and virtual reality divisions to create the “metaverse,” an immersive digital environment. The front of the frames has cameras and the arms act as a directional speaker to hear calls or stream music.
When the cameras are in operation, white light in the front of the frame illuminates, which is meant as a privacy feature to warn individuals that they may be watched. By pushing a button on the temple or giving a voice command, users may capture a photo or a 30-second video clip, both of which can indicate that a camera is on. “We want the user to feel totally in charge of their capturing experience,” said Hind Hobeika, product manager at Facebook Reality Labs.
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“We also need others around them to feel comfortable that these smart glasses exist and that they are constantly aware when a capture is taking place,” Hobeika added, referring to filming. Ray-Ban Stories glasses connect wirelessly to a smartphone app built mainly to handle photos or video recorded by the glasses. Users may use the app to select whether or not they want to share the photos or videos they’ve just taken, such as by publishing them on Facebook or attaching them to an email. According to Hobeika, the data required to run the app is collected, and no information is utilised to target advertising.
