On Sept. 25, Meta (formerly Facebook) unveiled their new augmented reality glasses, Orion. Like the Apple Vision Pro and the Snapchat Spectacles, Orion allows its users to bring the functionality of their smart devices into the world around them by displaying several projected screens and holograms through the lenses. This could allow someone wearing the glasses to do things like joining a video call with their friends, catching up on their favorite show, and enjoying the view from their window all at once. This type of technology could also change how people work in the office. Instead of having to stay near desks with their computer monitors, workers can move around while being in a meeting, look at their schedules, and check their email, which could lead to new levels of productivity more easily achievable than previously thought.
Unlike the Apple Vision Pro, which has a design more closely resembling a virtual reality headset, Orion seems to be in the same camp as the Snapchat Spectacles with a design imitating a traditional pair of glasses that is hoped to provide more comfort to its users during all-day use. That being said, although Orion is more streamlined than its contemporaries, both the glasses’ frame and lenses are considerably thicker than a pair of traditional glasses due to the space requirements of all the technology bundled into them.
However, unlike any of its competitors, Orion integrates a Meta AI smart assistant directly into the glasses themselves. Meta has implemented similar AI technology before, notably in their Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, but Orion seems to be yet another step ahead, being able to do things like generate recipes from ingredients its user is currently looking at. Of course, the glasses’ AI assistant is also able to perform more standard tasks, such as responding to voice prompts.
Another significant advancement presented by Orion is its projection system, which utilizes micro-LED projectors and special lenses to produce incredibly clear images in an even smaller package than has previously been seen in the industry. The lenses used by Orion are made of silicon carbide, a material chosen due to its light weight, robustness, and high refractive index, which allow it to project images to a larger part of one’s field of view.
Unfortunately, due to its high development costs, Orion will not be a product the public can purchase anytime soon, but it is still an impressive feat of modern engineering. After being originally announced over five years ago, Orion has finally reached a state Meta has deemed worthy of promoting, but they also note that it will continue to be iterated upon to become even more user-friendly and sleek.
After seeing the capabilities of devices like Orion, the Snapchat Spectacles, and the Apple Vision Pro, it seems more and more feasible for smart glasses to become the next new consumer tech phenomenon. Over a decade after the release of the now-discontinued Google Glass, one of the first pairs of modern smart glasses, it seems that the technology and consumer culture may have finally aligned for the widespread adoption of smart glasses to be closer to science than fiction.
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