Meta Orion glasses

Extracted Attributes

• Type

  Augmented Reality (AR) Glasses

• Status

  Prototype (fully-functioning)

• Developer

  Meta Platforms, Inc.

• CEO (Meta)

  Mark Zuckerberg

• Connectivity

  Wireless tether to a small puck

• Field of View

  70 degrees

• Lens Material

  Silicon carbide

• Control System

  Eye tracking, Hand gestures, Neural wristband

• Primary Purpose

  Ambient Computing, Metaverse interaction

• Display Technology

  Micro LED projectors

• Current Availability

  Internal development and external demos for partners/developers

• Target Consumer Price (future)

  Comparable to a modern mobile phone

• Estimated Production Cost per Unit

  US$10,000

Timeline

• Meta acquired CTRL-Labs, whose neural signal technology is used in Orion's wristband control. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2019

• Mark Zuckerberg announced Project Nazare, a prototype smart glass and predecessor to Orion, during the company's rebranding from Facebook to Meta Platforms. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2021

• Initial plans for a consumer release of Orion glasses by 2024 were shelved due to prohibitively high production costs (approximately $10,000 per unit). (Source: Web Search Results)

  2022

• Meta publicly unveiled the Orion prototype during its Meta Connect event. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2024-09-25

• Meta's scheduled target for a consumer launch of its Orion AR glasses, aiming for a significantly reduced cost and slimmer form factor. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2027

Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger and WhatsApp. The company also operates an advertising network for its own sites and third parties; as of 2023, advertising accounted for 97.8 percent of its total revenue. The company was originally established in 2004 as TheFacebook, Inc., and was renamed Facebook, Inc. in 2005. In 2021, it rebranded as Meta Platforms, Inc. to reflect a strategic shift toward developing the metaverse—an interconnected digital ecosystem spanning virtual and augmented reality technologies. Meta is considered one of the Big Five American technology companies, alongside Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. In 2023, it was ranked 31st on the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's largest public companies. As of 2022, it was the world's third-largest spender on research and development, with R&D expenses totaling US$35.3 billion.

Web Search Results

• Meta Orion AR glasses hands-on - Tom's Guide

  Instead of glass, Meta uses silicon carbide for Orion's lenses. The lightweight material reduces optical artifacts and also provides a high refractive index, which Meta says is necessary for a wide field of view. The Orion glasses boast around a 70-degree field of view, which felt a lot less cramped than other mixed reality eye glasses that I've used where images often get cut off. [...] It'll be some time before Orion glasses are ready to be worn out in the field by civilians like you and me. Meta is showing off the glasses at this point so that the company's devices team can get feedback from both Meta employees and external partners on what features to develop and which functions to leave on the cutting room floor. I'd also wager that app makers are getting a chance to build AR versions of their apps optimized for Orion so that there will be plenty of options ready to run [...] That's encouraging since Meta would be the first to tell you that the version of the Orion glasses that I wore isn't quite ready for prime time. The glasses themselves are still pretty thick — not Buddy Holly-thick like the Snap Spectacles AR glasses I tried out last month, but still bulky enough to make people think you'd been cast in a "Revenge of the Nerds" reboot if you wore them in public. Among other improvements, Meta wants to slim down the form factor before its AR glasses launch

• Meta unveils $299 Quest 3S VR headset, Orion AR glasses ...

  This isn’t the first time Meta publicly revealed a prototype of a future devices or research projects to signal to investors and employees where VR and AR technology is headed. The Orion glasses are an improvement on Project Nazare, prototype smart glasses that Zuckerberg announced in 2021, when the company changed its name from Facebook. [...] Orion is Meta’s first “fully-functioning” prototype AR glasses, Zuckerberg said, and the device is tethered wirelessly to a small “puck.” The prototype uses a wristband component to pick up on users neural signals and let them control the Orion glasses using their brains. That technology stems from the company’s 2019acquisition of CTRL-Labs. [...] Orion enables users to play games, multi-task with multiple windows and videoconference with people around the world represented by a realistic avatar, Zuckerberg said. Meta’s Orion prototype comes a week after Snapannounced its fifth-generation Spectacles AR glasses. Those thick-framed glasses will only be made available to developers, who must commit to paying $99 a month for one full year if they want to build AR apps for the device.

• Meta Debuts Orion AR Glasses That Cost $10000 to Make

  Meta showed off its long-awaited AR glasses, Orion, during its Meta Connect event today. CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the creation “the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen.” While other existing AR glasses have featured clunky displays that have limited the sight line for its users, Orion utilizes Micro LED projectors inside the frame to create a wide, 70-degree field of view. A unique control system combines eye tracking, hand gestures, and a neural wristband. [...] The Orion glasses were initially planned for consumer release by 2024 but were shelved in 2022 due to prohibitively high production costs. According to The Verge, producing a unit costs about $10,000, with much of that cost coming from its silicon carbide lenses. For now, Meta is using them for internal development and external demos while working on more commercially viable versions for the future. Play videoImage 10: Play [...] Alex Heath of The Verge tested the glasses and wrote a first-hand account of his thoughts. He called it “an impressive demo” as Meta begins to work on the consumer side of things with its Orion glasses. Another person who got to test out the specs was Matthew Ball, who wrote on X that they “were lighter, more comfortable, more attractive” and featured a “wider field of view” than other models.

• Meta Shares Insights Into Its Coming AR Glasses | Social Media Today

  Despite them not being scheduled for a consumer launch for some time yet, Meta has today provided some additional insights into its Orion AR glasses, which it views as the next major computing shift. Meta Orion AR Glasses In a series of slides posted to Threads, Meta has outlined some of the key technological advances that have gone into the latest version of its AR device, which is currently in testing with selected developers. Meta Orion AR Glasses [...] And it still has some time to improve them. Meta’s scheduled consumer launch for its Orion AR glasses is 2027, when it also hopes to have significantly reduced the cost of the device. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been highly critical of Apple’s approach with its AR-enabled VisionPro device, noting that its $3,499 price tag is simply too high to ensure widespread adoption. Meta, instead, has been aiming for a price comparable to a modern mobile phone for its technology-packed glasses.

• Zuckerberg Bets Big On AI Smart Glasses. But Can Meta ...

  Orion glasses are still just a prototype for developers. Meta needs to deal with a key problem: pricing. Orion glasses cost nearly $10,000 per unit to build, according to The Verge. Zuckerberg said he'd like them smaller and lighter. Privacy is another hurdle. And so are behavioral issues around the use of computers that can see and stream everything.