Technology

Amazon and Facebook unveiling Computing Glasses

It is the fact that the executives of Amazon and Facebook were 850 miles away from each other on Wednesday, but they look too much closer when they reveal their vision of computing for the future. Facebook presented its idea for augmented reality glasses at an event in San Jose, California. Through those glasses,’ users can stop a visual display on top of what in fact, in front of them. On the other side, up north in Seattle, Amazon introduced lightweight glasses, Echo Frames with the Alexa voice assistant fixed in them.

The contesting events hosted by two giant companies presented how the human face is becoming the upcoming technology battlefield after tablets, smartphones, and other connected devices such as watches, Bluetooth, etc. Apple, Microsoft, and Google all have their own ways to virtual reality and augmented reality, whereas the battle for the face is specifically critical to Amazon and Facebook because until now they have to create computing gateways. Microsoft won the era of personal computers and now has a hold on tablet business, whereas Google and Apple have the leading mobile operating systems.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, said that he has been saying for a moment that virtual and augmented reality is going to be the upcoming major platform of computing. Everyone knows that there is so much one can do with apps without improving and shaping the underlying platform.

Purchase of CTRL Labs by Facebook

Real money used for developing the next platform, as earlier this week, Facebook announced the CTRL Labs’ purchase, a start-up of gesture recognition that claims have the ability to read electric signals from the human spinal cord and decode them into signals that computers can understand. According to an international news website, Facebook paid about $500 million to $1 billion for initial-stage company. After getting the technology, Facebook could potentially handle the computer glasses without a keyboard, mouse, or a touch screen.

The computing headsets market hit a large number of snags due to the high price points, awkward form features, and in sometimes the need to tie with a bulky computer. In 2013, Google took an initial attempt at a product with Google Glass, that failed to get the attention of customers. But later it initiates a market on assembly lines and factory floors, where workers have now hands-free access to computers. In the meantime, more massive virtual reality (VR) products from Oculus of Facebook and Magic Leap have generally for gamers.

However, momentum is growing, and now AR apps use a screen and camera of the phone, but the industry of technology is pushing toward AR lightweight glasses. According to an estimate from market researcher IDC, less than one million pairs of AR glasses sold in this year and this number could escalate to more than thirty million by 2023.

AR into the OS of iPhone

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, said that AR is profound and his firm integrated the tools of AR into the operating system of iPhone. Second AR set of Microsoft, Hololens 2, expected to release this month. An analyst of AR at Artillery, Mike Boland said that rapidly, it went zero to 60. Boland added that there were no glasses, or the whole glasses space was in a groove, and now suddenly, there are all of these glasses to select from.

Moreover, Gene Munster said that an arms battle to capture the next platform of computing.

Facebook hosting its Oculus Connect 6 event. They’re going to be a player in AR/VR long-term and reiterated today that they are working on AR glasses.

While the bulk of what was discussed today was VR replated, most is applicable to AR as well.

— Gene Munster (@munster_gene) September 25, 2019

Initial Step for Amazon

Still, it is too early to speak out; Facebook and Amazon are giving a flavor to their customers of what they expect. Echo Frames of Amazon are inviting only in the start. A product page displays an original price tag of $179.99. The company says that the lenses do not have a screen, but as an alternative add Alexa to customer’s face in such a way that makes the glasses closely indistinguishable from what you see daily, so he stays in a moment.

Boland said that he said that they want to get Alexa ahead of as several people as possible. It is a sharp initial point and an approach to ease people into another new market, instead of giving them bulky glasses, geeky things nobody needs to put on their face, as privacy concerns with cameras. The co-founder and CEO of smart-glasses start-up Vue, Aaron Rowley, settled that voice is an initial move. He said that what we see needs much more sensors to carry a powerful experience, taking in sensors beyond audio and voice, as so limited.

The fact that Echo Frames do not have a camera is an important difference from smart-glasses from firms such as Snap and Google, which both conspicuously feature a camera. Google Glass face a criticism from a real social power disparity: some elite Glass wearer may perhaps take your picture wherever, but cannot say no. A consultant who formerly helped start the innovative HoloLens project at Microsoft, Avi Bar-Zeev said that that regardless of having security cameras nearly everywhere in public life. Snap Glasses demonstrates one way to make it actually clear when someone recording, also they attempt to keep everything short-lived.

Facebook to Develop AR glasses

Facebook has a bigger plan and going to take longer-term plans to get there. The company do partnership with eyewear giant and Ray-Ban parent Luxottica to make AR glasses with a goal to get a product to consumers by 2023 or even after then. The firm admitted that its glasses are a few years away from launch. According to an international news website, when Facebook glasses will ready, they will let users receive calls, show info in a small display, and even live-stream the viewpoint of users to social media followers.

Without a product to disclose at the event of Oculus, Facebook spent too much time on debating the potential for VR and AR. The organization takes VR as an enhancement to your present digital life. Zuckerberg said that they are going to able to live anywhere they want and sense like they are present with the people and the opportunities and careers that they want to have access to wherever they want. He added, that the reason of his too much excitement.

Facebook’s head of consumer devices, Andrew Bosworth said that for now, they are concentrating on the profound tech stack essential to bring these to everyday life. Also, Facebook has to clear the privacy hurdle, a specific challenge seeing the consumers’ trust lack in the firm following the 2016 election debacle.

Amazon’s Echo Frames for user’s privacy protection

Amazon announces in its marketing copy that they designed Echo Frames to protect the user’s privacy. That is a major problem for all the leading internet platforms as they treat it with scrutiny from lawmakers and consumers concerning their use of data. However, the prime challenge may be getting publics comfortable with an entirely new way to view the digital world.

Bosworth stated that getting consumers used to with these type of digital devices in their routine lives and making some expectations around how to accomplish privacy and how to manage the use of data on these devices, that’s all directed to help the overall digital industry.