We know that augmented reality has its place in education. However, I’ve always felt like it was a concept that was still not within reach – the technology is too expensive and is changing too rapidly to keep up. Though the concept of a technology like smart glasses, which can be used to create an AR environment, is not new, it was recently announced that Facebook was marketing its own version of the smart glasses: RayBan Stories. They are a version of smart glasses that look sleek and fly under the radar in terms of looking like you’re wearing a gadget on your face. This gives me the inclination that this type of technology will soon become more accessible to the general population. Like tablets or smartwatches were once gadgets only owned by those who could spend a thousand dollars on a device, they are now extremely common to have. I think the same will happen with smart glasses.
For now, Facebook’s glasses can be used as a camera, to connect to social media, or listen to music or podcasts, but as expressed by Mark Zuckerburg, the future of the glasses is heading towards AR. As stated by Alex Hern from the Guardian, “Facebook is open about the goal of its Reality Labs division: it wants to build true “augmented reality” – AR – glasses, fulfilling the science-fiction dream of slipping on a pair of glasses that look indistinguishable from a normal pair, and having access to a whole computing universe in front of your eyes.”
Further reading:
TechScape: How smart are Facebook’s Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses?. Alex Hern. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/15/techscape-smart-glasses-facebook
When we see something interesting, the first reaction is to reach into our pocket and grab the phone because nobody will believe it if we don’t take a photo or video of it. I welcome the slow death of this process as precious or exciting as some of the events are. The tone of the moment changes as soon as we reach for the recording device. Perhaps these glasses, and future iterations of past failures, will at least give a handsfree and slightly more genuine experience for the capturer and the viewers.
I wonder if this would ever be able to break into the mainstream like smart watches did. I remember when Google attempted this years ago with Google Glasses and that failed. Snapchat also tried this with the Spectacles by Snap, which if I recall correctly did receive some attention because of its absurdity at the time but also ultimately failed. Perhaps the idea of them was more appealing than the actual execution and price point?
I think the difference here is that Facebook partnered with RayBans and that these glasses look more like actual glasses that people wear. They fly under the radar, to some degree. The Guardian article I shared talks about the past versions:
“But it also serves another job: one of normalisation. Although Facebook’s glasses are the same basic product as Snap’s, the differences are instructive. For one thing, the Wayfarers include a speaker and microphone, in order to give you more of a reason to wear them throughout the day, not just when you’re doing the sort of activity that might make hands-free photography useful. They’re not going to please any audiophiles, but if the idea of listening to a podcast through your sunglasses as you walk to work is appealing to you, then the Stories will scratch that itch.
Similarly, where all three generations of Snap’s Spectacles were, and are, garishly prominent designs, impossible to confuse for anything but what they are, Ray-Ban Stories look like, well, a pair of Ray-Bans. Snap wants its smartglasses to scream “look at me, I’m cool, I’m wearing the Snapchat glasses”; Facebook doesn’t want its smart glasses to scream at all.” They were unappealing because they are very obviously glasses with a camera. Maybe that was the absurdity of it? I don’t really know. That’s the market angle they seem to take.
Though the end goal for Facebook and RayBan stories is the eventual forging into AR territory, I can see these Smart glasses being adopted much in the way Apple watches have been – an extension to our smart phones that truly puts them at our fingertips rather than in the palms of our hands. I think RayBan stories have the potential to be particularly powerful in this age of Social Media Fame and Content Creators, where capturing footage of your daily adventures is paramount!
It reminds me of the Go Pro!