All You Need To Know About The Augmented Reality Headset From Google

Augmented Reality Headset From Google: All You Need To Know

If your ears have been on the ground, you’ll know that Google is working on an augmented reality headset.

Reports have said that the project is still at its early stage, but this is not to say that Google is still far from launching a product that the world will love to spend money on, I mean it’s almighty Google we are talking about.

What Exactly Is Project Iris?

A popular tech website, The Verge has said that Google has named the headset, Project Iris, and its production process is underway at a San Francisco Bay Area facility.

Google has even brought in members of the Google Pixel team to work on this headset, and a total number of three hundred people are currently working on bringing Project Iris to life.

According to reliable reports, Google’s Clay Bavor is the current leader of the project, and he has lots of experience working with Google Cardboard, Google Daydream, and even the Project Starline demo that was flaunted at Google I/O 2021.

Photo credit: liambi.com

Project Iris Specs:

Project Iris will feature outward-facing cameras that combine virtual imagery with real-world surroundings, and it will be powered by a custom Google processor.

It’ll also run on Android and rumors have said that a tethered connection to a power source will not even be required for it to work.

To help with processing power, Google will use data centers to remotely render graphics and transmit them over the internet.

Project Iris Expected Launch Date:

Even if Google’s AR headset is still in its early development stage, reports have said that shipping could begin in two years’ time, 2024, alongside the highly anticipated Project Starline.

What Is Google Hoping To Achieve With Project Iris?

No word yet on the main reason for this project but we can assume the company is building this headset to keep up with its competition, Meta, Microsoft, Magic Leap, and Apple, in the world of virtual reality.

Not forgetting the keyword for 2022, Metaverse, which is making various companies develop hardware that would let consumers enjoy a shared virtual world for gaming, meetings e.t.c.

In summary, Google doesn’t want to be left behind when Metaverse takes off and the tech giant is aware that Project Iris is a good way to avoid that.

Some of the other leaders working on Project Iris are:

• Shahram Izadi, is a senior director of engineering who also manages Google’s ARCore software toolkit.
• Eddie Chung, a senior director of product management who previously ran product for Google Lens.
• Scott Huffman, the VP, and creator of Google Assistant.
• Kurt Akeley, a distinguished engineer and the former CTO of the light-field camera startup Lytro
• Mark Lucovsky, Google’s senior director of operating systems for AR who was recently in a similar job at Meta.

If you are not aware, Google’s interest in AR goes as far back as Glass and its investment in Magic Leap. Reports have said that the plan for the Magic Leap investment was to include the option of buying the company in the future if it creates a path to mass-market AR hardware.

In an interview 3 years ago, Bavor had this to say, “I characterize the phase we’re in as deep R&D, focused on building the critical Lego bricks behind closed doors.”

In 2020, Google paid to own a smart glasses startup, North that was focused on fitting AR technology into a pair of regular-looking eyewear.

You’ll have to take Bavor’s word for it because he has been managing Google’s VR and AR efforts for a long time now, as far back as Google Cardboard and Daydream, a VR software and hardware platform that was launched around the same time as the Oculus.

He and the popular Google head, Pichai have been friends since 2005 and he was appointed VP of Labs, a remit that includes Project Starline, Iris, a new blockchain division, and Area 120, in 2021.

Before Bavor’s promotion from his old role, Google told its workers that the Labs team would concentrate on exploiting tech trends and instigating lots of high-potential, long-term projects.

Photo credit: arstechnica.com

What Has Google Been Saying?

October 2021, Pichai revealed that Google is focusing on AR and it’ll be a major area of investment for the foreseeable future.

The company definitely has the financial backing to fund the best ideas around, and it is surely equipped with amazing tech talents, a quality software ecosystem with Android, and brilliant products for AR glasses like Google Lens.

However, it is still not certain that Google will be willing to invest as insanely as Meta, a giant that is already parting with $10 billion per year on AR and VR.

And with Apple also employing thousands to work on its headset while having a superb pair of AR glasses, Google has a lot to do to leave its current catch-up role.

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