Apple, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, and now Google: all the tech giants want their AR headset.
While for several months many reports have emerged concerning an Apple augmented reality headset, which could be released at the end of 2022 or in 2023, we did not have much information about Google’s projects in this area, which nevertheless acted as precursor (unfortunate) with its Google Glass. Until The Verge finally gives us a glimpse of Project Iriswhich should lead to the marketing of an AR headset in 2024.
A homemade SoC and Android
The first prototypes of the device would look like ski goggles, according to sources interviewed by the American media. These would not require a wired connection to an external power source, thus assuming the presence of a battery.
The helmet would be powered by an in-house chip, which has no name yet. Google has recently entered this niche with its SoC Tensor for Pixel 6, designed in collaboration with Samsung, and should not stop there.
On the operating system side, no surprise, it is Android that will serve as the interface for the AR headset. This gives us a clue about the state of progress of the various new OS projects at Google: we should not expect them to be ready in 2024.
The Cloud, the solution for a powerful AR headset?
Augmented reality can require a very substantial computing power, and Google would have already found the answer to this problem by using a technology that can be similar to cloud computing.
It would involve using its datacenters to remotely manage the most demanding processes and generate the heaviest renderings, then transmit the result to the headset via an Internet connection. 5G will have had time to become more popular by then and such a mechanism could help solve the problems of overheating, which Apple is suffering with its own product.
For now, the team in charge of the project is made up of about 300 people. Part of the Pixel division is also requisitioned, but we do not know if Project Iris will be integrated into the Pixel range. Google plans to hire hundreds more people in the months and years to come to accelerate the development of this augmented reality headset.
Source: The Verge
2