Meta Connect 2024 - New AI Applications and First Prototype of the "Orion" AR Glasses
The Reality Labs unit of the technology group Meta has recently recorded considerable losses. As part of the figures for the past second quarter, the group forecast that the division's operating losses are likely to increase significantly again in the current year due to product developments and investments to further scale the ecosystem. Investments in AI, augmented reality and metaverse technologies had caused the forecast for capital expenditure to rise to a record level, Reuters reported. However, according to a media report by "heise online", the metaverse continues to exist - Horizon Worlds is being further developed, whereby the avatars have been improved and it will be possible to watch YouTube in a virtual world in future.
Meta continues to strive to make virtual and augmented reality suitable for the mass market - new Orion AR glasses presented
According to the news agency Reuters, the Facebook Group also unveiled other new products at its annual Connect conference, including the first functional prototype of augmented reality glasses called Orion. According to the online platform heise online, Zuckerberg's team had been working on these AR glasses for ten years. Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg was quoted by Reuters as saying that holograms would be superimposed on the physical world. The glasses are made of a magnesium alloy and are powered by a silicon chip specially developed by Meta. Users could interact with the glasses through hand tracking, voice control and a neural-controlled interface on the wrist, according to the report. The device is to be made smaller, more elegant and more cost-effective before being launched on the consumer market, it added. Paolo Pescatore, analyst at PP Foresight, has no doubt that Meta is striving to make virtual and augmented reality affordable and suitable for the mass market. However, users are still skeptical, Reuters quoted the analyst as saying. The news agency also reported that the plan is to bring the first commercial AR glasses onto the market by 2027; technical breakthroughs should reduce production costs by then. A video during the conference showed how short excerpts of text messages and images were displayed through the glasses, according to the report.
New functions for the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses
However, the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses initially aroused little interest, but have recently become more popular thanks to the addition of an AI assistant, according to the report. These glasses will also become "smarter" in the future, according to heise online, and will be able to create reminders or read QR codes, for example. Later in the year, Meta plans to add video generation functions and the ability to perform real-time translations between English and French as well as Italian and Spanish, Reuters added.
Meta AI digital assistant gets an audio upgrade
In addition, Meta has announced a number of new products for its ChatGPT competitor and revealed plans to create personalized images through a bot and insert them into users' Facebook and Instagram feeds, Reuters said. Another AI update was presented in the form of an audio upgrade to the digital assistant Meta AI, which can now respond to voice commands and offers users the option of accepting voices from celebrities. According to the report, three new versions of the Llama 3 models were also presented. According to the company, more than 400 million people use Meta AI every month, according to the report.
Announcement of the Quest 3S: entry-level version of the mixed reality headsets
Finally, Meta has also announced an entry-level version of its Quest range of mixed reality headsets, the Quest 3S, which will be available from $300, while the price of the Quest 3 launched last year has been reduced, according to Reuters. According to heise online, the glasses will go on sale on October 15 and can be pre-ordered from September 25. Compared to the Apple Vision Pro, the price of the device is significantly cheaper, and Zuckerberg said according to heise online that the headset could replace a computer. The Quest 3 and 3S are also able to use Meta AI, the AI assistant, which is not available in the EU, according to the report. According to the report, the company's AI applications do not yet have a launch date in the EU, with Zuckerberg criticizing that the European Union urgently needs to create uniform regulation.
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