The XR Week Peek (2024.11.19): Meta announces Project Aria research kits, a wave of Chinese smartglasses is coming, and more!
Hello from Finland! I’m writing this newsletter across Finland, between Helsinki and the Lapland. I’m having a pretty good time here (as always): I’ve met Santa Claus, pet reindeers, and eaten typical local food. Soon I will attend MatchXR, one of the most relevant XR events in Nordic Europe! I will tell you soon about my adventures there.
Before heading to the news of the week, I want to dedicate this episode of my newsletter to Daniel Dyboski-Bryant, who has recently passed away. I had the pleasure of meeting Daniel a few times, sometimes in the physical world when I attended AWE US, and other times in virtual worlds, especially when I participated in some events on ENGAGE. He was a very kind person and a true pleasure to spend time with him. He was also very motivated to use VR for the good of humanity, especially on the education side. He will be missed by every one of us who had the pleasure to meet him. Goodbye, Daniel, we will all carry on your legacy.
Top news of the week
Meta opens applications for Project Aria research kits
A couple of years ago, Meta unveiled Project Aria, a set of glasses it was building as a stepping stone towards its future Augmented Reality glasses. Project Aria had no display, but it had many sensors (in particular, cameras and microphones), and it was meant to be worn just by people from Meta or from Meta’s close partners so as to learn their behavior. The glasses could track what they were doing, gathering data from their point of view, exactly as AR glasses would have done. This way, Meta could record a lot of data to train its AI/ML systems so that they could reliably work on future AR glasses. Project Aria was meant just for internal use, but things have changed this week.
Meta has just announced the Project Aria Research Kit: interested research centers, either from universities or corporations, can apply on a dedicated webpage to request a Project Aria devkit to Meta. Meta will evaluate the projects and will award the selected research centers with not only the glasses, but the whole development environment, like the companion app, the SDK, and the cloud services. The cloud services do not only include the storage space with all your recordings, but they also offer services like the reconstruction of environments via the point cloud recorded by the glasses or the obfuscation of faces and car plates in the videos.
This is a very interesting opportunity to do innovative research towards the future of AR glasses. To inspire potentially interested research centers. Meta has published on its website some existing case studies of projects developed by famous universities, like the University of Bristol, the University of Iowa or Carnegie Mellon University. The projects range from accessibility to driving and skills learning.
If you are part of a research center, I suggest you evaluate this opportunity.
Other relevant news
A new wave of smartglasses is coming from China (and beyond)
This has been another hectic week in the smart glasses field. The success of the Ray-Ban Meta has started a bit of a gold rush, and this week alone, we have seen the announcement of three Chinese AI-powered smart glasses.
A report by the Chinese magazine 36kr states that Xiaomi may be developing a device that goes toe-to-toe with Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses. Xiaomi is not new to smartglasses and already showcased different prototypes in this sense in the past years, so this news does not come as a surprise. According to the report, the glasses would be built in partnership with Goertek, which is one of the biggest XR manufacturers in the world, and the company actually manufacturing the Quest headsets in China. These glasses are expected for Q2 2025, maybe in time to be launched at the Mi Fan Festival, which is typically held in April.
Last week I reported a possible release of some glasses by Baidu and it actually happened. The Chinese search giant unveiled the Xiaodu AI Glasses, which weigh only 45 grams and are equipped with a 16MP ultra-wide-angle camera that includes AI stabilization. Additionally, they incorporate a four-microphone array for effective sound capture and open-ear anti-leakage speakers that provide clear audio. The battery is expected to run for up to 56 hours of standby time and more than 5 hours of continuous audio playback. The glasses offer six primary functionalities: “real-time Q&A through walk-and-ask queries, calorie recognition, object identification via an encyclopedia feature, audio-visual translation, and intelligent reminders”. Xiaodu AI Glasses are estimated to be released in the first half of 2025, with a projected retail price of under 2,100 yuan (approximately $290).
Yesterday one of the biggest AR manufacturers in China, that is Rokid, announced the Rokid Glasses. They are powered by a Snapdragon AR1, weigh only 49 grams, and have a display with 640 by 480 resolution, 30 degrees of FOV, and 1000 nits of brightness. The display is monochrome green and is meant for 2D information. The Rokid Glasses have a camera for photos, videos, and visual search as well. Thanks to an integration with Alipay, it is possible to use the glasses to pay by looking at QR codes (a typical thing in China) and also use Alipay AI as a digital assistant. It’s very important to notice that these glasses are built in collaboration with BOLON, which is a Chinese fashion brand of glasses that is part of the EssilorLuxottica group. This shows that Luxottica is open to partnering with XR vendors in China (where Meta is not present), but it is not clear if this is something that may also happen outside of China.
Together with these commercial smartglasses, we also got to know that, according to Reuters, Amazon is working internally on some glasses, too. Codenamed “Amelia”, the smart glasses are based on the existing Echo Frames platform, but they feature an integrated display. The purpose of these glasses is not to be sold to consumers, though: Amazon wants to give them to its fleet of drivers so that they can receive instructions in front of their eyes on how to deliver the packages to the homes of the recipients of packages. This would solve the problem of drivers getting lost in finding the right apartment to leave the package in front of. The report also notes that Amazon is working on an embedded screen for future Echo Frames glasses that could show up sometime in Q2 2026.
It’s exciting to see so much movement in the smartglasses field…
(Thanks DannieVR for the tip about the Rokid glasses!)
More info (Xiaomi glasses)
More info (Baidu glasses)
More info (Rokid glasses — Reddit post and comments)
More info (Rokid glasses — Wechat pot in Chinese)
More info (Amazon glasses)
Meta For Education launched in beta
A few months ago, Meta teased that an education offering of its Quest headsets dedicated to universities was coming. Last week, finally this program, called Meta For Education, was unveiled and launched in Beta.
When the program was teased, Meta said that it should “allow teachers, trainers and administrators to access a range of education-specific apps and features, and make it possible for them to manage multiple Quest devices at once, without the need for each device in a classroom or training environment to be updated and prepared individually”. Now, it is repeating the same things, but with a lot of fluff words around them. It seems (my speculation) that this program is about offering a store of educational content, plus some sort of MDM device manager to allow teachers to control the headsets of the students. What is interesting is that a few important universities are already using it, including Arizona State University, Houston Community College, Imperial College London, Miami Dade College, Morehouse College, University of Miami, and University of Michigan. What is even more interesting is that Meta is collecting the feedback from these universities running the pilot, and it is improving the program to better fit the needs of university teachers. Building the product together with its customers, Meta is confident to release this winter a very effective program for universities.
In addition to the Meta for Education beta program, Meta has also partnered with VictoryXR to develop some of the first digital twin “metaversities” in Europe. Through these metaversities, educators and students at the University of Leeds in the UK, University of the Basque Country in Spain, and University of Hannover in Germany will be able to explore, socialize, and participate in live classes remotely, all within an immersive environment that mirrors their physical campuses.
It seems that Meta is investing a lot in the educational sector. I think this is a smart thing for a couple of reasons. The first one is that it is a big field that can make Meta earn a lot of money. The second is that if students start using VR headsets at school, then they will understand the value of XR and will also want to buy a headset to use at home, and this helps the adoption of XR.
More info (Meta for education launched in Beta — Upload VR)
More info (Meta for education launched in Beta — Official article)
More info (Meta creating metaversities)
Meta teases Orion operating system
Meta has shared a video where it is possible to see the UI of the Orion glasses. Actually, there are various different UIs that are being shown, so it is possible that Meta is still iterating the UI of the glasses, and the video shows different possible routes that the company is exploring. AR glasses are a totally new paradigm, so it is not possible to reuse there the same interface we have in VR or MR today. It makes so sense that Meta is experimenting with it.
Alex Coulombe, the developer that tried Orion at Meta Connect, confirmed that the video shows some UI interface he tried himself on the glasses.
News worth a mention
bHaptics revamps its lineup of devices
Korean company bHaptics, which is one of the most famous for what concerns haptic vests in XR, has just announced a new revamped lineup of devices:
- TactSuit Pro is the company’s new flagship haptic vest (for the torso), priced at $499
- TactSuit Air cuts down on the price, meanwhile cutting down on the number of haptic motors in comparison to TactSuit Pro. It is priced at just $249
- TactSleeve is a new version of their popular arm-based haptic device and is priced at $199.
Preorders of these devices are open until November, 26th. Remember that bHaptics devices are compatible with 270 VR titles across Quest, PSVR 2, and SteamVR headsets, so if you buy them, you can have quite a bit of fun with them.
More info (New bHaptics devices)
More info (Launch trailer of the new bHaptics devices)
Horizon Worlds is getting its currency
Horizon Worlds has started now to roll out its virtual currency, called Meta Credits, in selected regions. This is a very important step because it lets Horizon Worlds develop its own economy, letting users buy in-world digital goods from creators. Adding monetization is always a critical step for a social platform, and it is interesting to follow how this will impact the Horizon Worlds ecosystem.
Ekto VR announces its first batch of shoes
After many years of research work and showcasing in XR events, finally Ekto VR is able to ship its first batch of shoes to walk in virtual reality. The shoes are called Genesis and will ship to only 10 people so it is for truly early adopters who want to help develop this innovative hardware. The price is $2000–3000 depending on the chosen feature and shipping should happen in March 2025.
MeRCURY diving mask is now on IndieGoGo
MeRCURY is an XR headset for underwater usage. The idea is to transform existing water pools into places where to live innovative VR experiences that happen either underwater, in space or in abstract places. This device, which has also a cool design, is now available on IndieGoGo. It is quite expensive, starting at €1250, so I imagine it is mostly meant for B2B usage.
More info (MeRCURY on IndieGoGo)
More info (MeRCURY trailer)
Apple releases two new immersive videos
Apple has just released two new high-quality immersive videos:
- The music video of the song Open Hearts by The Weeknd, which is available in immersive format
- A new video of the ‘Concert For One’ series featuring the award-winning singer Raye
More info (The Weeknd)
More info (Raye)
Some info about content
- Ember Souls, the upcoming VR hack-and-slash inspired by Prince of Persia, is officially set to launch on Quest on November 21st for $25 (there is a 16% discount if you preorder it)
- Rube Goldberg sandbox Gadgeteer just got an update on Quest 3 and Quest 3S which finally brings mixed reality to its gameplay
- Beat Saber just got the long-awaited DLC Monstercat Mixtape 2
- Clone Drone in the Danger Zone, the hit arena battler from indie studio Doborog just got a VR sequel called Clone Drone in the Hyperdome. The launch price is $20 (there is a 10% discount if you preorder it)
- Resolution Games announced it’s bringing a brand new tower defense game to Vision Pro early next year, called Gears & Goo
- Spatial Ops, the mixed reality multiplier shooter from Resolution Games, that lets you organize a wild laser tag game in your living room, has been released for $20
- Little Cities: Diorama is the Vision Pro version of Little Cities, the pint-sized VR city manager. It will launch for Vision Pro through Apple Arcade on December 5th
- Exercise Your Demons, a mixed reality fitness game that lets you exercise with some fun demonic creatures is coming on December 12 for $20
- Last Stand, the new multi-location mixed reality PvP shooter, has entered early access on Quest
- Starship Troopers: Continuum adapts the sci-fi series with a new VR co-op shooter, and it’s out on Quest for €18
- VRSO: Bare Knuckle Fighting has evolved to become Boxing Underdog, and it’s out this month on Quest
- Road To VR published its roundup of minor VR news called XR News Bits
- Road To VR published its roundup of minor VR news called XR News Round-Up
More info (Ember Souls)
More info (Gadgeteer)
More info (Beat Saber)
More info (Clone Drone in the Hyperdome)
More info (Gears & Goo)
More info (Spatial Ops)
More info (Little Cities)
More info (Exercise Your Demons)
More info (Last Stand)
More info (Starship Troopers: Continuum)
More info (Boxing Underdog)
More info (XR News Bits)
More info (XR News Roundup)
Some reviews about content
- Square Enix’s Triangle Strategy is good to be played in XR, but it also too much of a similar experience to what is available on flatscreen
- DIG VR delivers well a game that is backed by a vibrant presentation, comically silly minigames, and beautifully British humor. That’s hampered a bit by some tedious campaign missions and some interaction issues, though
- EXOcars drives a sweet line between realism and fun and delivers a very fun racing game in VR
More info (Triangle Strategy)
More info (DIG VR)
More info (EXOcars)
Other news
Sony discontinues the adapter to use the original PSVR on PS5
Pico released an interesting update to Pico OS
Apple Final Cut Pro now lets you edit Spatial Videos
A detailed article on Wired explains that Meta Horizon Worlds is now full of children
A lot of Quixel megascans assets are available for free on FAB
(Thanks Ivan Aguilar for the tip)
Vive Ultimate Tracker is now compatible with 3rd party headsets
(Thanks Ivan Aguilar for the tip)
Niantic announced its Spatial Platform, “[that] unlocks the potential of spatial intelligence to transform how people and machines understand and interact with the physical world” (I have no idea what this means)
News from partners (and friends)
XR Design Challenge is a new cool XR hackathon
Immersive Insiders in collaboration with Met, ShapesXR, and IDEO is organizing the Global XR Design Challenge. Running from December 2 to January 13, this online event offers a prize pool of USD 10.000$ to the best XR design ideas and interaction concepts. Participating is free, so you should try joining it!
Learn more
Story lets you create spatial content on Vision Pro
Story lets you create spatial content on Vision Pro with an immersive interface that lets you seamlessly integrate various forms of media — 2D photos, 2D videos, 3D models, spatial videos, panoramic photos, VR180, VR360, and more. Download it now and start creating!
Learn more about Story / 1
Learn more about Story / 2
Sponsored Area
Advertise on this blog!
If you want to put your XR product under the spotlight in front of an audience of fantastic AR/VR people, then this blog is the ideal platform for your outreach efforts. Read about the advertisement offerings and successfully promote your product on the Ghost Howls!
Read about my advertisement services
Some XR fun
This is the original PCVR
Funny link
Donate for good
Like last week, also this week in this final paragraph I won’t ask you to donate to my blog, but to the poor people who are facing the consequences of the war. Please donate to the Red Cross to handle the current humanitarian situation in Ukraine. I will leave you the link to do that below.
Let me take a moment before to thank anyway all my Patreon donors for the support they give to me:
- Alex Gonzalez VR
- DeoVR
- GenVR
- Eduardo Siman
- Jonn Fredericks
- Jean-Marc Duyckaerts
- Reynaldo T Zabala
- Richard Penny
- Terry xR. Schussler
- Ilias Kapouranis
- Paolo Leoncini
- Immersive.international
- Nikk Mitchell and the great FXG team
- Jake Rubin
- Alexis Huille
- Raghu Bathina
- Chris Koomen
- Cognitive3D
- Wisear (Yacine Achiakh)
- Masterpiece X
- Dimo Pepelyashev
- Jennifer Granger
- Jason Moore
- Steve Biggs
- Julio Cesar Bolivar
- Jan Schroeder
- Kai Curtis
- Francesco Strada
- Sikaar Keita
- Ramin Assadollahi
- Juan Sotelo
- Andrew Sheldon
- Chris Madsen
- Horacio Torrendell
- Andrew Deutsch
- Fabien Benetou
- Tatiana Kartashova
- Marco “BeyondTheCastle” Arena
- Eloi Gerard
- Adam Boyd
- Jeremy Dalton
- Joel Ward
- Alex P
- Lynn Eades
- Donald P
- Casie Lane
- Catherine Henry
- Qcreator
- Ristband (Anne McKinnon & Roman Rappak)
- Stephen Robnett
- KaihatsuJai
- Christopher Boyd
- Carol Dalrymple
- Sb
- Pieter Siekerman
- Enrico Poli
- Vooiage Technologies
- Caroline
- Liam James O’Malley
- Hillary Charnas
- Wil Stevens
- Francesco Salizzoni
- Alan Smithson
- Steve R
- Brentwahn
- Matt Cool
- Simplex
- Gregory F Gorsuch
- Paul Shay
- Matias Nassi
And now here you are the link to donate:
Support The Red Cross in Ukraine
(Header image by Meta)
Disclaimer: this blog contains advertisement and affiliate links to sustain itself. If you click on an affiliate link, I'll be very happy because I'll earn a small commission on your purchase. You can find my boring full disclosure here.
