Social media giant Meta released its first augmented reality (AR) glasses, Orion, on Wednesday. The product has the appearance and texture of regular glasses, allowing users to wear them comfortably every day and share experiences with those around them. Its AR immersive feature seamlessly integrates all digital content with users' physical world views.

Orion has also integrated Meta's artificial intelligence assistant Meta AI, enabling it to understand what users see in the physical world and provide practical visual information, such as real-time language translation. In addition, Orion allows users to have real-time video calls with friends and family without holding their phones.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg showcased Orion for the first time at the Meta Connect event held in California on Wednesday. The product uses a miniature projector built into the eyeglass arm to create a head up display (HUD) that makes the displayed image look like an object in the real world.

Orion is controlled through voice prompts and what Zuckerberg calls a 'neural interface', which is a wearable device worn on the wrist. Orion users can make specific gestures while wearing the wristband to browse and control applications on their smart glasses.

Meta believes that AR glasses are the key to achieving the next great leap forward in human centered computing. The company wrote in a press release that AR glasses can provide a digital experience that is not limited by smartphone screens. Through large holographic displays, people can use the physical world as a canvas to freely place 2D and 3D content and experiences. This technology also seamlessly integrates contextualized AI, which can perceive and understand the world around the user, predict and proactively meet their needs. The lightweight nature of AR glasses makes them suitable for use both indoors and outdoors, with transparent lenses that allow users to see each other's faces, eyes, and expressions.

According to Meta, Orion is still an early stage product prototype and will not be released to consumers yet. They will focus on internal development, including adjusting AR display quality and optimizing external dimensions. Meta also stated that it will open up the use of Orion to employees and specific external parties to help improve the product, and plans to launch it in the near future.

Data sources: Meta, Cointelegraph