The new Ray-Ban Stories, smart glasses just released by Ray-Ban and Facebook, look exactly like what you see in a spy movie. Discreet enough to switch to a classic pair of stylish glasses, but with a built-in camera barely visible.
But you don’t have to be a secret agent to have a couple of these shades. Anyone who wants to drop three Benjamins in glasses can buy them. And that could be the most promising and disturbing thing about it. Smartphone cameras are everywhere, but at least it’s a little hard to film someone discreetly. With these new glasses, filming someone in secret becomes easy.
What they can do: The glasses have various colors and lens options. They can be sunglasses, prescription, prescription or with transparent and simple lenses. Despite weighing barely more weight than normal glasses, they still have some heavy capabilities.
Glasses have three main functions. They can take short photos and videos that are delivered to a smartphone app so users can decide how to share images. And they can play “outdoors” sounds without the need for headphones, allowing users to listen to podcasts and music or receive phone calls. With two cameras, one on each side of the face, users can add 3D effects to their photos.
Although the glasses stay charged for only a few hours, the case acts as a portable battery, charging the glasses between uses.
“Our mission is to help build tools that help people feel connected anytime, anywhere,” Monisha Perkash of Facebook told The Guardian. Perkash leads the product team in the Reality Labs division. His goal is to build real “augmented reality” glasses.
“To some extent, it’s more obvious than what people do with phones.”
Andrew Bosworth
“We want to create a sense of social presence, the feeling that you’re right there with another person who shares the same space, regardless of physical distance.”
Still, we have a rule in my house: there are no phones on the table because they distract people from the shared “union” of food. The rule applies whether you are a guest or a family member. Should I also ban glasses? What if they are recipes?
What do people think: It’s too early to know how people will respond to the glasses. They had just gone on sale last week. But they feel a little invasive to me. Facebook has been the subject of study for its use (or misuse) of people’s data. Releasing a camera that can discreetly film people will no doubt cause a great stir.
Facebook says they can’t do anything a smartphone can’t do. Highlights some ways passersby will know if the camera is being used, such as a white LED light next to the frames.
“To some extent, it’s more open than what people do with phones,” said Andrew Bosworth, head of Facebook Reality Labs, Axios reports.
Let’s think about it: taking a picture of someone with a smartphone in secret; you need to take the phone out of a bag or pocket, unlock it, open the camera app, keep the phone at the proper height, check if the person is in the frame, and then take the pictures.
To take a photo with Ray-Ban stories, simply use a voice command or tap a button on the side of the frames.
The future: These new Ray-Bans show that it is possible to build high-tech features in small frames, which brings us closer to the holy grail of the AR / VR glasses that can be used. Virtual reality is a 360-degree real-world simulation, often experienced in spectacle-type headphones. Augmented reality superimposes computer-generated images on the viewer’s real-world vision.
“What’s to come will be absolutely amazing.”
Michael Quins
Michael Cuales, creative director for new media development at North Carolina State University and founder of LEVR Studios, a virtual reality design company, says virtual reality is about to invest in ways education exciting.
“What’s to come will be absolutely amazing,” he told Freethink.
Virtual reality is not just for play. There are educational, therapeutic and military applications. It can give city kids a natural experience. Or it can be used to model the growth of trees and save a forest. Imagine unlocking possibilities when devices go from 4.5 pounds (like the Oculus Quest) to less than 50 grams (like Ray-Ban stories) and require a beach-sized bag in your pocket. behind. Which he doesn’t think we’ll have to imagine for a long time.
“Everyone has a mobile device, right?” He says, “In five, ten years, everyone will have a set of Oakley glasses that are also a virtual and / or augmented reality device.
In the meantime, if you see anyone touching their glasses, Mission Impossible: Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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