Google, after the unsuccessful experience of Google Glass, has not at all abandoned the idea of developing an ecosystem that revolves around smart glasses
Apple is stirring up rumors and consequently the expectations of fans with its project on the augmented reality viewer, of which there is even talk these days of a second generation in development. Google, however, would be working on a similar project, but in Mountain View would have been (so far) very good at not filtering anything.
The indiscretion comes from the "change of coat" of a bigwig like Mark Lucovsky, who shared on LinkedIn to have taken over the leadership of the Operating System team for Augmented Reality at Google, or, in terms more understandable to us, to be the head of the team for the operating system of augmented reality (AR) of Google. The point is that Lucovsky has not been and will not be an ordinary employee, on the contrary: he has held for four years the position of general manager of the team for the development of Oculus VR operating systems, i.e. Facebook's virtual reality smart glasses (now Meta).
Google is working to take the field soon
Big G evidently wants to bring to market as soon as possible by entering into competition with those who are already on the scene - Meta with Oculus - and those who will arrive - Apple with the AR visor. It's therefore clear the renewed interest of Google towards a market segment still relatively untrodden, such as that of the visors and smart glasses, but within which Google itself was a pioneer back in 2013 with its Google Glass.
A product, at the time, too far ahead of the market but also to the availability of fast and cheap mobile connections, a fundamental requirement for Google Glass and their real Achilles' heel.
Google, now that market conditions and technological realities are quite different, doesn't want to miss out on a business for which, evidently, tech bigwigs foresee growth in the years to come, and for this reason, scouring the net well, several open positions have come up regarding the operating system for AR smart glasses.
Dozens of open positions for augmented reality
Some are all too explicit about a project that until "yesterday" was secret, like this one: "Our team is building the software components that control and manage the hardware on our augmented reality products. These are the software components that run on AR devices and are the ones that most relate to the hardware. The OS Foundations team is the first software team to work with the new hardware."
Others state without fear that Google is working on innovative smart glasses, "As a team member, you will be responsible for the photographic software of an innovative augmented reality device."
And scrolling through the open positions at Google reveals interesting details about the project in the making, "Our goal is to make immersive technology accessible to billions of people via mobile devices, and our goal is constantly growing and evolving. The AR team makes computing more perceptive, immersive and accessible. As a member of the team, you will be responsible for creating and optimizing the software on which our products are based." Clearer than that.