Google could be looking to get back in the AR headset game years after placing its pioneering Google Glass project on hiatus, with recent hires pointing to a new Augmented Reality OS.
The company is now hiring for a new project to create an “Augmented Reality OS” that runs on an “innovative AR device”.
According to a recent LinkedIn post, Google has a new Senior Director of Engineering in Mark Lucovsky, who has been charged with leading the company’s OS team for AR. Lucovsky has previously spent time leading the OS efforts at Oculus VR.
There are several jobs going at Google that relate to the development of a new Augmented Reality OS. While they’re all software-related at present, there are mentions of working with new hardware and an as yet unspecified “innovative AR device”.
As 9to5Google points out, this Augmented Reality OS team operates under the Devices & Services team at Google/Alphabet, which is responsible for hardware efforts like the Pixel phones and Nest smart home devices.
It’s intriguing to learn that Google is developing an all-new operating system to stand alongside its Android, Chrome OS, and Cast operating systems. This is clearly being treated as a major new strand of device for the company rather than merely an extension of its mobile ecosystem.
All of which makes us wonder whether we’ll be seeing the resurgence of the Google Glass brand, or whether Google intends to step away from its initially problematic – but way ahead-of-its time – AR label.
Reports suggest that the likes of Apple and Facebook/Meta are developing AR headsets that aren’t a million miles away from the initial Google Glass concept of 2013 – albeit in a much more advanced form.
Google itself has made tentative steps towards a second Google Glass effort, releasing a Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 headset to businesses in 2019.
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