Meta’s Orion augmented-reality smart glasses go hand-in-hand with prototypes

The most impressive aspect of Meta’s Orion augmented-reality glasses has more to do with size and comfort than flashy computer graphics.

CNBC senior media and technology reporter Julia Boorstin got to use the Orion at Meta’s annual Connect conference this week, and she was impressed by the prototype’s compact form factor, which is associated with various Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro virtual reality headsets.

“What surprised me most about these was that they were incredibly light,” Boorstin said.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the Orion glasses on Wednesday and called them “a glimpse into the future, which I think is going to be really exciting.” The glasses are black and thickly framed and come with a wireless “puck” that lets you run apps like a holographic game of digital chess or ping-pong.

The experimental glasses are part of Zuckerberg’s multibillion-dollar plans to build the next generation of personal computing, called the Metaverse, which is used by meta to describe interactions with each other online in virtual 3D spaces.

Although Orion does not have the ability to place users in fully virtual worlds, the glasses can overlay digital graphics on the real world. Unlike VR headsets, which can be cumbersome to wear for long periods of time, Boorstin said he found the Orion glasses fit better.

“The form factor doesn’t feel more meaningful than wearing a pair of heavy, normal glasses, and they’re not uncomfortable to wear,” he said.

While the current incarnation of the Orion AR glasses could pass as a movie prop for “Revenge of the Nerds,” Boorstin said he hopes they’ll be smaller as the technology improves.

“This is the first generation – four years from now, how small will they be?” Boorstin said.

While wearing the AR glasses, Boorstin could see digital holograms displaying visual icons of apps like Instagram and Facebook, as well as a few extras like a browser and video game that blended in with the surroundings in a small office at Metta’s headquarters.

Boorstin visualized those digital icons over his real-world environment. This is an improvement over the “passthrough” techniques used by current VR devices. For Passthrough, companies use cameras outside their headsets to show users a digital representation of the real world blended with computer graphics through their device screens.

Orion can overwrite digital images in the real world using a very expensive method. Its lenses are not made of traditional glass or plastic, but a refractive material called silicon-carbide. When Orion’s miniaturized projectors, built into the arms of the glasses, shine a beam of light onto silicon-carbide lenses, users can see “holograms” in their field of vision, an experience Boorstin said “felt completely natural and very natural.”

When the holograms were turned off, “it felt like you were wearing glasses or sunglasses, and it wasn’t distracting or nauseating,” Boorstin said.

Boorst was able to open, close and scroll through apps with the help of the wristband, which felt like an old, lightweight Fitbit.

“The wristband can sense your finger and hand movements, so your hand stays by your side,” Boorstin said, describing how his finger movements and gestures manipulate digital icons. “It was so precise and I was amazed that I was able to detect these hand movements and it picked them up perfectly.”

In a demo, Orion was able to identify various food items spread across a table, such as glasses of Orion and chia seeds. It presented a suitable recipe that appeared digitally on top of real-world seeds. In another demo, Boorstin played a simple game of pong, except video game graphics were displayed on a real-world table in front of her.

One demo impressed her so much that she saw her producer’s face digitally appear in front of her as she called from another room. The overall experience of the 3D video call was “very clear” to Boorstin, who noticed that the resolution of the graphic changed depending on where he held it in his field of view. It was enough to startle her into questioning whether or not the producer could see her in real life (he couldn’t).

“I could see him completely and he couldn’t see me,” Boorstin said. “But I could hear him, and it was like I was Facetiming him, but he was in my mirror.”

By experiencing Orion, Boorstin said he has a better sense of how Meta’s research and development directly benefits the company’s other products, such as its Quest headsets and Ray-Ban smart glasses.

“They are working very hard to make these components young, small, efficient, lightweight,” he said.

See: Meta unveils Orion AR glasses