Meta’s Smart Glasses Get a Pretty Cool AI Uplift

Meta’s smart glasses have gotten a major AI uplift that seems pretty cool. The glasses called “Ray Ban” now support video calling on WhatsApp and Messenger and can “look and tell” you the details of what you’re seeing.

“That means you can do more with your glasses because now they can see what you see,” Meta said. 

Meta’s Smart Glasses Can See What You See

The smart glasses are able to understand and process visual surroundings through a new upgrade called multimodal AI, which Meta has been testing with some early users since December 2023. 

In the announcement Tuesday, Meta said the feature is now being made widely available in beta, starting with customers in the US and Canada. 

Multimodal Meta AI is rolling out widely on Ray-Ban Meta starting today! It's a huge advancement for wearables & makes using AI more interactive & intuitive.

Excited to share more on our multimodal work w/ Meta AI (& Llama 3), stay tuned for more updates coming soon. pic.twitter.com/DLiCVriMfk

— Ahmad Al-Dahle (@Ahmad_Al_Dahle) April 23, 2024

Some video clips that came out during the early test phase of the multimodal AI feature showed that the Ray Ban glass could look and suggest ways to save a dying plant, for instance. It can also give information about things like a landmark or even translate in real-time if you’re looking at foreign a text.

“Say you’re traveling and trying to read a menu in French. Your smart glasses can use their built-in camera and Meta AI to translate the text for you, giving you the info you need without having to pull out your phone or stare at a screen,” Meta said.

Users Can Now Video Call with Meta’s Glasses

Meta Ray Ban smart glasses have also gotten the ability to stream live surroundings on WhatsApp and Messenger video calls. 

The update completely removes the hassle of having to point your phone camera at things, or maybe items at the grocery store, to share your view or get recommendations on what to buy during video calls.

All the new features are built atop the pre-existing tech on the smart glasses. They are packed with an ultra-wide 12 MP camera. The glasses also come with Meta AI for those in the US and Canada. 

Meta AI is an intelligent assistant that works similarly to Siri and Google Assistant, except that it’s powered by AI technology. It can generate texts, control the device through voice, and even get access to real-time information.

You could tell many are finding the Ray Ban glasses helpful, with Meta saying, “they’re selling out faster than we can make them.”