What it’s good to know
- At Google I/O 2024, Google introduced Challenge Astra, a multimodal AI assistant.
- In its filmed demo, a Google engineer wears AR glasses that movie your environment for Gemini to answer.
- We have heard rumors about Challenge Iris, Google’s AR prototype, however Google hasn’t formally introduced something.
The primary day of Google I/O 2024 went all-in on AI, neglecting any point out of {hardware} we hoped to see just like the Pixel 9 or Pixel Fold 2. However one unannounced Google {hardware} challenge made a blink-and-you-miss-it look: a secret AR glasses prototype that appears surprisingly consumer-ready.
Demoing a number of Gemini AI upgrades, Google revealed Challenge Astra, a real-time multimodal AI from the Google DeepMind group that appears at your environment by means of a digicam and solutions your questions based mostly on that visible context.
You’ll be able to watch the demo beneath. And in case you leap to 1:25, you may see the second when the Google engineer places on a thick-rimmed pair of glasses earlier than the digicam view modifications to her eyeline.
Google did not name consideration to those glasses, and we do not know what they’re known as. However they’re clearly AR glasses, given the holographic dot and textual content within the visible heart that shows Gemini AI solutions to her questions. Google claims it was “captured in a single take, in actual time,” which suggests the footage is actual and undoctored.
Meta Ray-Ban sensible glasses even have a AI query perform, however with picture snapshots as a substitute of video and Meta AI as a substitute of Gemini. Plus, it has no visible option to present the AI’s reply, relying solely on audio. That is the place Google’s mysterious AR glasses would probably step issues up.
We have waited for a Google Glass successor for years. Behind the scenes, we knew about Google’s “Challenge Iris,” alleged VR/AR glasses with real-time Google Translate capabilities. Alleged Iris challenge difficulties had us apprehensive that Iris may by no means come to fruition.
This demo, nevertheless, has us questioning whether or not Google may have the ability to promote AR glasses powered by Gemini AI before we anticipated. That will surely be extra thrilling than most of the easy Google I/O 2024 AI demos in the present day, like AI Overview search summaries.
Google’s large XR challenge is creating mixed-reality software program (AndroidXR) for Samsung’s upcoming XR headset, supposedly due out this yr. In principle, Google’s Iris AR glasses might observe after Samsung’s headset with its personal spin on AndroidXR, designed to be worn out on the planet.
Think about Google AR glasses that may interpret your environment in actual time, together with different Google app capabilities like Google Maps instructions or real-time Google Translate. If it is actually coming quickly, that might boost a relatively uninteresting I/O presentation.