Earlier this year, Meta announced its next iteration of its research glasses, the Aria Gen 2. At the time, Meta was fairly sparse in details, but now the company is preparing to release the device to third-party researchers within the next year.
Meta revealed more about the Aria Gen 2 in a recent blog post, filling out some details about the form factor of research glasses, audio, cameras, sensors, and device computing.
The Aria Gen 2 does not have any kind of display so it can perform any augmented reality tasks, but many of Meta’s latest high-tech specs lead the way beyond AR glasses.
Better computer vision features
One of the biggest features of the future is undoubtedly a robust computer vision (CV), including indoor space mapping and object recognition.
When it comes to computer vision, the Aria Gen 2 doubles the number of CV cameras (currently 4) above Gen 1, with a 120 dB HDR global shutter, extended field of view and 80° stereo overlap.
To launch, Meta showed off the glasses working inside the room and performed simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpxcjat3gxu
New sensors and smarter calculations
Other features include upgrades to sensors such as a calibrated ambient light sensor, contact microphones embedded in the Nocepad for clearer audio in noisy environments, and heart rate sensors (PPGs) for physiological data.
Furthermore, according to Meta, on-device computing for the Aria Gen 2 has also made a leap to the Gen 1, with real-time machine recognition being performed on Meta’s custom coprocessors.
- 6DOF Visual inertial odor (VIO) for spatial tracking
- Advanced eye tracking (gaze, vertical, blinking, student size, etc.)
- 3D hand tracking for accurate motion data and annotation
- The new SubGHz Radio Tech allows sub-millisecond time alignment between devices, which is essential for multi-device setups.
And it’s light
The Aria Gen 2 may contain the latest advancements in computer vision, machine learning and sensor technology, but is extremely lightweight at just 74-76g. For reference, a pair of typical glasses weigh somewhere between 20-50g, depending on the material used and the thickness of the lens.
The 2G weight variation of the device is because Meta offers eight size variations. The company says it will help users to be suitable for the size of the head and nose bridge. It also folds up for easy storage and transportation, like regular glasses.
In particular, the company has not spoken publicly about battery life, but it has a UBS-C port on the right arm of its glasses.
Human perception fulfills machine vision
Essentially, Aria Gen 2 tracks and analyzes the user’s environment, as well as analyses the user’s physical perception of that environment, just as the user prepares coffee in the image below.
The device tracks the user’s eyes and heart rate, both I did it It shows response to stimuli. It also captures relative position and movement through the environment informed by a CV camera, magnetometer, two units of inertia measurement (IMUS), and barometer.
This will create a set of data useful for human-centered research projects, but glasses will need (and likely will be collected) in the future.
The road to AR glasses
According to Meta, the Aria Gen 2 glasses “pray the way for future innovations that define the next computing platform.” This is definitely set to AR. That said, it’s probably still a few years away from replacing smartphones in meaningful ways.
Despite some early consumer AR glasses, such as the Xreal One Pro, stuffing into a thin display, packing a powerful processor, or enough batteries to run your day, it’s not a trivial feat.
Still, Meta CTO and Reality Labs chief Andrew Bosworth said Orion-based AR devices are approaching the last decade and are likely to shoot price ranges somewhere north of the smartphone.
You may learn about Aria Gen 2 soon. Meta says it will be showing the device at Nashville’s CVPR 2025, which includes an interactive demo. More details will be available from CVPR, which will be held in 2025 from June 11th to 15th at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
