A year ago I test-drove Meta's next-generation concept AR glasses, called project Orion, in a room on the company's campus in Menlo Park, California. They incorporated 3D displays and a wireless processor puck, but what wowed me was the futuristic neural wristband I wore to control them.
Meta's research in EMG -- electromyography, or sensing muscle impulses via electrical signals using wearable sensors -- is becoming a reality. I expect Meta to release that neural band as an accessory to a new pair of glasses with embedded displays, code-named Hypernova, at its Meta Connect conference on Sept. 17. I'll be there, so stay tuned for all the news.
Meta has plenty of other improvements that need to be made to its smart glasses (and VR, too), despite how good Meta Ray-Bans have already gotten. But the EMG band's possibly imminent debut is one of the biggest shifts to Meta's wearables strategy in years.
This means people could be wearing it very soon. And what exactly will be possible with the tech over time? We're about to find out.
Mark Zuckerberg demoing an earlier version of the EMG band with me and other reporters in 2022. Meta
A doorway to neural tech opens
EMG bands are what Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg considers a whole new future paradigm for interfaces. Instead of camera-based hand tracking or controllers, these bands can register gestural moves like pinches, taps, thumb swipes, and maybe even typing over time.
When I tried the band last year, I was able to do a variety of small gestures to scroll, select things and navigate. Meta's chief scientist for Reality Labs Research, Michael Abrash, has told me about the possibilities for its neural input tech over the years, which was acquired via CNTRL-Labs in 2019.
With my Orion demo, I also used my eyes. Eye tracking and wristband gestures were combined to make the interface navigation work. The experience was similar to what can be done in the larger Apple Vision Pro, but with an EMG band, gestures can be done even when out of sight of the glasses or headset, since it works independently.
Meta's next glasses may not have eye tracking onboard, meaning the EMG band won't necessarily feel as instantly responsive as my gaze-driven experiences a year ago. We'll see.
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