Title: What's the Purpose of Meta Glasses As Seen in the New Orleans Attack?
Shamsud-Din Jabbar resided at a rental home in New Orleans, beginning October 30, and employed the use of smart glasses while cycling through the French Quarter, as reported by Lyonel Myrthil, the FBI's New Orleans Special Agent in Charge. Jabbar donned the glasses once more on New Year's Day, but opted not to activate them that day.
Myrtihil made these declarations during a press conference on January 1. Meta, the smart glass manufacturer, chose not to comment on the matter to CNN.
Meta launched its smart glasses, in conjunction with Ray-Ban, in 2021. Dubbed Ray-Ban Stories, these smart glasses have a retail price ranging from $379, as per the Ray-Ban website. The glasses can be procured from outlets like Best Buy, Target, and T-Mobile, among others.
These Meta smart glasses, a integral part of an industry-wide endeavor to create wearable, hands-free technology as the next generation's computing platform, are equipped with features such as photo capturing capabilities and artificial intelligence to answer queries about the surroundings. Furthermore, a front-facing LED light on the glasses notifies bystanders whenever a photo or video is being taken.
Meta, in September, revealed plans for a more advanced version of the glasses, named Orion, which incorporate augmented reality technology. The AR glasses enable users to view digital content, like messages or emails, as holograms in their environment.
Meta provided limited access to the Orion AR glasses to its employees and certain external users, as it works on developing a consumer version.
Capturing Photos and Videos
These HD cameras, embedded within the glasses, permit users to take photos and record videos for up to three minutes. Users can manually upload these files to the Meta View application on their smartphones or enable automatic uploads.
Users can initiate photographing or video recording through the side capture button on the glasses frame, or by activating voice commands.
The glasses also support livestreaming via Facebook or Instagram accounts when connected to the Meta View application. Users can easily switch between cameras by double-pressing the glasses’ capture button.
Voice Controls and Audio
Meta smart glasses support voice controls in select countries, particularly in English. By uttering "Hey Meta," which serves as the device's activation keyword, users can instruct the AI assistant to initiate recording.
Best Buy, in a video, showcased a user asking the glasses to translate a sign, demonstrating the smart glasses' AI assistant capability. It remains unclear whether users can customize the activation keyword. Voice commands can continue without the activation keyword once enabled.
Meta smart glasses come equipped with a speaker in the frames that play music, phone calls, and AI-generated audio.
Perspective on Privacy
The website offers guidance, such as “respect personal preferences,” “deactivate in private spaces,” and “maintain a positive community attitude,” emphasizing users to adhere to laws and refrain from using the glasses for detrimental activities. Meta also recommends using the glasses ethically, avoiding surveillance, and respecting individuals' privacy rights.
Meta's smart glasses are equipped with two lights – an inward-facing LED to showcase when capture, voice control, or calling functionality is in use and outward-facing capture LED to indicate when the glasses are commanding a photo or video capture process.
Meta's privacy guidelines rely on users adhering to these recommendations. The glasses' manufacturer can't enforce these guidelines, hence raising concerns surrounding potential misuse.
The tech company Meta, known for its smart glass innovation, launched the Ray-Ban Stories in 2021, which includes business features such as photo capturing capabilities and AI assistants. Jabbar, as reported, used similar tech glasses while cycling.
In line with its business strategy, Meta is working on a more advanced version, Orion, incorporating augmented reality technology to display digital content as holograms.
Or meta's privacy guidelines for its smart glasses emphasize respecting personal preferences and refraining from surveillance, but enforcing these recommendations is challenging due to the company's limited control over user behavior.
