It’s no secret that Meta is eager to prove itself as an AI company, and it may be considering a new hardware project to help get there. The company is in the early stages of “exploring” designs for AI-powered headphones. in Information.
The company is reportedly calling it “Camerabuds” because the earbuds or headphones (the company is considering both designs) will have two outward-facing cameras that can detect the user’s surroundings and power real-time AI features. In this way, it sounds like what the company is doing with its multimodal AI features .
For now, it’s unclear whether such a project will actually move forward, and Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mark Zuckerberg is said to have “seen several possible designs for the device” but so far “hasn’t been satisfied” with any of them. Internally, there are also engineering challenges, such as battery life and heat issues, as well as the many privacy concerns that come with camera-enabled wearables. People with long hair can also pose a potential problem, as their locks block the view of cameras.
whom Information It notes that Meta has a somewhat mixed track record when it comes to hardware projects. Killed a line of smart speakers called Portal, and launched the long-rumored camera . But the latest version of Ray-Ban’s smart glasses, featuring Meta AI, has been more than that. . The company didn’t say how many pairs it sold, but Zuckerberg said there had been “high demand” and that the glasses had marked better and more durable wear than the first-generation shades.
Embedding Meta AI into another piece of hardware would also fit well with the company’s ambitions. with other leading AI firms. While AI-specific hardware like Rabbit’s R1 and Humane’s AI Pin have languished so far, Meta is likely hoping that packing the latest AI features into a device people are used to wearing as a headset will be an easier sell.
