As multiple technology companies seek to develop AI wearables,$Meta Platforms (META.US)$Research and development of new AI devices has also begun. According to information, the Meta platform is exploring the development of artificial intelligence headsets with cameras, hoping this device can be used to recognize objects and translate foreign languages.

Product design undecided, technical and privacy issues unresolved

Insiders revealed that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has looked at several possible device designs but isn't happy with them. The internal name of the project is Camerabuds, and it's unclear whether the final design of the product will be an in-ear headset or a headset.

Also, the timeline for the project is unclear. An insider said the company's leadership had expected to approve a design in the first quarter. But employees discovered several potential issues with the project, including long hair that could block the camera on the headphones.

At the same time, putting the camera and battery in a small device may make the earphones bulky, and the heat generated may make users uncomfortable. Also, installing a hidden camera on a wearable device can also raise privacy issues, as Google experienced with Google Glass. Meta declined to comment.

Tech companies are putting big effort into AI headsets

Currently, several other technology companies are also developing AI wearable devices, seeking new uses for AI, hoping to be as transformative as smartphones. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently told a partner that he and former Apple chief designer Jony Ive's design company LoveFrom have explored developing a headphone device with a camera.

There are also media reports that Apple is also exploring adding cameras and AI to its headsets. Additionally, several startups, including Humane's AI Pin and Rabbit's R1 pocket device, have recently launched small AI devices, although these products have all received poor reviews. Altman and LoveFrom spokespersons did not respond to requests for comment.

Meta insiders say Meta's leadership, which includes Zuckerberg and CTO Andrew Bosworth, wants to develop AI headsets because they believe Meta's rivals will develop similar devices.

According to media reports, Bear Clark of electronics company Ear Micro said that tech companies' interest in developing “audible wearables” has surged over the past eight to ten months. Clark said he was recently contacted by two big tech companies hoping to develop smart headphones, although he declined to reveal the names of these companies. When asked if he collaborated with Meta, he declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement. But he said Meta, like many other tech companies, is “very interested in this field.”

Clark also said that in order to make earbuds equipped with a camera, the camera can be placed on the round outside of the earbud, with the goal of capturing an ultra-wide angle. The footage from the two earbuds “can then be stitched together” to create a “complete 360-degree image,” he said.

Analysts believe that for companies like Meta, adding a camera to the headset will enable users to map their surroundings. Using AI, the device can tell users what they're looking at and how far from the office.

However, like the previous boom surrounding augmented reality and virtual reality devices, it's unclear whether consumer demand for AI wearables will reach the level the industry has hyped up.

The track is crowded, Meta has learned from the past

According to information, Meta tried to develop a headset that can recognize simple commands in 2019, such as asking for time or if recent Facebook posts received any comments and requests reminders, but eventually abandoned the project because the leadership thought it would be difficult for this kind of product to stand out in the mature headphone market.

By 2022, Meta applied for a patent for an in-ear earbud that can bypass the ear canal and send sound directly to the eardrum; the patent was approved in October 2023. The prototype of this device was demonstrated internally in 2021, and the design makes the audio sound like someone in the same space as the wearer is talking.

A former Meta employee revealed that after OpenAI's ChatGPT became popular, Meta's leadership began asking employees what AI-led devices they could develop. Since then, Meta has accelerated efforts to introduce generative AI into more products and invested billions of dollars, although the return path for doing so is unclear.

Additionally, Meta is investing heavily in audio and acoustic technology, including the acquisition of Audio Analytic, which makes sound recognition software, in 2022, and Whisper, which develops an AI-enabled hearing aid system, in 2023.

However, Meta has had trouble developing successful hardware products in the past. The company previously abandoned plans to build a smartwatch, the first of which would include two cameras and allow users to take pictures by removing the watch face. Meta has also scaled back plans to develop AR glasses and cancelled its Portal line of smart home devices.

Analysts believe that Portal is in trouble to a certain extent, partly because the product was only launched a few years after Amazon and Google began selling smart home devices and became popular with consumers. Meta, on the other hand, is likely to face a similar situation in the headphone market, as rivals like Apple and Google are already making headsets. Furthermore, Meta does not manufacture mobile phones, which are natural products to be used with glasses and headphones, which puts them at a further disadvantage in the hardware field.

Meta shares fell nearly 2% on Monday, and the company's shares have risen more than 32% so far this year.

Editor/Somer