Meta Reportedly Working on AI-Enabled Camera-Integrated Earphones Dubbed Camerabuds

As per the report, the earphones will feature two outward-facing cameras to detect the wearer’s surroundings.

Written by Akash Dutta, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 17 May 2024 16:46 IST

Meta Reportedly Working on AI-Enabled Camera-Integrated Earphones Dubbed Camerabuds

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Muhammad Asyfaul

Meta’s engineering team has highlighted several concerns with such a device

Highlights

Reportedly, Meta is considering both earphones and headphones designs
The AI will see the world with the cameras and answer the user’s queries
The project is said to be in its nascent stage at the moment

Meta is reportedly working on a unique wearable form factor powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Dubbed Camerabuds, the device will be a pair of earphones with cameras attached at both ends. The cameras are said to pick up information from their surroundings and answer the queries of the user. The report claims that the project is currently in its initial stage and the company has not even finalised the design of the device. Further, the engineering team has also expressed several concerns with such a wearable.

According to a report by The Information (via Engadget), Meta is exploring a new wearable device that can identify objects and translate languages using AI. The device will essentially be a pair of earphones or headphones but they will have a couple of cameras equipped to each of the earbuds facing outwards. These cameras will pick up the information that the AI will process in real time to answer the wearer's questions.

The device will use multimodal AI with real-time processing, similar to the company's Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses (our review). Based on the information shared, it appears that the Camerabuds will be a more portable device with the main focus being two-way communication. It is not clear if verbal communication will be lag-free or the same as its AI-powered smart glasses.

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While this is the plan, the report mentions that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not happy with any of the designs so far, despite seeing several iterations of them. Further, it is said that the engineering team has also expressed several concerns with such a device. Some of the concerns include battery life, heat dissipation, privacy-related issues, challenges around users who have long hair, and more.

The report also pointed out that Meta has a track record of planning big hardware projects and abruptly shutting them down. For instance, it killed its smart speaker project called Portal in 2022. Earlier, it also cancelled its camera-fitted smartwatch project. However, Meta has witnessed significant success with its smart glasses and likely wants to double down on it with another similar product. Notably, the company is also heavily investing in AI.

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Further reading: AI, Artificial Intelligence, Meta, Meta AI

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More