A new version of Google Glass recently appeared in the FCC database (Federal Communications Commission), which shows some design changes, such as a larger prism, a camera recording light, and a folding hinge.
Reports from 9to5Google and others say this is the version “Enterprise Edition” from Google Glass, which will be quietly distributed to businesses and will not be available for sale to the general public.
The Google Glass Team Returns
The Google Glass team lives on within Google. Business Insider and The Wall Street Journal report that the group has a new name, “Project Aura”, and has recently picked up a few engineers from Amazon. That's "Project Aura," not to be confused with "Project Ara," another fighting group within Google that is trying to build a modular smartphone.
“Project Aura” still seems to have the entirety of the previous Google Glass administration. Ivy Ross, former chief marketing officer at Art.com, continues to lead the project. She's still taking orders from Tony Fadell, the CEO of the hierarchy.
This group is part of the team reboot of Google Glass. They are responsible for agreeing to mount the original version of the computer to an accessory, turning it into something attractive.
The unit reportedly switches to a Intel Atom processor and has a compartment for external battery attached. It runs minimal software, and companies will have to develop their own software for any real business use.
We have the feeling that “Project Aura” is the new consumer version of the device, which is still in development and separate from the device's FCC documentation.
El Italian eyewear manufacturer Luxottica has partnered with Google for the development of the device, and a comment from the CEO seems to support this interpretation.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Luxottica's CEO told shareholders:
“At Google, there are some questions about how to interpret version 3. What they saw was version 1. We are working on version two, which is in preparation.”
“Version 1″ is the Google Glass unit that was widely published. We believe that “version two” is the “Enterprise Edition” according to FCC documents. “Version three” would be the “Project Aura,” and the comment that Google had “doubts” about how to interpret it is a reference to the “reboot” that the group had in 2015.
A report from “The Information” also mentions that the team in charge of Google Glass was working on a alternative design that does not have glass, aimed at sports users.
We imagine it would be something like the Motorola Hint, a Bluetooth headset. The report also mentions that Project Aura intends for 2016 to be the year of its release.
Images of Google Glass (Source FFC)
