Meta's new smart glasses

This technology promises us practicality and autonomy

At first glance they appear to be just another pair of stylish sunglasses, but behind the Ray-Ban Meta frame hides a floating color screen that not only the wearer can see. These are the new smart glasses from Meta, a step you take to integrate augmented reality and artificial intelligence almost invisibly into our daily lives.

With a 600 by 600 pixel screen, the glasses project private messages, video calls, maps, weather forecasts and even real-time subtitles for conversations around you. The promise is clear, transform any space into a personal screen, without having to take your cell phone out of your pocket.

But the most impressive detail is not in the lenses, but in the wrist.

The neural band, a bracelet developed by Meta, based on research with almost 20,000 participants, uses electromyography to capture microscopic electrical signals from the muscles, this means that small finger gestures, often invisible to those nearby, can control the interface, pinch to zoom, swipe to change screens or even browse the internet without raising your arm.

The level of sensitivity is so high that the bracelet was already designed to work with people who have reduced mobility, opening a path towards digital accessibility never seen before. At the finish line he already promises the next leap. learn handwriting done in the air, transforming each finger into an invisible pen with six microphones, open speakers, 12 megapixel cameras with three times zoom and transition lens that adapt to light.

The set is more than just a futuristic gadget.

It is a real attempt to integrate technology into the human body in a quite natural and intuitive way, but like any innovation that connects directly with our senses, a question arises. To what extent are we willing to live with a permanent screen in front of our eyes?

If on the one hand this technology promises us practicality and autonomy, on the other it can immerse us even further in the hyperconnection of applications, fits and notifications, making it more difficult to disconnect when we really want to. Perhaps this is the first glimpse of a future in which controlling machines with discreet gestures will be as natural as breathing, but the real question is, as a society, not as individuals, are we prepared to live in a world where the line between the human body and technology becomes increasingly invisible?