Meta has introduced its next-generation smart glasses, the Aria Gen 2, built primarily for research and development in artificial intelligence and robotics. Positioned as a significant upgrade over the original Project Aria released in 2020, the Aria Gen 2 smart glasses feature advanced sensory and perception capabilities, including sophisticated eye and hand tracking, a photoplethysmography (PPG) heart rate sensor, and an array of sensors for spatial understanding.
Designed with researchers in mind, the Aria Gen 2 maintains a light frame weighing around 74 to 76 grams and includes folding arms to improve portability and user convenience. It is available in eight size variants to suit various face shapes, including adjustments for different nose bridge widths and head dimensions.
These smart glasses are fitted with four computer vision cameras for accurate 3D spatial awareness and gesture tracking. One major improvement is the increase in stereo overlap from 35 degrees to 80 degrees, enhancing depth perception and interaction in virtual environments. The glasses also integrate a global shutter sensor capable of 120dB dynamic range imaging, enabling consistent performance across different lighting conditions.
The eye-tracking system can monitor gaze direction for each eye, detect blinking, measure pupil diameter, and calculate the vergence point—helping machines interpret human visual focus and intent. For hand tracking, the glasses can map joints and hand positions in real-time 3D space, a valuable tool in robotics and machine learning dataset generation.
Hardware specifications include a 12MP RGB camera, ambient light and UV sensors, spatial microphones, stereo speakers, accelerometer, barometer, GNSS, and a USB Type-C port. A dedicated privacy switch and volume control are also built-in. Additionally, a contact microphone and PPG sensor are embedded within the nose pad to measure heart rate and support voice capture.
The glasses use Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) to recognize spatial movement in six degrees of freedom (6DOF), enabling contextual understanding of surroundings. This is vital for AI-based navigation and environment mapping. All functionalities are powered by Meta’s in-house machine perception algorithms on a custom coprocessor.
Despite these high-tech advancements, the Aria Gen 2 is not yet a consumer product. Instead, it will act as a testbed for Meta’s collaborations with academic institutions and industry partners like BMW, Carnegie Mellon, IIIT Hyderabad, and the University of Bristol, supporting the future of immersive and interactive wearable tech.
